Luke Donald paid tribute to the new star of American golf after he and Lee Westwood became the latest victims of the irresistible Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson. Bradley served notice of his talent with victory at the 2011 PGA Championship and embellished it with three points from three outings on debut, culminating with the poleaxing of Europe's heavyweight pairing.

"He's obviously been a rock star this week," Donald said of Bradley. "Phil is a good partner and they did nothing wrong again. They kept coming up with great shots. We just couldn't get the momentum on our side." Westwood concurred. "They started off quick today. They were something like six under through 10. We didn't play well enough and put enough pressure on them."

The team were addressed by Europe's captain, Jose Maria Olazabal, on Friday night, when he read the Spanish equivalent of the riot act. Olazabal was concerned at the lack of passion in his team, and the brittle response to the American charge.

"The philosophy was to play better, simple as that," Donald said. "We wanted to go out there and play hard. We are certainly giving 100 per cent. It's not over till Sunday." Olazabal's American counterpart, Davis Love III, could afford to rest his star pairing in the afternoon fourballs. "After all that great golf Phil was asking for his break, because he knows how important tomorrow is going to be."