Europe restore Ryder Cup hopes with ‘scintillating’ fightback

Rory McIlroy slammed home an eagle putt to secure victory and ensure Europe will be back in the game at this Ryder Cup when play resumes on Saturday after to limit the damage caused by an early foursomes session wipe-out.

The world number three helped bring a smile back to European faces on a glorious sunny evening in Minnesota as he closed out a 3&2 fourball victory with rookie Thomas Pieters over leading American pair Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar to complete a comeback from 4-0 down after the opening foursomes to end the day just 5-3 in arrears.

Despite the two-point deficit, there was no doubt that the momentum had been taken away from the United States and was now behind Europe, proof, if any further were needed, coming with McIlroy's extraordinary celebration of his eagle from around 14 feet, the Irishman calmly taking a couple of bows to the galleries packed with stunned American fans before exploding into a roar and fist pump.