Magical McDowell secures Ryder Cup for Europe

Trailing 9-6 going into the delayed finale, the Americans fought back superbly to take the match to the wire.

Rickie Fowler won the last three holes to snatch an unlikely half with Edoardo Molinari, leaving Europe relying on McDowell to beat Hunter Mahan.

The US Open champion birdied the 16th with a stunning putt before sealing victory at the 17th.

"Graeme (McDowell] was put there (at the bottom of the order] for a very good reason," said victorious Europe captain Colin Montgomerie. "He is the US Open champion and full of confidence and that birdie on 16 was quite unbelievable."

McDowell led by three early on but slipped to 1up with three to play after driving into heavy rough left of the green and duffing his chip shot on the 15th.

But he recovered brilliantly to hole a nailbiting 15-foot putt to win the 16th, bringing a huge roar from the packed galleries.

Mahan could not respond on the 17th, leaving his chip just short of the green and conceding the hole to spark wild celebrations among the majority of the 35,000 fans present.

Paying tribute to team captain, Colin Montgomery, McDowell said:

He said: "He was amazing. There's nothing quite like Colin Montgomerie. He's been so up for this.

"He is what the Ryder Cup is all about and to do that for him was very special."

Full story and pictures in Tuesday's Coleraine Times.