The flagship European pairing of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy have been outperformed on the greens by Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley on the opening nine holes of their fourballs Ryder Cup match.

America were bang on form from the off in the fourballs and the Mickelson-Bradley partnership was no different.

The latter birdied the short par 4 first before Mickelson delivered a tee shot to about four feet on the par 3 second.

Mickelson made it three birdies in a row on the next and it was a nightmare start for the Northern Irish duo.

The par 5 fifth was halved in birdie fours before Mickelson and Bradley failed to make par on the sixth to bring the advantage back to two.

At the par 5 seventh Mickelson holed a birdie putt from 15 feet before McDowell lipped out from five feet to restore a 3 up lead.

Bradley continued to prove his worth on the green by holing a 25-footer on the next to edge the lead even further to 4 up.

The par 4 ninth was won by McDowell after the 2010 US Open champion got his approach within inches a tucked in the putt.