Europe dominates U.S., leads Ryder Cup by 5 points

After blanking the U.S. in the morning foursomes, Europe won the afternoon fourballs, 2 1/2 to 1 1/2, to take command early at the 44^th Ryder Cup.

The home team leads, 6 1/2 to 1 1/2, after the first day at Marco Simone.

The Americans had a chance to win the second session, possibly 3-1, but Viktor Hovland's and Jon Rahm's dramatics kept the Euros in charge.

With one more day of team play (foursomes and fourballs on Saturday) and 12 singles matches on Sunday, here’s how the Day 1 fourballs played out:

Match 5: Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (U.S.) tied Viktor Hovland/Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)

When Thomas birdied the sixth hole, it gave the U.S. its first lead at any point in any match. It didn’t last long, however, as Europe won the seventh to tie it up.

The match remained deadlocked until Spieth made a short birdie putt at the 12^th to go 1 up. One hole and one putt later, Spieth gave the U.S. a 2-up advantage.

After losing the 14^th, Thomas, who along with Spieth sat out the morning session, needed to save par on the 15^th to maintain the lead. He did – emphatically.

Thomas was in a similar situation at the 16^th, needing to make a 5-foot birdie putt to tie the hole. This time, he missed, evening the match with two holes to play. He then missed a 12-foot putt to win the 17th.

But with Spieth out of the hole on 18 (Thomas had little help late on the back nine), JT nearly pitched in for eagle, leaving himself 6 feet.

Adding to the theater, Hovland delicately dropped in a 26-footer for birdie, blowing the roof off of Marco Simone.

Thomas then made his pressure-packed putt to tie the match.

Match 6: Jon Rahm/Nicolai Hojgaard (EUR) tied Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (U.S.)

Making his Ryder Cup debut, Hojgaard birdied the seventh hole to give Europe a 1-up lead. At the eighth, Rahm chipped in for par, allowing his 22-year-old partner a free run at birdie, which Hojgaard made to go 2 up.

Scheffler quickly erased that deficit, winning the ninth and 10^th holes, and the U.S. went 1 up with a Koepka birdie (just his second of the day) at No. 15.

Then came a thrilling finish, beginning with Rahm chipping in for eagle at the par-4 16th to tie the match.

Followed by Scheffler nearly acing the par-3 17th and then making the putt to return to 1 up and securing at least a half-point.

And concluding with another Rahm eagle at the par-5 18th, his ball popping up and plopping into the hole to tie the match.

Match 7: Bob MacIntyre/Justin Rose (EUR) tied Max Homa/Wyndham Clark (U.S.)

Having made a couple of eyebrow-raising statements ahead of his rookie appearance, Clark stepped up – early – in his debut. The U.S. Open champ birdied the fifth, seventh and ninth holes to give the U.S. a 2-up lead at the turn.

Clark stayed hot on the back nine with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13, good enough to keep the U.S. 2 up and keep the Euros at bay.

Yet, as was the case in other matches Friday afternoon, the home team finished strong – or, in this case, the away team struggled coming home.

The U.S. lost the 17^th hole when it couldn’t make par and then lost the 18^th when Clark’s shots went astray and Homa couldn’t convert a 12-footer to win the match.

Rose salvaged the tie with a clutch 6-footer.

Match 8: Rory McIlroy/Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR) def. Collin Morikawa/Xander Schauffele (U.S.), 5 and 3

McIlroy was Fitzpatrick’s partner, but the Englishman could’ve beaten the American duo on his own. Fitzpatrick, who had never played the fourballs format in a Ryder Cup and had an overall record of 0-5-0, was unbeatable on Friday. He birdied Nos. 2, 3 and 4 to win those holes and then drove the par-4 fifth, making eagle to win that one as well.

He added another birdie and ‘W’ at the sixth – after Schauffele missed a 5-footer to tie – and McIlroy finally chipped in with a birdie to win the next. Seven holes in, 6 up for the Euros.

The Americans were able to stretch the match to 15 holes, but a McIlroy birdie officially closed it out.