Europe fight back against the US at Ryder Cup

With England's Olympic champion Justin Rose and British Open winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden setting the tone at the top of the order, the Europeans led in three and trailed in one at a sunny Hazeltine National.

Rose and Stenson, who lost 3&2 to fired-up American young guns Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in the morning, looked to gain immediate revenge as they went 2-up on the same opponents after 10 holes of top-quality golf.

Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera-Bello were 4-up on JB Holmes and Ryan Moore after 10 holes while Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Cup rookie Thomas Pieters of Belgium led by the same margin against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, after eight.

The only red number on the board for the U.S. midway through the afternoon came from putting maestro Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka, who were 3-up on Germany's Martin Kaymer and Masters champion Danny Willett of England, after nine holes.

Watched by massive and largely partisan galleries at ultra-long Hazeltine, Rose and Stenson came from one down after three holes to take control against Reed and Spieth as the Europeans piled up six birdies between them.

Even when Rose made a rare misstep on a breezy afternoon by finding water with his approach at the par-four seventh, Stenson responded by hitting an exquisite second shot to six feet and then calmly sank the birdie putt.

Europe, who have won eight of the past 10 Ryder Cups, will certainly need to maintain their afternoon momentum after the Americans completed their first sweep in an opening session since 1975 at Laurel Valley.

The U.S. have lost the Ryder Cup at home just four times since the matches began in 1927, and are bidding to end a run of three successive defeats in the competition.