FOURSOMES:IF YOU'RE going to hit the first tee shot of the 37th Ryder Cup, you've got to have steely nerves.

Yesterday, as a chorus of "U-S-A" drowned out the chorus of "Ole-Ole-Ole-Ole" from the Irish-led European supporters who had managed to claim seats in the stands by the first tee, Pádraig Harrington - as he has done so often this season - proved he was again the man for the job.

Harrington did not disappoint. Not with the opening tee shot, and not with the gritty, determined climax that included saving clutch putts and bunker shots on the way home as he and Robert Karlsson conjured a way to halve their foursomes match with Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim.

"It wasn't classic golf, but it was classic matchplay," opined Harrington, who had a 10-footer on the last to win. The ball stayed on the high side of the hole, and the spoils were shared.

Just over four hours earlier, Harrington - playing in his fifth Ryder Cup - had been the picture of contentment on the practice putting green. At one stage, he spied three of his brothers leaning on the barrier and, trademark grin on his face, made a beeline for Columb, Tadhg and Feargal for a series of firm handshakes before heading to the first tee.

Four years ago, when the Ryder Cup was last played on American soil, Harrington had been sent out with Colin Montgomerie to do battle with Mickelson and Tiger Woods. Four years on, with Monty and Tiger absent, Harrington and Mickelson renewed battle with new colleagues . . . and the upshot was a roller-coaster match that went to the wire, with spectators having more mood swings than a grumpy schoolmaster.

"We're ahead of you already," shouted one USA fan after Mickelson's tee-shot finished 30 yards ahead of Harrington's on the first fairway.

"It'll be the only time today," came the reply from a European fan. As it transpired, the riposte was accurate: the USA never actually led in the entire match.

If not quite a hypochondriac, Harrington does seem to play better when he has an injury to occupy his mind. Remember Royal Birkdale?

Yesterday, it wasn't his wrist but a recurrence of an old shoulder injury. As he walked from the eighth green, at which point the match was all-square, the Dubliner required on-course manipulative massage from his sports chiropractor Dale Richardson.

"It's fine," Harrington was to remark later. "I just felt a little stiff through six or seven holes and I was worried about it getting worse rather than anything else. Thankfully, it warmed up nicely with the heat."

Injury scare over, Harrington and Karlsson went into overdrive having reached the turn level with the American dream duo of Mickelson and Kim.

On the 10th, Mickelson was distracted by a clicking camera as he attempted to play a greenside chip. The offending cameraman fled, only to be pointed out by Mickelson's bagman, Bones McKay.

Undeterred by the incident, Harrington rolled in a birdie putt to put the Europeans one up.

It kick-started a spectacular run by the Irish-Swedish duo, who won the 11th and the 12th, where Harrington's iron approach to two feet set Karlsson up for little more than a tap-in birdie.

Three down with six to play - the US crowds were muted.

As for Nick Faldo, it was just what he had hoped his two front men would do.

The fickleness of matchplay, however, ensured the crowds weren't quiet for long.

The US fightback started on the 13th, where Karlsson's approach from the middle of the fairway missed the green and they failed to get up and down. Two-up Europe.

On the 14th, Karlsson - following Kim, who overshot the green and came up beside a TV tower - missed the green with his tee shot. Mickelson, as he does, played an exquisite flop shot to save par.

One-up Europe. And, on the 15th, the Americans made it a hat-trick of wins, Mickelson sinking a 15-footer for birdie to bring the match back to all square.

With the momentum now with the Americans, Karlsson and Harrington had to dig deep.

And when the hard questions were asked, it was Harrington who provided the answers. On the 16th, he sank a 15-footer for par to halve the hole and, on the 17th, he played a majestic 25-yard bunker shot to two feet to set up Karlsson for a par to again halve.

Then, on the 18th, came the golden chance to win when Kim failed to find the putting surface from a greenside bunker.

It meant Harrington had a 10-footer for birdie to win the match. But the putt stayed on the high side, and the match was halved.

"We don't feel like it was a half- point lost. If you'd asked me on the first tee, I would have taken a 10-footer to win and it looked like I'd holed it. I hit it a fraction harder than I expected, and that's disappointing . . . but they were in the driving seat with three holes to go, so we can't complain at the end of the day."