Europe fighting back in foursomes

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia set out to make amends for a desperately disappointing defeat as Europe fought back in the second session of The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

Europe's strongest pairing - McIlroy is World Number One and Garcia World Number Three - looked set to give their side a narrow advantage when they led Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley by one hole with three to play.

However, Bradley then hit a superb approach to the par five 16th to set up a winning eagle and Mickelson's birdie was enough to win the par five 18th to edge the United States ahead by a point.

That match took almost five and a half hours to complete and finished a minute after McIlroy and Garcia were due to tee off in the foursomes but, after the starting time was pushed back 36 minutes they were back in action against Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler.

Walker and Fowler had recovered from three down after four holes to snatch half a point against Thomas Björn and Martin Kaymer, with the other two fourball matches decided by comprehensive margins.

Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson failed to make a single birdie as they were beaten 5 and 4 by Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, with Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter and home favourite Stephen Gallacher beaten by the same score by rookie duo Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.

Both Captains picked the four players who had sat out the morning for the afternoon foursomes, with Lee Westwood and Jamie Donaldson taking on Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk, Rose and Stenson staying together to face Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson and Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson in the final match against Mickelson and Bradley.

Donaldson and Westwood were playing quickly and playing well, moving two up after 11 holes, but Rose and Stenson saw an early two-hole lead disappear as the former missed from two feet for par on the eighth.

Garcia and McIlroy won the third and were pegged back to all square when the Spaniard hooked his drive out of bounds on the fifth, but he made amends with a massive birdie putt on the sixth to get back on level terms.

And things were looking good for Paul McGinley's side in the bottom match, with Dubuisson and McDowell charging three clear of the unbeaten pairing of Mickelson and Bradley.

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Rose bounced back from that mistake on the eighth, holing from 25 feet on the 11th to edge himself and Stenson back in front, leaving Europe ahead in three of the four matches.

McIlroy and Garcia had made a mess of the seventh to lose their lead and even when McIlroy holed from 20 feet on the eighth, Walker followed him in for birdie.

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