World number one Tiger Woods lost his second successive match as Ryder Cup holders Europe grabbed a 7.5 to 4.5 lead after the morning fourballs on Saturday at the K Club.
Woods was well below his best on Friday and again sprayed the ball all over the Straffan course on the second day as he and Jim Furyk were beaten 3 & 2 by wildcards Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.
Jose Maria Olazabal equalled the all-time fourballs record after combining with fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia to defeat Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco 3 & 2.
Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson won the last hole to halve with Stewart Cink and JJ Henry, while rookie Zach Johnson, the session's outstanding performer, chipped in at the 17th as he
and Scott Verplank triumphed 2 & 1 over Henrik Stenson and Padraig Harrington.
Clarke said: 'Lee played great today. If we had putted better we would have been more under par than we were. People said we were a wildcard gamble and the people who were sure it wasn't a gamble were the two of us. We enjoy playing with each other.'
Europe began the session with a 5-3 lead on another day of sharply contrasting weather, torrential rain mixed with spells of bright sunshine.
Westwood produced a hat-trick of magical approach shots early on. He holed from three feet at the first but spurned birdie chances from seven feet at the second and five feet at the third.
Clarke came to the party at the fourth and fifth, holing from four and three feet for consecutive birdies. Woods missed from four feet at the eighth, three feet at the ninth and eight feet at the 13th before reaching a new low by finding the water at the 15th.
Four down with four to play, Furyk came to the rescue by holing a six-footer to win the US pair's first hole of the day but it was too little too late. Woods' lacklustre performance in the opening three sessions of the biennial team competition sparked speculation that he might even be dropped from the afternoon foursomes.
But that temptation was resisted by US captain Tom Lehman, who paired him with Furyk for the fourth successive session.
European skipper Ian Woosnam provided his own unique brand of leadership, planting a kiss on the cheeks of Garcia and Olazabal before they took on the heavyweight pair of Mickelson and DiMarco.
The Spanish duo, suitably inspired by their skipper, grabbed two birdies in the first four holes to go one up. Garcia was inches away from finding the water at the eighth before his partner sank a 12-foot birdie putt to extend their advantage.
The 26-year-old Garcia sank a ten-footer for another birdie at the ninth and Olazabal birdied the 10th to put the Europeans four up.
The writing was on the wall for the Americans when DiMarco found water at the 13th and the Spaniards coasted home. The win meant Olazabal equalled Woosnam's record fourballs tally of 10.5 points.
Garcia said: 'Jose played amazing today. I don't think he missed a fairway.'
Cink and Henry, who came from three down on Friday to halve their match with Casey and Karlsson, produced a similar performance to claim another half.
Karlsson chipped in for a birdie at the second and World Match Play champion Casey added further birdies at the fourth and eighth to go two up, the latter after rolling in an 18-foot putt.
Cink birdied the 10th to reduce the deficit and rookie Henry eagled the 16th and birdied the 17th to turn the match around. Casey then birdied the par-five last to earn a half.
Johnson reeled off seven birdies as he and Verplank downed Stenson and Harrington. The match began with an early flurry of birdies from both teams, including four in five holes from Johnson.
But Swede Stenson also prompted wild cheers from the Irish gallery when he chipped in for a birdie at the second. Verplank said of his partner, Johnson: 'He didn't need much help today, he was in another world.'
Vaughn Taylor, the only player not to feature in the first three sessions, will get his first taste of Ryder Cup golf when he partners Chad Campbell against Colin Montgomerie and Westwood in the afternoon foursomes when the United States desperately need to turn things round.
US captain Tom Lehman said: 'There's still golf to be played, we are down three but with a committed afternoon you never can tell. The players know they have to get it done, they need to putt with conviction.'
