Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari propelled Europe into a commanding position with a rare sweep of their four pairs matches to give the hosts a 10-6 lead over the United States going into the final day of the Ryder Cup.
Photo: @rydercupeurope
Ryder Cup rookie Fleetwood and Molinari became the first European couple to claim four points from their opening four matches, inflicting a pair of defeats on Tiger Woods in Saturday's fourballs and foursomes at Le Golf National.
They were just the second pairing to go 4-0 in team matches since 1979, joining American duo Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins who achieved the feat at The Greenbrier.
After a 4 and 3 win over Woods and a misfiring Patrick Reed in the morning fourballs, Fleetwood and Molinari thumped the 14-time major champion and Bryson DeChambeau 5 and 4 in the foursomes.
"We were really, really good this afternoon," said Fleetwood. "We played really solid, we played really well. But yeah, about the piece of history together, it's very special."
British Open champion Molinari, winless in two previous Ryder Cup appearances -- in 2010 and 2012, warned the job is not yet finished for Thomas Bjorn's side ahead of Sunday's 12 singles matches.
"We came here to do a job, and it wasn't to go in the records books or anything like that, it's about the team, it's about getting to 14 1/2," said the Italian.
"We're getting closer, but those 4 1/2 points we're going to need tomorrow, we're going to have to fight hard for them."
No European player has scored five points from five in Ryder Cup history, with US trio Arnold Palmer, Gardner Dickinson (both in 1969) and Nelson (1979) the only golfers to accomplish it.
Bjorn, a vice-captain on the European team for the 'Miracle at Medinah' in 2012, knows his team cannot afford to relax despite owning a healthy advantage.
"History will show me and everybody on that team that this is not over," said the Dane.
"You go full bore tomorrow. Get out there and do all the right things, and this is not over till you've got the points on the board."
As for Woods, he has endured a miserable return to Ryder Cup play after a six-year absence, losing all three of his matches in France to drop his record in pairs events to 9 and 19 with one draw.
"Everything feels pretty good. Just pretty pissed off, the fact that I lost three matches, and didn't feel like I played poorly," said Woods, on the winning side just once in seven Ryder Cups.
"That's the frustrating thing about match play. We can play well and nothing can happen."
