A look at dominant European Ryder Cup partnerships

Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari became the first European pair to win all four of their matches together at Le Golf National.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at their performances and some of the famous names they have surpassed with their exploits in Paris.

Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, 3.5 points out of 4, Muirfield Village, 1987

Possibly the tallest and shortest partnership in Ryder Cup history, Faldo and Woosnam won their first two matches in 1987 but could only halve the second day’s foursomes against Hal Sutton and Larry Mize. A 5&4 win over Curtis Strange and Tom Kite in the fourballs helped Europe win on American soil for the first time.

Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, 3.5 points out of 4, The Belfry, 1989

Ballesteros and Olazabal had won three of their four matches together in 1987 and performed even better two years later, the Spanish pair halving their opening match before thrashing Tom Watson and Mark O’Meara 6&5. A tight victory on Saturday morning was then followed by a 4&2 win over Open champion Mark Calcavecchia and Ken Green, with the home side retaining the trophy after a 14-14 tie.

Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, 3.5 points out of 4, Kiawah Island, 1991

The “War on the Shore” brought out the best in Ballesteros and Olazabal once more, who won feisty matches against Paul Azinger and Chip Beck twice on day one and then beat Fred Couples and Ray Floyd 3&2 on Saturday morning. A clean sweep looked on the cards but Europe’s star duo could only halve their match against Fred Couples and Payne Stewart and the United States regained the trophy with a one-point win.

Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik, 3.5 points out of 4, Brookline, 1999

Garcia and Parnevik also had the chance to compile a 4-0 record as Europe charged into a 10-6 lead at Brookline, 19-year-old debutant Garcia bringing incredible passion to three straight wins before the pair had to settle for a half against Davis Love and David Duval. However, having expended so much energy on the first two days both players were well beaten in the singles as the United States pulled off an incredible fightback.

Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari, 4 points out of 4, Le Golf National, 2018

A partnership “pretty much written in stone” according to Molinari, the good friends wanted to play together and got their wish when captain Thomas Bjorn checked the statistics and “there were never any red flags.” Victory over Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed was the only European success on Friday morning and “Moliwood” then inflicted what would be the only defeat of the week on the top American pair of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Woods and Reed were beaten easily again in Saturday’s fourballs and even a new partner for Woods could not change the outcome, Molinari and Fleetwood thrashing Woods and Bryson DeChambeau 5&4 in foursomes.