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Last gasp Monty preserves unbeaten Euro record

22/09/2006

A six-foot putt at the 18th from Colin Montgomerie ensured that the European team ended the first day of the Ryder Cup without losing a single foursome match.

Europe lead 5-3 going into the second day after Montgomerie and Lee Westwood earned a half against the US' Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco at Ireland's K Club.

Luke Donald and the impressive Sergio Garcia were the only pairing to gain an advantage in the afternoon's foursomes, beating Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by two holes.

There were stalemates in the other two contests, with Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley settling for a half against Chad Campbell and Zach Johnson, while David Howell and Henrik Stenson played out a routine draw in their match-up with US pair Stewart Cink and David Toms.

Montgomerie's flourish at the last went some way to making amends for an error two holes previously that looked to be sending the Americans to victory when he found the water, with DiMarco appearing to have punished the Scot with a measured approach shot.

But to the delight of the crowd Montgomerie sunk the putt, preserving Europe's unbeaten record after securing a 2½ -1½ advantage over the US earlier in the day.

It was Garcia who emerged from the opening day with the most credit, with the Spaniard and Donald leading from the first against Woods and Furyk, with the latter letting down his partner on several occasions.

Furyk left the world number one with a lot of work to do after hitting behind a tree from tee-off, while he also found the water on the 18th.

Garcia's nerve never looked like failing though, and scintillating shots at the two penultimate holes helped the pairing to a two hole win, while Furyk was left to cast down his club, clearly dissatisfied with his own performance.

Irish duo Harrington and McGinley were never able to fully capitalise on some very vocal home support, and were perhaps unlucky to emerge with only a half each after leading by two holes by the 15th, but three straight birdies from Campbell and Johnson tied the round.

Meanwhile, Stenson and Howell drew a blank with Cink and Toms, with the majority of holes tied. Howell was the most adventurous of the foursome, birdying at the midway stage only to find the water five holes further down.

Friday foursome results

Match 5
Harrington/ McGinley v Campbell/ Johnson MATCH HALVED

Match 6
Howell/ Stenson v Cink / Toms MATCH HALVED

Match 7
Westwood/ Montgomerie v Mickelson/ DiMarco MATCH HALVED

Match 8
WON 2 UP Donald/ Garcia v Woods/ Furyk

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