Rory McIlroy says he has been "waiting for an opportunity to redeem himself for two years" after his disappointing performance at Whistling Straits in 2021.

The Northern Irishman has certainly made amends by winning his first three matches at this year's Ryder Cup.

Can he make it four?

That's a really punchy tee shot from Viktor Hovland down the third. Keen to make amends for two missed putts in consecutive holes.

He's almost 100 yards further down the fairway than Sam Burns - but both will have clean approaches to the green.

Why change a winning formula? Europe send out Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick again as their final fourball pair, hoping for the same result as yesterday's rampant 5&3 win.

Much of that was down to Fitzpatrick's hot putter, which landed six birdies on the bounce in a blistering start on the front nine.

Even McIlroy was left laughing incredulously at what he was watching.

The final match is almost upon us...

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are out again looking to get something going for the USA - and for a change Spieth finds a fairway so that's a good start.

Robert MacIntyre means business this afternoon and he launches a bomb off the first that leaves the left-hander in position A+ for his approach.

Justin Rose has only just recovered from celebrating that putt on 18 last night and he also finds the short stuff.

Exactly the start which the United States needed.

Max Homa gets the putter fired up from the off, dropping his birdie attempt on the first and putting this American pair ahead.

A par for Tommy Fleetwood, who goes up and down from the fringe, is not quite enough.

Team American had not won the opening hole in any of the previous 12 matches... now they're two from two in this session.

Well, that was a surprise.

Hovland, Aberg and Morikawa all miss presentable chances - and the first pulled putt we've seen from the Norwegian who was in closest.

We go onto the third with the US duo still one ahead.

European captain Luke Donald speaking to Sky Sports: "It was amazing again to win the session. We keep going forward as this is the only way this team works. We will never underestimate the US but for me it is just about getting guys off to a good start.

"I have faith in all 12 players. We are resting Jon [Rahm] this afternoon but we switched up a couple of things. When Viktor and Ludvig won 9 & 7, well they are fresh as they only had to play 11 holes this morning.

"They all want to play as they are all competitors and warriors. They are fearless golfers who want to enjoy this, be out there and contribute to the team."

On reports of alleged disunity in the US camp: "What the US team does is out of our control. It is all about controlling those things we can control. We are all about building team unity, playing together as a team and going 7-1 in foursomes is a pretty strong result."

Great golf already from this quartet.

All four are on the green with their approaches, and Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg have decent birdie chances coming up from inside 15 feet.

Max Homa has been arguably the best American player so far - albeit with little competition.

His confidence exudes in a neat approach on the first, giving him a decent chance of putting some more red on the board very early.

Fleetwood fires at the flag from the first fairway, the crowd like it. It pitches just right of the pin and skips to the back of the green.

But he'd rather be there than where Brian Harman is.

"Oh, that's so bad," chirps Harman after he clogs one out of the thicker cut of rough.

Barely six feet from the fairway, the second cut is pretty dense and it looks like he's ended up in a bunker ahead.

Image source, Getty Images

The world number one did look devastated after a record defeat earlier today.

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome

The Press Association news agency says it understands that Scottie Scheffler wanted the chance to try to make amends in the afternoon fourballs but was sat out by captain Zach Johnson.

It's not over yet, of course, but Luke Donald has been so impressive in everything that he's done so far, so should Europe keep him on as captain for the next Ryder Cup?

A lot of Europe's foundations have come from succession planning in terms of captains, but away next time at Bethpage in New York will be incredibly tough with their crowd - especially if USA take a bit of a hammering here.

So should Europe stick with Donald to give them the best chance of ending the recent run of dominant home wins by both sides?

Or should they continue with the tradition of it being just a one-and-done job?

Hit the thumbs - and give us your reasoning via text.

Image source, Getty Images

The noise goes up several notches when the European boys step up on the first tee.

Hojgaard finds the fairway, ball holding up after it initially looks to be galloping towards the bunker.

Let's see what Tommy Lad can do... lovely. He's on the short stuff, too.

Sam Burns is running hot.

He's flushed his drive straight down the middle of the second hole and Collin Morikawa joins him.

Two perfect drives from the Europeans as well. Nice to see four balls on the fairway.

Anyone brought the Waggle-o-meter to Rome?

The usual dozen or so for Harman. Hey, if it works...

Harman finds the first cut of rough on the left with his opening drive, Homa following suit.

Very nice from Sam Burns. That'll make him feel an awful lot better.

He's rolled his birdie putt in and asked the question of Viktor Hovland.

The Norwegian has responded to everything so far but not this time. He's missed and the US take the lead on hole one for the first time this tournament.

Tommy Fleetwood grins broadly as the home fans chant his name.

He's loving life as he steps out on to the first tee.

A few of the usual pantomime boos as the Americans are introduced.

Both Homa and Harman sheepishly glance around, hoping for some red, white and blue to catch their eye.

Open champion Harman to show us the way...

Team Europe has a relatively new-look about it this year, with Luke Donald getting a feel over the past couple of days about which pairings work.

Tommy Fleetwood almost always seems to work whoever he is with - especially at home in Europe.

This afternoon, the Englishman pairs up with Danish rookie Nicolai Hojgaard as he aims to continue his winning run.

Hojgaard played with Jon Rahm yesterday afternoon, making seven birdies on his Ryder Cup debut.

The European pair face the only American team to earn a winning point so far...