Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed Lose 4 and 3 in Saturday Fourballs at 2018 Ryder Cup

Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed were beaten by Europe's star pairing of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari for the second consecutive day in the Ryder Cup fourballs.

The American duo were never ahead in the match, and while Woods played well in spells, he was often hamstrung by his struggling partner, and they eventually slumped to a 4 and 3 defeat.

At the start of play, Europe led 5-3 and were in control of the morning fourball matches, too, with this point putting them 8-3 ahead.

Woods played the first hole well, putting together a fine drive and approach. His putt, to win the hole for the United States, was agonisingly wide.

Over the next couple, it was the Europeans who took their chances, as a birdie from Fleetwood was backed up by another from Molinari, pushing the hosts into a two-hole lead. Woods was only able to muster a par at the third.

With Team USA struggling in the early stages of the match and Reed particularly errant, ESPN's Kevin Van Valkenburg pondered whether this pairing was a smart choice from skipper Jim Furyk:

At the sixth, Woods and Reed both had putts for birdie that slipped by in their attempts to claw back a hole.

The pair needed something to drop, and at the seventh, Woods found a brilliant putt to secure his first birdie of the day and in doing so reduced the European lead to just one up.

Woods was keen to get going to the eighth:

The eighth was halved, with the 14-time major champion leaving his putt just short after an approach into the heart of the green. Reed then holed a much-needed clutch putt at the ninth to keep the American duo in touch of Fleetwood and Molinari at the turn.

Per Carl Markham of the Press Association, after his first birdie of the day, Reed was looking a lot more like his usual bullish self:

At the 10th, Woods produced another inspired piece of play, knocking his approach stiff. While Molinari and Fleetwood both gave themselves birdie chances, they pushed them past the hole, allowing the veteran to level the match.

However, the Europeans were able to edge back ahead at 11, as Molinari conjured an incredible tee shot at the par three, adding another dash of blue on the board. The Italian repeated the trick at 12, restoring Europe's two-hole lead.

Having beaten Woods to the Open title earlier this year, the American might have been getting a little sick of his opponent:

The Europeans started to turn the screw from this point on, and Woods' approach to the green at 13 was wet, allowing Fleetwood and Molinari to extend their advantage even more. Suddenly, it was looking like a massive task for the Americans.

From that point on, Woods and Reed never really looked as though they believed they could get back into the contest, especially after the former missed a birdie putt at 14. Eventually, the European pair wrapped it up at the 15th, as Woods missed a long putt to keep things alive.