Jimmy Walker has holed a 10-foot putt on the last to earn himself and Rickie Fowler a share of their game with Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer to leave the match at 1.5 apiece after the first three fourballs.
Both Kaymer and Bjorn made birdies on the opening four holes to move three shots ahead before Fowler found the cup with a testing putt on the fifth green.
The next three holes were shared but Walker produced a stunning shot from the greenside bunker on the ninth to hole out for an eagle to halve the deficit at the turn.
The tension was building as both pairings began to realise the magnitude of the game with what was transpiring elsewhere, and it was Bjorn who was the man to strike with a chip-in on the 13th.
The Dane and German maintained their lead of two shots until the 16th, but Walker replicated his brilliance from the ninth by chipping in at 16 to set up a nervy final two holes.
After the penultimate hole was shared, Europe approached the last knowing that they only needed to halve the hole, but missed putts from Bjorn and Kaymer gave Walker the chance to end the match at all square.
The American was left with around 10 feet to the hole, but he made no mistake to earn himself and Fowler half a point after initially trailing in the closing stages.
