Chasing their fourth win out of four, Garcia three-putted the 17th and Westwood the 18th to hand Tiger Woods and Davis Love the unlikeliest of victories.

And although Irish rookie Paul McGinley did save Europe a vital half by winning the final hole of the final match of the day to make the overnight score 8-8, Sam Torrance’s side will have to go where few have gone before to regain the trophy.

Since 1957, 22 matches ago, the United States have only twice lost the concluding singles – and as the holders they need only to share them 6-6 tomorrow.

A tired but inspired Montgomerie had taken his record for the week to three wins and a half, but his win with Padraig Harrington – brought in to give 45-year-old Bernhard Langer a rest – proved to be the only European winners in the second series of fourballs.

They took a one-point lead into them, but Niclas Fasth and the previously unseen Jesper Parnevik lost from three-up after seven as America launched their fightback attempt.

One had to feel for Garcia and Westwood, who must have thought victory was minutes away when the 22-year-old Spaniard drilled a fairway wood onto the front of the green at the 564-yard 17th.

They were one-up at the time following Westwood’s 25-foot putt on the 16th – actually for a half as Woods followed him in from 12 – and neither of their opponents were within 150 yards of the green in two.

But Love chipped in for birdie and after Westwood had missed from nine feet Garcia missed his three-foot second putt.

Now level, Westwood and Love were the only two to make the green in two at the fearsome 473-yard last. Garcia was just over the back in two, chipped to six feet and missed again, Love holed from five for par and Westwood, his first putt having rolled four feet past, set it off outside the hole with too much pace to take the break.

Fasth and Parnevik had already lost on the last by then, opponents Mark Calcavecchia and David Duval digging themselves out of their hole in brilliant fashion by coming home in a six under 30.

When Montgomerie and Harrington sent America’s only unbeaten pair, Phil Mickelson and David Toms, to a two and one defeat things looked up again, but then McGinley and Darren Clarke fell one down when Scott Hoch sank a 14-foot birdie putt on the same green.

If they had gone down to defeat the momentum would all have been with Curtis Strange’s team going into Sunday.

But, alone of the four, McGinley made his par on the 473-yard last and, once again, a cliff-hanger is in prospect. We have come to expect nothing less these last 20 years.

Garcia and Westwood had brought the biggest cheers when they took the head covers off their drivers at the 311-yard 10th and made the 265-yard carry over water.

Woods and Love, the two biggest hitters on the cup holders’ team, thought long and hard, but decided to lay-up and lost the hole to Westwood’s two-putt birdie.

Justice, in other words, was done on the hole, but it was Woods and Love who had the last laugh in the match.