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| Oliver Wilson sealed his pair's comeback as Anthony Kim faded [GALLO/GETTY] |
Important contributions from European rookies Justin Rose, Oliver Wilson and Graeme McDowell narrowed the US Ryder Cup lead to two points after the morning foursomes at Valhalla Golf Club.
Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood were reduced to the role of spectators, but Europe won two of the four matches, halved one and lost the other to trail the United States 7-5 going into the afternoon four-ball competition.
The Americans, striving to snap Europe's run of three victories in a row and five of the last six, had led by three points after Friday's opening day of play - their biggest advantage going into day two since The Greenbrier in 1979.
Rose plugs Cink
Rose and fellow Briton Ian Poulter led off for Europe on Saturday and set a positive tone by racing to a five-hole lead after seven on the way to a 4 and 3 win against Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell, who had beaten them 1-up in Friday's foursomes.
Wilson, the only player from either team to sit out both of Friday's sessions, made the most of his first Ryder Cup opportunity, sealing a stunning comeback victory with partner Henrik Stenson over an erratic Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim.
The 28-year-old Briton rolled in a 25-foot, left-to-right curling birdie putt at the 17th, double-pumping his fists and roaring to celebrate victory in a match where the Americans led by four holes after the first six played.
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| Stewart Cink misses a putt [GALLO/GETTY] |
McDowell sank a four-foot birdie putt to win the 18th and earn a half with partner Miguel Angel Jimenez from a tight contest against Texans Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan, who had won both their matches together on Friday.
The lone American bright spot on a humid, cloudy day came from local favourite Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk, who defeated British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson 3 and 1 in the key match of the morning session.
Westwood keen to play
Westwood revealed he had blisters on his hands but had never asked to sit out.
"I wanted to play,'' said the Englishman, reduced to watching from a cart.
"I've never missed a match. This is the Ryder Cup. I would play with my arm hanging off. A couple of blisters are not going to stop me.
"But Faldo is the captain. He wanted some fresh legs for this afternoon. At the end of the day, it's a team. We have to play as a team.''
Westwood was benched despite halving his two matches on Friday, which stretched his unbeaten streak to 12 straight matches - tying Arnold Palmer for the longest in Ryder Cup history.
But the decision worked out well for the Europeans, who certainly played better than they did the day before.
Winning team split
Both Garcia and Westwood were back in the lineup for the afternoon best-ball matches on Saturday, though Faldo split up his most effective team, Poulter and Rose, who won two matches.
Westwood was paired with Soren Hansen, Garcia with Paul Casey, and Poulter with McDowell. The fourth European duo was Stenson and Karlsson.
The Americans countered with two teams that played best-ball on Friday - the effusive Boo Weekly and long-hitting J.B. Holmes, along with Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker, who struggled mightily in the only US loss of the first day.
Perry and Furyk stayed together, but the final US team was a hybrid of Mickelson and Mahan. Kim and Leonard sat out the afternoon session.
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