Europe need just four points from the final day’s 12 singles matches to complete their revenge mission in Rome and regain the Ryder Cup.
Luke Donald’s side will also have plenty of extra motivation after the second day’s play ended with angry scenes on the 18th green which later continued outside the clubhouse at Marco Simone.
Rory McIlroy was annoyed that Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava initially refused to move from his eyeline as he waved his cap over his head in celebration of Cantlay’s birdie on the last.
McIlroy and team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick still had birdie putts of their own to halve the hole and the match, but neither was able to convert.
“I talked to Rory,” Donald said. “He politely asked Joe to move aside. He was in his line of vision. He stood there and didn’t move for a while and continued to wave the hat, so I think Rory was upset about that.
“The Ryder Cup is always passionate. We’ve seen that many times over the past. I will address all 12 of my guys. I’ll give them the right messaging and they will be ready to play.”
Donald unsurprisingly sent out his strongest players early in the singles, with Jon Rahm first out against Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland taking on Collin Morikawa and Justin Rose drawn against Cantlay in match three.
McIlroy, who had gone out first in the last three Ryder Cups, was fourth in the line-up against Sam Burns.
Shot of the day
Statistic of the day
Top statistician Justin Ray outlines the size of the task facing the American side.
Quote of the day
Jon Rahm responds to being accused of acting like a child by Brooks Koepka after taking a swipe at a board on the 17th hole on Friday.
Tee times
(Europe names first, all times BST)
1035 Jon Rahm v Scottie Scheffler1047 Viktor Hovland v Collin Morikawa1059 Justin Rose v Patrick Cantlay1111 Rory McIlroy v Sam Burns1123 Matt Fitzpatrick v Max Homa1135 Tyrrell Hatton v Brian Harman1147 Ludvig Aberg v Brooks Koepka1159 Sepp Straka v Justin Thomas1211 Nicolai Hojgaard v Xander Schauffele1223 Shane Lowry v Jordan Spieth1235 Tommy Fleetwood v Rickie Fowler1247 Robert MacIntyre v Wyndham Clark
Weather forecast
Sunday will feature sunny skies with a few afternoon clouds building up over the mountains along with temperatures near 30 degrees centigrade (86F) by early afternoon. No rain is expected with light winds up to 10mph.
