Europe hold early advantage

Europe's defence of The Ryder Cup got off to an encouraging start as they led in three of the four morning fourballs.

Surprisingly only Ian Poulter, their leading scorer in the last three events, was not among the pace-setters as he and rookie Stephen Gallacher struggled early on.

There were no such problems for Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, sent out first against big-hitting Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.

The European pair turned three up and extended their advantage when Rose holed a lengthy birdie putt at the tenth.

Veteran Thomas Björn and Martin Kaymer, who holed the putt which retained the trophy in Medinah two years ago, got off to an even better start as they were three up through four holes until Rickie Fowler's birdie at the fifth pulled back a stroke.

The stellar group of World Number One Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia against Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley provided a predictably hard-fought encounter.

However, Garcia produced one moment of magic to hole from a greenside bunker for a birdie at the fourth to edge ahead.

There were struggles for Poulter and Gallacher, Captain Paul McGinley's surprise pairing, as they lost the opening hole to a par and went further behind when rookie Patrick Reed holed from distance from the back of the sixth green.

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Mickelson and Bradley pulled it back to all-square at the par four seventh - which neither McIlroy nor Garcia played particularly well with the Spaniard eventually missing a three footer for par.

And the tide was threatening to turn as Jimmy Walker holed from a bunker at the long ninth for an eagle to reduce the American arrears in game two to a single hole.

Gallacher and Poulter's difficult morning in front of an expectant home crowd continued when the former missed a chance to win the eight from five feet, before the latter found water at the next to fall four behind at the turn.

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Mickelson's bunker expertise at the ninth saw him splash out to within a couple of feet to secure the birdie which put the USA ahead in the final match for the first time, and when Bradley holed a birdie putt from the fringes at the next green their advantage was doubled.

The inevitable progress of America in match three continued with Reed birdieing the 11th to go six up with seven to play against Europe's talisman Poulter.

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