It was all to play for on the final day of the the 2016 Ryder Cup as Europe looked to mount a brilliant comeback and win the trophy for the fourth contest in a row.

Darren Clarke's team required 7½ points from the 12 singles matches to retain the trophy and with ten matches out on the course, neither team could grab a sizeable advantage with four matches all square and the United States and Europe both up in three.

Rafa Cabrera Bello was the only man with more than a one-hole lead, sitting two up against Jimmy Walker after five holes, while Justin Rose and Andy Sullivan both led against Rickie Fowler and Brandt Snedeker.

Henrik Stenson, Thomas Pieters and Sergio Garcia were all one down against Jordan Spieth, JB Holmes and Phil Mickeslon, with all the other matches all square.

The top match between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed was one of those and the highly-anticipated encounter was living up to all expectations with the duo producing ten birdies and an eagle on their front nine.

It was first blood to the Americans as Speith holed from the fringe on the first and Holmes won the first two holes against Pieters but a five-foot birdie from McIlroy on the third and a stunning approach from Rose on the first put some blue on the board.

Stenson then gave himself an eagle putt on the third and got back to all square with a birdie and, while McIlroy made a birdie on the fifth, Reed drove the green for an eagle to tie that match up.

Pieters then mounted a big fightback in match three, putting his approach on the third and his tee-shot on the fourth to around eight feet and he was back to all square.

The Belgian then went out of bounds off the tee on the fifth to slip back behind but Garcia and Sullivan put stunning approaches to the first and Lee Westwood won his opener in par to put some blue on the board.

Stenson slipped a hole behind Spieth as the American made a birdie on the fifth but a Cabrera Bello birdie from four feet put Europe up in the bottom five matches that were out on the course.

Cabrera Bello moved two up with a par on the fourth as Mickelson got all square with a birdie on the third and while the scoring was not changing in the top match, it was all action.

Both men birdied the sixth and seventh and when McIlroy holed a remarkable 55-footer on the eighth prompting a wild celebration, he looked to have the advantage but Reed followed him.

The players then fist-bumped each other as they walked off the green, a show of mutual respect from two players right at the top of their game.

A wonderful putt from Mickelson on the fourth handed him a third birdie in a row and a one up lead against Garcia, while a Ryan Moore birdie on the third squared up his match against Westwood.