Just as Ian Poulter did for Europe on the eve of the Miracle at Medinah in 2012, Patrick Cantlay breathed life into a moribund US Ryder Cup challenge in Rome yesterday with one of the most exciting and contentious finishes in Ryder Cup history.

The Ryder Cup sparked uproariously into life as tempers flared and Shane Lowry had to hold Rory McIlroy back as he confronted US caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay and poked him in the chest in the car park at Marco Simone in Rome.