It was honours even following the opening four matches of the Ryder Cup at Medinah on Friday.
McIlroy and McDowell celebrate a valuable point
Graeme McDowell, partnered with Rory McIlroy, hit the opening shot on the first tee in defence of the trophy, and it was ultimately the point the Northern Irish duo earned in their foursomes match that proved to be the most crucial in the morning session.
It was the Americans who drew first blood on the day, the duo of Phil Mickelson and rookie Keegan Bradley proving far too strong for European pair Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia.
It was the first ever foursomes defeat for the duo, who had won all four their previous matches in the Ryder Cup.
After going one down to a birdie on the second hole, the Europeans got back on level terms with with a birdie on the fifth and then won the sixth with a par, but that would be as good as it got for Donald and Garcia.
They lost their advantage on the ninth and then slumped to four successive losses from the 12th hole to go down 4&3 and hand the USA the first point of the competition - much to the delight of the partisan crowd in attendance.
The first match of the day, that involving McDowell and McIlroy and FedEx Cup champ Brandt Snedeker and Jim Furyk, was next to be decided.
The European duo had been three up after 12 holes and seemingly in total control of the match, but they lost three of the next four to leave things all square with two holes to play.
It all came down to the 18th. Still all square, a totally mishit tee shot by Snedeker left Furyk with a chip in back on the fairway as the only option.
McIlroy's drive was also wayward, but he got a lucky bounce off a tree, leaving McDowell with a relatively straightforward second shot - which he promptly plugged into the greenside bunker.
With the Americans only able to make bogey, McIlroy hit a good recovery shot out of the bunker to five feet and McDowell held his nerve to seal the win and level the overall score at 1-1.
An out of sorts Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari were then beaten 3&2 by Jason Dufner and Dustin Johnson after effectively gifting the match to the Americans with bogeys at the 15th and 16th - the first when
Westwood drove into the water and the second courtesy of three putts from long range.
With the Americans 2-1 up, it was going to be crucial for Europe to salvage a point from the final game involving English duo Justin Rose and Ian Poulter and Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.
Fortunately, it was a match the Europeans were always in control of, thanks in no small part to a woefully underperforming Woods.
Several mishit drives from Woods, starting with a horrid hook off the first tee, gave Europe the advantage, and they found themselves three up after 14 holes when yet another wild drive from Woods on the 15th this time rebounded off a tree and back onto the fairway.
The Americans won that hole and then piled on the pressure on the 16th, forcing Poulter to make a clutch nine-footer for a half. He made it, leading to a loud roar of "Come On!"
Still two up with two to play, Rose and Poulter got the half on the 17th they needed to take a 2&1 victory and leave the overall score tied at 2-2 heading into the afternoon fourballs.
Draw for afternoon fourballs (Times BST):
1805 Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson v Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson
1820 Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley v Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell
1835 Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar v Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer
1850 Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker v Lee Westwood and Nicolas Colsaerts
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