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Those putts might have been out towards seven or eight feet on reflection. Rickie Fowler made it look a lot shorter though, stepping up and shooting into the heart of the hole after his team-mate had missed to crank up the pressure on his young shoulders.

All square and to the 18th. Blood and thunder, death or glory, here we go.

Rory McIlroy, putter in hand, is sturdy under the pressure, curling his attempt just short. That is conceded by the Americans so Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler have five-footers to halve the hole. Either will do for them...

A bit of a duffer from Ian Poulter as he gets underneath his scoop out of the rough. The ball makes it onto the green, but dropping from a height, there is no run and he will struggle to get down from there.

Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler are solid, but not spectacular as they leave themselves tricky eight-footers with their rescue attempts. Europe to play...

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Neil, Hope: Just had some very funny looks whilst jumping up and down on the train watching Poults magic!!!

Lee Norman from Hove: Well I was going to make a joke about Rory McIlroy hurting his back after carrying Ian Poulter all morning. But then Poulter pitches in on the 15th brilliantly. Let's hope that sparks him into life.

The gremlins are getting into all four players. Rickie Fowler sends his tee shot plunging off the back into a bunker, Ian Poulter and Jimmy Walker are in greenside rough, with Rory McIlroy the only man with a decent lie. He has a little uphill bump from the fringe.

17th (Ca' Canny)

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Par three, 194 yards

Slightly downhill with plenty of bunkers left, right and at the back. Because of a ridge running across the middle of the green, it is a difficult up and down from the bunker on the right.

John Inverdale
BBC Radio 5 live presenter at Gleneagles

"I was standing next to US captain Tom Watson when Poulter holed that putt and the American laughed. 'How can you legislate for that?' he seemed to say under his breath."

Europe up

The Americans are there for the taking and it's Ian Poulter who takes the scalp.

He drops his putt from ten feet, allowing McIlroy to pick up his from five, sparking another bout of Tarzan celebrations.

All square, two holes to go. Is Poulter coming to the boil just as the glory beckons?

Rory McIlroy dribbles his chip up to within five feet.

Goodness gracious me.

Rickie Fowler absolutely butchers a little pitch and run with his second, taking a dirty great sod of turf and only the top half of the ball.

His shot runs about a sixth of the distance intended. As he looks accusingly at the ground, it is advantage Europe.

Jimmy Walker fluffs his third into another bunker. Ian Poulter might still have a say in the outcome of this one though, landing up towards the pin to give Rory McIlroy a little insurance.

Rickie Fowler does not have that luxury.

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Afternoon foursomes:

Donaldson & Westwood v Johnson & Kuchar

Garcia & McIlroy v Furyk & Mahan

Kaymer & Rose v Spieth & Reed

Dubuisson & McDowell v Walker & Fowler

Rory McIlroy just about clears the water guarding the front of the green. Rickie Fowler, who played one of the shots of the day into this green yesterday, is just off the putting surface.

Either man's hole from here.

Jimmy Walker and Ian Poulter both make their way back onto the turf, but they are the chorus line on this hole with Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy going mano-o-mano.

They are lining up their approaches to the green with their second shots...

BBC Radio 5 live

England's Justin Rose: "I told the captain I was ready for five and I very much want to play this afternoon. Sometimes you just have to go.

"Ian Poulter's showed me the way and obviously we've been partners before. That's how we've amassed a great partnership together."

Poulter and Rose to rekindle their partnership this afternoon or will captain McGinley put rookie Stephen Gallacher with the uber-confident Englishman? Fascinating stuff.

USA's Jim Furyk, after he and Hunter Mahan beat Lee Westwood and Jamie Donaldson 4&3: "I feel good about it. Yesterday's foursomes left a bad taste in my mouth, we played well and to lose on 18 was disappointing [Furyk and Matt Kuchar were beaten by Lee Westwood and Jamie Donaldson]. Captain Tom [Watson] was asking for a little red on the board, he'd got tired of seeing so much blue."

Ian Poulter, adrenaline swilling round his system, lashes his drive on the par-five 16, but he has over-reached himself, yanking into the fairway bunker off to the left.

This tee-shot is all about Rory McIlory though. He steps up like a Victorian strongman on a Test Your Strength fairground stall and rings the bell with a monster.

He is 20 yards further up the high street than Rickie Fowler. Jimmy Walker has cosied up to Ian Poulter in the sand.

Ian Poulter's heroics saved Rory McIlroy a tricky downhill putt and turned the spotlight on the Americans.

So far though Rickie Fowler has been revelling in his role as the lynchpin of this American pairing and he holes his four-footer to takes us to the 16th with his match still red on the board.

Bernard Gallacher
Three-time European Ryder Cup captain on BBC Radio 5 live

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"Poulter's got me going. He's got you going. He's got everyone going. Maybe this will make the match swing the Europeans' way."