Ryder Cup: Massive putts help Europe lead USA by 5 points

Jon Rahm dunked two eagles in the final three holes of his afternoon four-ball session, and Team Europe finished the first day of the 44th Ryder Cup with a commanding 6 1/2-1 1/2 lead over the United States team Friday near Rome.

The Spanish star teamed up with Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark to pull out a dramatic tie with Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka of the US after Team Europe dominated the morning foursomes matches and won all four points at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

The US team failed to win a single match on Friday. The Americans held leads in each of the first three afternoon matches and ceded draws in all three.

The second of Rahm's eagles fell mere minutes after Norwegian Viktor Hovland and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton rallied to tie Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. To end the day, Ryder Cup veteran Justin Rose of England won three of the final four holes himself, carrying Scottish debutant Robert MacIntyre to a tie with Max Homa and Wyndham Clark.

In the other afternoon match, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Matt Fitzpatrick of England cruised to a 5-and-3 victory over Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

"It's a dream start for us," Team Europe captain Luke Donald said. "... Every match that came here to 18, we won. That could have been easily 3-1 to the US this afternoon and we actually ended up winning the session. Great heart, great fight from the guys."

Koepka rolled in a birdie at No. 15 to put the US team 1 up, but Rahm chipped in for eagle from off the green at the par-4 16th to draw level.

Scheffler's tee shot at the par-3 17th landed 6 feet away, and his birdie won the hole for the US But at the par-5 18th, both Scheffler and Koepka needed three shots to reach the green, while Rahm