The European duo of Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter have secured an enthralling half-point in the 40th Ryder Cup's final fourball match against Team USA's Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.
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Poulter, after his first loss at the Ryder Cup since 2010 in the fourballs with Stephen Gallacher yesterday, got off to an encouraging start with a hole-winning birdie on the par-four firstst after a wayward tee shot into the rough.
The next three were halved before the European pair made a mess of the fifth, the hardest hole on the course, as Walker made a cool birdie to level the match.
Six and seven were halved before world number one McIlroy took over at the end of the front nine, birdieing the eighth and ninth to put Europe 2 up at the turn.
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Fowler gave the US a perfect start to the back nine by holing his shot from the greenside bunker at the par-three 10th, with McIlroy unable to answer with his birdie putt.
Walker then made hole-winning birdies at the 11th and 13th to put the match in the Americans' favour.
The short par-four 14th was halved in birdie threes before Poulter joined the party with an improbable chip-in from way short of the green at the 15th.
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He saved McIlroy a tricky downhill putt, but it wasn't enough to win the hole as Fowler also made birdie.
Poulter would make a winning birdie at the next hole, though, to draw Europe level going to the par-three 17th, where both teams made par.
At the 18th, McIlroy, Poulter and Walker had secured birdies before Fowler's eagle putt to win it slid by to the left, so the match ended all square.
Going into the afternoon foursome session, the overall scoreboard now reads Europe 6.5-5.5 USA.
