The sign in the sky said 'Do It for Seve' but it was the Americans - most notably Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson - who were still in charge as the Ryder Cup neared the halfway point in Chicago. Davis Love's side, minus Tiger Woods after he was benched for the first time in his career, took the second morning foursomes 3-1, just as they did the first-day fourballs, and that meant an overall 8-4 advantage at Medinah. Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, improving his phenomenal record in the event to 10 wins and only three losses, were the only winners for the holders in the session. They beat Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, respectively the Masters and US Open champions, on the last in a game which began so dramatically with both Poulter and Watson encouraging the crowd to shout, cheer or do whatever they liked as they teed off. For pure theatre golf has never seen anything like this new trend, started by the eccentric Watson when he entered the fray yesterday afternoon. But as they slugged it out over 18 holes, Mickelson and Bradley needed only 12 to thrash Luke Donald and Lee Westwood and register a third straight win together. Their 7&6 drubbing of the world numbers two and four equalled the competition's record winning margin for either fourballs or foursomes. Then, after Poulter and Rose had done their stuff, Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts discovered that 18 hours in the Ryder Cup is a long time - time enough to go from ecstasy to agony. The 29-year-old debutant notched eight birdies and an eagle as he gained the notable scalps of Woods and Steve Stricker in his first game. But on his return to the course his tee shot into the water on the 17th, the hole where he matched Woods's birdie the previous evening, led to a 2&1 one defeat for him and Sergio Garcia. World number one Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell looked as if they might make up for that when they birdied the 16th to be only one down to Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker. They were the two Americans they beat at the start of the match, but revenge was sweet as the home pair halved the final two holes for a one-up win. | 
