World number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka suffered a humiliating record defeat as Europe continued to dominate the 44th Ryder Cup in Rome.

The American pair were five over par for the first three holes as they crumbled to a 9&7 defeat by Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, the largest margin of victory in any 18-hole match in the event’s history.

That extended the home side’s lead to six points and it looked like there would be more to come as Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were three up with six to play against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening foursomes.

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were ahead by the same margin in the bottom match against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, with Brian Harman and Max Homa putting the only American red on the board as they led Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka by one hole after 10.

Europe captain Luke Donald had warned his side to be wary of the US players reacting like “a wounded animal” as they looked to overturn a record-equalling five-point deficit, but the only wounds on show were entirely self-inflicted.

Hovland and Aberg were one over par for the first three holes but won them all, before Aberg almost made a hole-in-one on the fourth.

Another birdie on the sixth took the European pair five up and with both American players struggling badly, it was only a matter of time before they were put out of their misery.

World number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka were guilty of a comedy of errors as the United States suffered a nightmare start to day two of the Ryder Cup.

Europe captain Luke Donald had warned his side to be wary of the US players reacting like “a wounded animal” as they looked to overturn a record-equalling five-point deficit, but the only wounds on show were entirely self-inflicted.

Scheffler and Koepka covered the first three holes of their foursomes match with Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg in five over par to unsurprisingly lose all three, before Aberg almost holed his tee shot on the fourth to extend the lead.

Another birdie on the sixth took the European pair five up and there was more good news for the home fans as Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood took command of their match with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

Pars on the first and third, either side of Fleetwood’s birdie on the second, took the European pair three up and although the Americans won the fifth, they conceded the next after struggling to find Spieth’s drive in the rough and being refused relief for an embedded ball.

Donald had unsurprisingly kept faith with the pairings who had secured an unprecedented clean sweep on Friday morning and saw Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton take an early lead against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Max Homa and Brian Harman briefly had some American red on the board with a birdie on the second, but had been pegged back to all square by Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.

United States captain Zach Johnson had kept two foursomes pairs together despite the opening whitewash, although his hand had no doubt been forced by an illness spreading through the team.

“There’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health,” Johnson said.

“It’s not an excuse because we have depth but I’ll just say I’m grateful we have a team doctor. Guys are fighting and playing regardless.

“It’s one of those where sometimes the energy is probably a little low, but the ability and desire to go out and play is still there.”

Luke Donald unsurprisingly kept faith with his history-making foursomes pairings as Europe looked to extend their lead on day two of the Ryder Cup.

After enjoying an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening session, the home side also staged three dramatic comebacks in the afternoon fourballs to ensure the United States failed to win a match in a day’s play for the first time.

The resulting five-point lead equalled the largest in the contest’s history, a margin most recently achieved at Oakland Hills in 2004, when US captain Hal Sutton disastrously paired Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson twice on day one.

Donald’s only change was to send Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood out first, against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton switched to match four against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg remained in match two against world number one Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, with Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka taking on Max Homa and Open champion Brian Harman.

United States captain Zach Johnson had kept two foursomes pairs together despite the opening whitewash, although his hand had no doubt been forced by an illness spreading through the team.

“There’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health,” Johnson said.

“It’s not an excuse because we have depth but I’ll just say I’m grateful we have a team doctor. Guys are fighting and playing regardless.

“It’s one of those where sometimes the energy is probably a little low, but the ability and desire to go out and play is still there.”

Luke Donald unsurprisingly kept faith with his history-making foursomes pairings as Europe looked to extend their lead on day two of the Ryder Cup.

After enjoying an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening session, the home side also staged three dramatic comebacks in the afternoon fourballs to ensure the United States failed to win a match in a day’s play for the first time.

The resulting five-point lead equalled the largest in the contest’s history, a margin most recently achieved at Oakland Hills in 2004, when US captain Hal Sutton disastrously paired Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson twice on day one.

Donald’s only change was to send Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood out first, against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton switched to match four against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg remained in match two against world number one Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, with Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka taking on Max Homa and Open champion Brian Harman.

United States captain Zach Johnson had kept two foursomes pairs together despite the opening whitewash, although his hand had no doubt been forced by an illness spreading through the team.

“There’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health,” Johnson said.

“It’s not an excuse because we have depth but I’ll just say I’m grateful we have a team doctor. Guys are fighting and playing regardless.

“It’s one of those where sometimes the energy is probably a little low, but the ability and desire to go out and play is still there.”

Europe captain Luke Donald insisted his side would not rest on their laurels after claiming a record-equalling five-point lead on the opening day of the 44th Ryder Cup.

After enjoying an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening session, the home side also staged three dramatic comebacks in the afternoon fourballs to ensure the United States failed to win a single match in a day for the first time.

“Unbelievable start, historic day, but we want it to be an historic week so the job is certainly not done,” Donald said.

“We will all celebrate an amazing day, but we’ll be back with the goal of trying to win tomorrow morning’s session. We’ll be getting our guys focused to be back in the saddle, so to speak.

“We’ll enjoy the last hour [of play] and the celebration, but once I’m back at the hotel we’ll have a team meeting and we’ll be back to business.”

Donald was well aware that the United States could easily have ended the day just 5-3 behind as they were ahead in three of the fourballs on the closing stretch, only for Jon Rahm to finish eagle, par, eagle and Viktor Hovland to hole from 20 feet for birdie on the 18th.

Justin Rose then also birdied the last to ensure the five-point advantage and match Europe’s lead at Oakland Hills in 2004, when US captain Hal Sutton disastrously paired Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson twice on the opening day.

His partner Nicolai Hojgaard had driven the green on the short 16th, but Rahm decided to chip in anyway for an eagle to win the hole.

Top statistician Justin Ray sums up the historic nature of day one.

Brooks Koepka was not happy with Jon Rahm after the Spaniard finished eagle, par, birdie to snatch half a point.

0635 Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood v Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth

0650 Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg v Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka

0705 Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka v Max Homa and Brian Harman

0720 Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton v Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

Saturday and Sunday will feature sunny skies with a few afternoon clouds building up over the mountains along with temperatures near 30 degrees centigrade (85F) each afternoon. No rain is expected through the period.

The United States failed to win a single match as Europe equalled the biggest day-one lead in the modern format of the Ryder Cup.

Since the Great Britain and Ireland team was expanded to Europe in 1979, a margin of 6 1/2 points to 1 1/2 had only before been achieved in 2004 – and even then, the beaten Americans managed one foursomes win.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how Friday’s success compares and what it could mean.

Europe won all four of the morning foursomes, only their fourth ever session whitewash with the others coming on Friday afternoons in 1987, 1989 and 2018.

Another win followed in the afternoon from Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, 5&3 over Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, with none of the five home wins reaching the 18th hole.

When the other games did get there, though, it was to Europe’s benefit – Viktor Hovland’s dead-weight birdie putt halved the top match, Jon Rahm rattled in his second eagle in three holes and Justin Rose brilliantly closed out another half.

Europe’s previous 4-0 sessions came after a 2-2 share of the Friday morning in 1987 and overturned 3-1 deficits on the other two occasions.

That 6-2 margin in 1987 was matched in 1999, Europe winning 2 1/2 points in the Friday morning foursomes and 3 1/2 in the afternoon fourballs, and by the Americans with a pair of 3-1 wins in 2021.

But the only precedent for a team scoring 6 1/2 points on day one comes from 2004, when Europe won three of the morning fourballs with an additional half-point from Paul McGinley and current captain Luke Donald.

Chris DiMarco and Jay Haas finally got the USA on the board but Europe won the remaining three foursomes on their way to an eventual 18 1/2 9 1/2 win – a European record which was matched two years later.

The USA’s 19-9 win two years ago is the only bigger margin in a Europe-United States contest though after Europe’s 6-2 opening days, they won only 15-13 in 1987 and lost the contest in 1999.

From the American perspective, what is needed is a comeback to top one of the Ryder Cup’s most memorable contests – largely for unwanted reasons.

The 1999 contest in Brookline is chiefly noted for the controversy on the final day, with Justin Leonard’s long putt at the 17th sparking wild American celebrations even as Europe’s Jose Maria Olazabal still had a putt for a half to keep the match alive.

Colin Montgomerie reported that he suffered such abuse that his father left the course, Mark James alleged that a fan spat at his wife and Europe vice-captain Sam Torrance singled out Tom Lehman’s conduct as “disgusting”, with Lehman later apologising for his and his team’s behaviour.

A dramatic contest, though, deserves to be remembered for the golf that was played. Wins for Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie followed by Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik gave Europe the early initiative, with Jeff Maggert and Hal Sutton pulling back a first American win and the other match on Friday morning halved.

A half for Montgomerie and Lawrie and wins for Garcia and Parnevik, Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez and then Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood made it 6-2 and each of Saturday’s sessions were shared 2-2, leaving Europe 10-6 up heading into the singles.

American players won the first seven matches to finish before Padraig Harrington and Lawrie stopped the rot. Jim Furyk beat Garcia, though, to make it 14-12 and Olazabal’s miss after the commotion at the 17th meant an eventual 14 1/2 13 1/2 home win.

Europe captain Luke Donald insisted his side would not rest on their laurels after claiming a record-equalling five-point lead on the opening day of the 44th Ryder Cup.

After enjoying an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening session, the home side also staged three dramatic comebacks in the afternoon fourballs to ensure the United States failed to win a single match in a day for the first time.

“Unbelievable start, historic day, but we want it to be an historic week so the job is certainly not done,” Donald said.

“We will all celebrate an amazing day, but we’ll be back with the goal of trying to win tomorrow morning’s session. We’ll be getting our guys focused to be back in the saddle, so to speak.

“We’ll enjoy the last hour [of play] and the celebration, but once I’m back at the hotel we’ll have a team meeting and we’ll be back to business.”

Donald was well aware that the United States could easily have ended the day just 5-3 behind as they were ahead in three of the fourballs on the closing stretch, only for Jon Rahm to finish eagle, par, eagle and Viktor Hovland to hole from 20 feet for birdie on the 18th.

Justin Rose then also birdied the last to ensure the five-point advantage and match Europe’s lead at Oakland Hills in 2004, when US captain Hal Sutton disastrously paired Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson twice on the opening day.

His partner Nicolai Hojgaard had driven the green on the short 16th, but Rahm decided to chip in anyway for an eagle to win the hole.

Top statistician Justin Ray sums up the historic nature of day one.

Brooks Koepka was not happy with Jon Rahm after the Spaniard finished eagle, par, birdie to snatch half a point.

0635 Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood v Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth

0650 Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg v Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka

0705 Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka v Max Homa and Brian Harman

0720 Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton v Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

Saturday and Sunday will feature sunny skies with a few afternoon clouds building up over the mountains along with temperatures near 30 degrees centigrade (85F) each afternoon. No rain is expected through the period.

Europe captain Luke Donald insisted his side would not rest on their laurels after claiming a record-equalling five-point lead on the opening day of the 44th Ryder Cup.

After enjoying an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening session, the home side also staged three dramatic comebacks in the afternoon fourballs to ensure the United States failed to win a single match in a day for the first time.

“Unbelievable start, historic day, but we want it to be an historic week so the job is certainly not done,” Donald said.

“We will all celebrate an amazing day, but we’ll be back with the goal of trying to win tomorrow morning’s session. We’ll be getting our guys focused to be back in the saddle, so to speak.

“We’ll enjoy the last hour [of play] and the celebration, but once I’m back at the hotel we’ll have a team meeting and we’ll be back to business.”

Donald was well aware that the United States could easily have ended the day just 5-3 behind as they were ahead in three of the fourballs on the closing stretch, only for Jon Rahm to finish eagle, par, eagle and Viktor Hovland to hole from 20 feet for birdie on the 18th.

Justin Rose then also birdied the last to ensure the five-point advantage and match Europe’s lead at Oakland Hills in 2004, when US captain Hal Sutton disastrously paired Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson twice on the opening day.

His partner Nicolai Hojgaard had driven the green on the short 16th, but Rahm decided to chip in anyway for an eagle to win the hole.

Top statistician Justin Ray sums up the historic nature of day one.

Brooks Koepka was not happy with Jon Rahm after the Spaniard finished eagle, par, birdie to snatch half a point.

0635 Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood v Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth

0650 Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg v Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka

0705 Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka v Max Homa and Brian Harman

0720 Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton v Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

Saturday and Sunday will feature sunny skies with a few afternoon clouds building up over the mountains along with temperatures near 30 degrees centigrade (85F) each afternoon. No rain is expected through the period.

Europe captain Luke Donald insisted his side would not rest on their laurels after claiming a record-equalling five-point lead on the opening day of the 44th Ryder Cup.

After enjoying an unprecedented clean sweep of the opening session, the home side also staged three dramatic comebacks in the afternoon fourballs to ensure the United States failed to win a single match in a day for the first time.

“Unbelievable start, historic day, but we want it to be an historic week so the job is certainly not done,” Donald said.

“We will all celebrate an amazing day, but we’ll be back with the goal of trying to win tomorrow morning’s session. We’ll be getting our guys focused to be back in the saddle, so to speak.

“We’ll enjoy the last hour [of play] and the celebration, but once I’m back at the hotel we’ll have a team meeting and we’ll be back to business.”

Donald was well aware that the United States could easily have ended the day just 5-3 behind as they were ahead in three of the fourballs on the closing stretch, only for Jon Rahm to finish eagle, par, eagle and Viktor Hovland to hole from 20 feet for birdie on the 18th.

Justin Rose then also birdied the last to ensure the five-point advantage and match Europe’s lead at Oakland Hills in 2004, when US captain Hal Sutton disastrously paired Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson twice on the opening day.

His partner Nicolai Hojgaard had driven the green on the short 16th, but Rahm decided to chip in anyway for an eagle to win the hole.

Top statistician Justin Ray sums up the historic nature of day one.

Brooks Koepka was not happy with Jon Rahm after the Spaniard finished eagle, par, birdie to snatch half a point.

0635 Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood v Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth

0650 Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg v Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka

0705 Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka v Max Homa and Brian Harman

0720 Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton v Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele

Saturday and Sunday will feature sunny skies with a few afternoon clouds building up over the mountains along with temperatures near 30 degrees centigrade (85F) each afternoon. No rain is expected through the period.

Brooks Koepka accused Jon Rahm of acting like a child after the Spaniard’s stunning afternoon performance at the Ryder Cup in Rome on Friday.

The Spaniard eagled two of the final three holes at Marco Simone as he and Nicolai Hojgaard came from behind to halve their fourballs match against Koepka and Scottie Scheffler.

Rahm, who chipped in three times in his two matches during the day, celebrated exuberantly as Europe took firm command of the contest, leading 6.5-1.5 after day one.

It was not clear, however, what Rahm did in particular to rile the American.

Koepka said in a TV interview: “I think me and Scottie birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then ‘lost’ (to) two (eagles).

“So yes, I mean I want to hit a board and pout just like Jon Rahm did but, you know, it is what it is. Act like a child. But we’re adults. We move on.”

Koepka alluded to this subject again when asked what the US needed to do on Saturday to get themselves back into the match.

He said: “Honestly, we’ll be fine. We’re all grown-ups, we act like grown-ups. We’ll be just fine. Just got to play and see where it puts you.

“Just keep fighting. You never know what’s going to happen. (We have) still got a long day tomorrow.

“I guess it’s just a matter of momentum, but we’ve got to go out in the first session and play well, that’s for sure.”

Europe captain Luke Donald was asked about Rahm’s comments but did not offer an opinion.

“I certainly didn’t see any of that,” Donald said. “Jon was a big support system for Nicolai today. Jon’s a passionate person, but I didn’t see him acting any other way.”

Jon Rahm cemented his status as Spain’s latest Ryder Cup superstar as Europe claimed a record-equalling five-point lead after an extraordinary opening day of the 44th Ryder Cup.

Captain Luke Donald’s decision to start with foursomes for the first time since 1993, when the United States last won on European soil, paid handsome dividends as his side swept an opening session for the first time ever.

Roared on by a partisan crowd at Marco Simone, the home side never trailed at any point in all four matches and their opponents won just 10 holes all morning.

Zach Johnson’s side threatened to stage a fightback as they led in all but one of the afternoon fourballs on the closing stretch, only for three European pairs to snatch half a point each in incredible fashion.

The five-point lead after the opening day equals the biggest in Ryder Cup history and was last achieved at Oakland Hills in 2004, when Europe went on to win by nine points.

Rahm had led from the front as he partnered Tyrrell Hatton to a 4&3 victory over world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in the foursomes, but his performance in the afternoon was on another level.

The Masters champion chipped in for an eagle on the 16th to get back on level terms before Scheffler – partnering five-time major winner Brooks Koepka – won the 17th with a birdie after almost holing his tee shot.

Scheffler and Koepka then both had birdie putts from close range on the par-five 18th, only for Rahm to hole from 33 feet for eagle, his ball slamming into the back of the hole and into the air before dropping into the cup.

“There was definitely a bit of Seve magic on that one,” Rahm said in reference to the late Seve Ballesteros, who has a space dedicated to him in the European team’s dressing room.

“He definitely pulled that one towards the hole.”

Viktor Hovland had already holed from 20 feet on the 18th to ensure he and Tyrrell Hatton halved their match with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, the star American duo having been surprisingly left out of the foursomes.

Moments after Rahm’s heroics, Matt Fitzpatrick claimed his first Ryder Cup point after five straight losses, the former US Open champion making four birdies and an eagle in the first six holes to set himself and Rory McIlroy on the way to a 5&3 win over Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Max Homa and US Open champion Wyndham Clark looked set to claim a first win for the visitors when they won the 16th to go two up on Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre, but Rose’s par was enough to win the 17th and the Englishman then birdied the last to cap a stunning finish.

Shane Lowry admitted he “lost it” on the first tee at the Ryder Cup after Europe got off to a dream start in Rome on Friday.

Europe claimed a 4-0 first-session clean sweep for the first time in the competition’s history as they beat the United States in all four foursomes matches on the opening day at Marco Simone.

The fireworks began early as Viktor Hovland, playing in the second match of the day, chipped in for birdie at the first hole.

That not only fired up his playing partner Ludvig Aberg as they went on to beat Max Homa and Brian Harman 4&3, but inspired Lowry, who was playing in the next match and watching on the big screen.

“I stood on the first tee trying to stay calm, and I’m watching Viktor on the big screen and he chipped in, and I lost it,” said Lowry, who combined with Sepp Straka for a 2&1 win over Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa.

“That’s what the Ryder Cup does to me. It’s a very special tournament.”

With Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton beating Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 4&3 in the top match, Tommy Fleetwood was also fuelled by the success of his team-mates.

Fleetwood, who recorded a 2&1 win over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in partnership with Rory McIlroy, said: “It was sort of nice being that last group out and seeing all the blue on the board and hearing the cheers. I think me and Rory were just very aware that we wanted to make sure we kept that momentum going.”

Home captain Luke Donald had opted to play the foursomes matches first to help the side get off to a “fast start” in their stronger pairings format.

The team revealed they had also played some mini-competitions in practice to help sharpen their games.

Fleetwood said: “Everybody that was playing together, we just played some three-hole matches. That was something we just added into the practice rounds this week.

“I guess it was the perfect execution of a plan where everybody got going early and nobody let up.”

Lowry, who is playing in his first home Ryder Cup, relished the atmosphere and hopes to experience plenty more of it.

The Irishman, Open champion in 2019, said: “Obviously I’m very fortunate to have a Claret Jug in my house but, when I finish my career, I really want one, if not multiple, of these under my belt as well.

“I just love it. This is, honestly, the most special week in golf. There’s a reason it’s the greatest tournament in golf.”

Matt Fitzpatrick finally had a reason to enjoy the Ryder Cup as Europe aimed to build on their record-breaking start in Rome.

Captain Luke Donald’s decision to start with foursomes for the first time since 1993, the last US victory on European soil, paid handsome dividends as his side swept an opening session for the first time in the contest’s history.

Roared on by a partisan crowd, the home side never trailed at any point in all four matches and their opponents won just 10 holes all morning to fall 4-0 behind.

Fitzpatrick had failed to win a point in five matches across his previous two Ryder Cups, but both had been on away soil and none had been in his preferred fourball format.

That was rectified when he was sent out in the afternoon’s final match with Rory McIlroy and the 2022 US Open champion immediately made up for lost time.

Fitzpatrick birdied the second, third and fourth and then drove the green on the short fifth to set up an eagle which took the European pair four up on Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Jon Rahm and Nicolai Hojgaard held a narrow lead over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka in match two, with the other two matches all square.

Rahm had earlier partnered Tyrrell Hatton to a 4&3 win over Scheffler and Sam Burns, with Viktor Hovland and rookie Ludvig Aberg despatching Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa by the same score.

Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka maintained the momentum with a 2&1 win over Rickie Fowler and Morikawa before McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood completed the rout by inflicting a first foursomes defeat on Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

Rahm and Hatton had acquired the nickname of “Team Angry” due to their fiery nature, but they could afford to be all smiles as they gelled superbly to get Europe off to the ideal start.

Rahm holed from 27 feet for birdie on the third and short range on the fifth, before hitting the pin with his tee shot on the par-three seventh to leave Hatton with a tap-in birdie.

The European pair looked set to lose the 10th until Rahm chipped in for an unlikely par and the Masters champion then drove the green on the short 11th and found the putting surface in two on the par-five 12th.

That led to a conceded eagle and the out-of-sorts American pair were soon put of their misery on the 15th.

“Extremely satisfying,” Rahm said. “I had a good feeling about Tyrrell all along. It was good to come out here and see him perform the way he did.

“It was an incredible foursome match and we played as confident as two people could play.”

Lowry admitted he was “losing my mind” standing on the first tee as he watched Hovland chip in for birdie up ahead on the green, but the former Open champion regained his composure in time to help rookie Straka earn a debut point.

“It’s huge,” Lowry said. “Obviously it’s early days but I wanted to give Sepp his moment in the Ryder Cup to hole the winning putt (on 17). We are off to a great start this morning. We need to keep the foot down.

“I would have liked to close out the match earlier because we had good chances, but it was nice to put a point on the board for Europe.”

A miserable morning for Zach Johnson’s side was epitomised in the bottom match, where Schauffele and Cantlay – who had boasted a 5-0 record in foursomes – won the 14th to halve their deficit and looked almost certain to get back to all square on the next following a wayward McIlroy drive.

However, Cantlay charged his birdie putt four feet past, Fleetwood holed from 20 feet to scramble a par and Schauffele then missed his par attempt.

The American duo did win the 16th with a birdie but McIlroy hit a superb tee shot to within three feet on the 17th and Schauffele, knowing he had to make his birdie attempt from 20 feet to have any chance, inexplicably left it short.

Fleetwood was left with the simple task of tapping in to complete a 2&1 victory and round off a barely-believable opening session for the European team.

“It’s been an unbelievable session,” McIlroy said. “We switched the format this year to go foursomes first because statistically that’s our better session.

“And all week all we’ve been talking about is getting off to fast starts. Playing three-hole matches in practise, three holes, go again, three holes, go again, something that Luke’s drilled into us.

“We were ready to go from the first tee shot as obviously as you can see in how everyone played.”

Europe’s bid to regain the Ryder Cup got off to a dream start as they stormed into a 4-0 lead over a shellshocked United States in Rome.

Captain Luke Donald’s decision to start with foursomes for the first time since 1993, the last US victory on European soil, paid handsome dividends as his side swept an opening session for the first time in the contest’s history.

Roared on by a partisan crowd, the home side never trailed at any point in all four matches and their opponents won just 10 holes all morning.

An inspired Jon Rahm led from the front as Europe emphatically drew first blood in their bid to regain the Ryder Cup from the United States in Rome.

Rahm and partner Tyrrell Hatton had acquired the nickname of “Team Angry” due to their fiery nature, but they were all smiles as they stormed to a 4&3 victory over world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.

The lead was soon doubled as Viktor Hovland and rookie Ludvig Aberg enjoyed victory over Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa by the same margin at Marco Simone.

And with the home side also ahead in the remaining two matches, captain Luke Donald was on target to oversee a clean sweep of the opening session for the first time in the history of the biennial contest.

Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka were two up with five to play on Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa, with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood also two up in the fourth match against the top American duo of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

Rahm holed from 27 feet for birdie on the third and short range on the fifth, before hitting the pin with his tee shot on the par-three seventh to leave Hatton with a tap-in birdie.

The European pair looked set to lose the 10th until Rahm chipped in for an unlikely par and the Masters champion then drove the green on the short 11th and found the putting surface in two on the par-five 12th.

That led to a conceded eagle and the out-of-sorts American pair were put of their misery on the 15th.