Well, it’s got to get a name, hasn’t it? How about the Bloodbath of Bethpage? For, on a Saturday afternoon of mayhem that brought an unseemly toxicity with some of the abuse hurled at players, most notably at Rory McIlroy, there was mostly some magnificent golf played from Luke Donald’s Europe in the four balls to bring thoughts of Ryder Cup records into the equation.

Europe won the morning foursomes 3-1 and also won the four balls session by 3-1 for a day’s reward of 6-2 that brought the total to 11 ½ to the USA’s 4 ½, the largest margin of any team since the Ryder Cup moved to a 28-points format in 1979.

The upshot of a remarkable, drama-filled day on Long Island is that Europe are headed into the final day’s 12 singles needing two-and-a-half points to retain the trophy won in Rome and three points for outright victory.

Electricity filled the New York air throughout a birdiefest of a day, sometimes for the wrong reasons: McIlroy and Shane Lowry were subjected to consistent verbal abuse in their match against Justin Thomas and Cameron Young who, to their credit, both attempted to quell the home support into some sort of decent behaviour. Ultimately, though, it took a more heavy-handed approach from the Nassau County and New York state police who ejected a number of those spectators who had crossed the line.

And there was, too, an argy-bargy kind of verbals between Justin Rose – the most unlikeliest of all – and Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie Greg Bodine who, quite literally, did cross a line when intruding into view as the Englishman lined up to make a putt. On a day when Rose could do no wrong, he waved the bagman away, sank the putt on the 15th and only then did he make his views known to Bodine.

Still, this was a day where Europe continued to defy recent Ryder Cup history. The lead is the largest by any team headed into the final day, with the USA in 2021 and Europe in 2024 previously leading by 11-5 margins.

After a morning foursomes where Europe stretched their lead to 8½ to 3½, there was an expectation that the USA – stung to their core – would bite back like a wounded animal. It was meek, however, even if no fewer than three of the fourballs went to the 18th green where the most prominent sound to fill the air was that of “Óle-Óle-Óle” and indeed a stream of disappointed American supporters headed early for the exits while their European counterparts hung around not wanting it all to end.

The first fourballs of McIlroy and Lowry against Thomas and Young had an undertone of nastiness, brought into it by the abuse that caused the security detail to be increased and for messages of a zero-tolerance policy to be displayed on the jumbotron LED screens.

Lowry proved to be the strong man when it mattered on the front nine, a run of eagle-birdie-birdie from the fourth moving them into a two hole lead before the American duo fought back so that the match was tied through 13 holes, whereupon McIlroy came alive to sink a birdie putt on the 14th to reclaim a one hole lead which was held through 17 holes before being increased to a two holes winning margin on the 18th.

“I’m really happy that I’m able to walk inside the ropes with this man, and he was there for me today,” said McIlroy of the support that he got from Lowry under the difficult situation.

Fleetwood and Rose came out on top in a high-quality birdiefest of a match against DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele by 3 and 2, where the English duo were 12-under for 15 holes, while Europe’s third win of the four balls session came in dramatic style when Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrell Hatton (drafted in as a late replacement for Viktor Hovland after the Norwegian suffered the recurrence of an injury) each had conceded birdies on the last to secure a one hole win over Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

The lone USA win in the session came when JJ Spaun brilliantly birdied the closing two holes to partner Xander Schauffele to a one hole win over Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka.

Donald was delighted but keen to point out there remained unfinished business: “I didn’t really imagine this. The job is never done till it’s done. So I’m not going to be complacent. I know how strong the US are and they will have plenty of fight in them.”