Europe three points away from winning Ryder Cup outright after fiery day two

Europe put one hand on the Ryder Cup with a stunning performance on an ill-tempered second day of competition at Bethpage Black.

The defending champions won six of the eight points available on Saturday to open up a commanding 11.5-4.5 lead over the United States and move within three points of outright victory.

It was a day of high drama and tension, with players arguing and the action being paused at times due to the boorish behaviour of a raucous home crowd.

Yet Luke Donald’s side rose above the distractions to deliver a near knockout blow to the shellshocked hosts.

Europe tightened their grip with a 3-1 victory in the morning foursomes and for some time a fourball clean sweep looked possible until the hosts clawed the second session back to 3-1.

Emotions boiled over as Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose thrashed Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler, while Rory McIlroy defied taunts to deliver another telling point.

World number two McIlroy was heckled throughout the day and shouted at one fan to “shut the f*** up” as he prepared to take a shot during his morning foursomes win.

He remained a target in the afternoon and both he and partner Shane Lowry needed to pause on numerous occasions as comments were aimed at them as they addressed the ball in their match against Justin Thomas and Cameron Young.

Thomas appealed for calm on their behalf at times and extra police were also needed to keep order.

Despite the frenzied atmosphere, the Irishmen pulled through to win a tense, tight encounter by two holes.

Ultimately a birdie two by McIlroy on the 14th proved crucial but it took some nerveless putting down the stretch to hang on to the lead before victory was secured on the last.

Temperatures were also high as Rose and