Ryder Cup 2014: Live Look at Singles Scoring and Updated Standings

The domination isn't quite as great as the first two days, but it appears it's only a matter of time before Europe closes out its third straight Ryder Cup championship.

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell got wins early in the day while the United States has squandered multiple strong leads, as Europe leads the match 13.5-9.5 with five matches still ongoing. The Europeans need 14.5 points to win the Ryder Cup outright; they can retain the title in a tie situation, although that's looking less and less likely by the minute.

McIlroy, who had gone 1-1-2 in his four paired matches, earned the day's first result with a 5 and 4 domination of Rickie Fowler. The world's top-ranked golfer had no issues. He took five of the first six holes and only dropped a single point (on No. 7), breezing through the Scottish course with ease.

If this were a stroke-play event, McIlroy might have been on pace for the best round of his career. His seven birdies and an eagle gave Fowler, himself playing great golf heading into the week, no chance of pulling off the upset. 

"I was very comfortable up the order. I was more up for this final day, than I was for the final days of the two majors I won," McIlroy said, per Rob Bagchi of The Telegraph. "All week it's been a pleasure to play in front of such passionate fans. It's been an amazing experience."

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

McDowell, McIlroy's former Ryder Cup partner, had a little more strife in his victory over Jordan Spieth. The American came out on a mission early, going up three holes through five and holding that lead through the front nine.

When the pair made the turn, though, a switch went off. McDowell won four straight holes starting with No. 10, added another for good measure at No. 15 and pulled away for a 2 and 1 win. It was the type of turnaround that's typical for McDowell, who is a solid Ryder Cup performer every two years despite a more shaky stroke-play resume.

The win gave Europe a 12-6 lead. Needing only two more points to win, the inevitability of the festivities became clear once anyone looked Martin Kaymer's way. The German, who won his first U.S. Open this year, turned in an outstanding performance to defeat Bubba Watson 4 and 2.

Watson went down four holes through six, and though he'd win No. 7, the momentum lasted the single hole. Kaymer retook his four-hole advantage on No. 8 and held a steady lead throughout. The only other hole he dropped was on No. 15, when Watson was able to extend the match to keep his hopes temporarily alive.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

While it was part of a hopeless comeback attempt, not everything has been bad for the Americans. A fired-up Patrick Reed won the 18th hole to take a one-up advantage over Henrik Stenson. Reed was in many ways the United States' answer to Ian Poulter. Wildly gesticulating and at one point even shushing the pro-Europe crowd, Reed's ascent has been one of the few fun takeaways from an American perspective.

“Patrick Reed, I think, is brilliant,” Colin Montgomerie said on NBC Sunday, per John Strege of Golf Digest. “America needed 12 of these guys. If there were 12 Patrick Reeds on this team you wouldn’t be down 10-6, I can assure you. I think he’s fantastic, I really do.”

Reed's win came not far separated from a 3 and 1 triumph by Phil Mickelson over Stephen Gallacher. A day after being controversially benched for both partnered sessions by U.S. captain Tom Watson, Mickelson played his best round of the week. He went down a hole on No. 2 but battled back to two up by the time he and Gallacher made the turn.

Excellent ball placement on No. 10 and No. 11 allowed Gallacher to even the match, but those would be his last wins. Mickelson, in typical form, closed out the win by taking the final three holes. 

Matt Kuchar defeated Thomas Bjorn 4 and 3 in the United States' other win of the matches decided so far. Kuchar never trailed and maintained at least a three-hole lead for the entire back nine. 

In other words, he did what Spieth couldn't. And what Hunter Mahan couldn't. Like Spieth, Mahan opened up a massive lead on Justin Rose early, going up four holes through six. Like Spieth, Mahan subsequently blew that lead by allowing his opponent to win four straight holes from No. 8 to No. 11.  

Mahan and Rose wound up halving the match, but it was indicative of the missed opportunities for the United States. Time and again the U.S. players put themselves in a position to win. Time and again they failed, which is why we're probably only minutes away from Europe clinching this thing in 2014.

 

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