Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were among the European heroes at Bethpage Black as they helped guide their side to Ryder Cup success.
Lowry holed the putt to retain the Ryder Cup for the visitors, who secured a dramatic 15-13 win in New York.
The Irishman tied his singles meeting with Russell Henley, earning the all-important half-point to keep the Ryder Cup trophy in European hands.
But it arrived after a stunning comeback from Keegan Bradley’s American side, who won Sunday’s session 8.5-3.5.
Their heroics were, however, ultimately in vain, although they gave their visitors a huge scare in front of a very noisy crowd at Bethpage.
Tommy Fleetwood reacts to Shane Lowry helping Europe win the Ryder Cup
Cameron Young kicked off the recovery by beating Justin Rose, with Justin Thomas following suit against Fleetwood.
The Englishman endured a bittersweet Sunday as Europe won despite his loss, with Fleetwood saying afterwards: “I was gutted today. It was a stressful couple of hours where things did not go for us at the top end down the last.
“No matter what has happened before you obviously feel very accountable to what happens in the singles and your match and you want to try and control that yourself.
“Justin out first, comes down to the last and didn’t go his way. Didn’t go my way. Fitz (Matt Fitzpatrick) got the half. It was so close. Thankfully we built the lead over the first two days.
“It has been an unbelievable week. So proud of the team. Whatever my records are it doesn’t matter if the team doesn’t win, but so happy it’s done now.”
And giving his take on Lowry, he said: “I was so happy for him to have that moment and opportunity to do that.
“He showed his character again. I think he showed it yesterday afternoon with Rory [McIlroy]. What an amazing moment for him and the team.”
It truly was an unforgettable day of action at Bethpage Black, where Europe will count themselves lucky after almost blowing a huge lead.
Tommy Fleetwood explains why Europe struggled against the USA on Sunday
While it was a roller-coaster afternoon in New York on Sunday, the drama was in stark contrast to Europe’s comfort across Friday and Saturday.
They led 5.5-2.5 after day one and 11.5-4.5 after day two, having won three of the first four sessions 3-1, although the action was overshadowed by abuse directed at Lowry and McIlroy.
And key to that stunning start was Fleetwood, who claimed four points for Europe before falling to Thomas on the final day.
Sharing his emotions afterwards, the Ryder Cup winner said: “I think when it’s out of your control and you are watching and you want to support the guys as much as you can and you see how things are panning out.
“We could not get any momentum today at all. We had a lot of blue on the board early and that faded away and it became difficult to get momentum. But that’s why you’re a 12-strong team.
“We watched Shane’s putt from miles away on the monitor. Tyrrell [Hatton] comes down the stretch and Bob [MacIntyre] as well. Ludvig [Aberg] getting his point.
“We didn’t win the session today, which is what we wanted to do, but it didn’t matter as we won the Ryder Cup.”
Fleetwood was as humble as ever in his analysis, but it’s clear that Europe would have fallen well short if it weren’t for his presence in New York.
He continued his momentum from the PGA Tour into the Ryder Cup, where he won more points than any other player across both teams.
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