Coming into the second day of play, it was imperative that the Europeans put up a big performance on Saturday at the 2012 Ryder Cup. With Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods left out of the early foursome matches for America, the morning was a more than ideal opportunity for Europe to capitalize.

The Europeans seemed as though they would take advantage early on, as Justin Rose and Ian Poulter were victorious in a 1-up win over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson of the U.S. The victory was the second day in a row that the Europeans prevailed in the opening match. While the Americans failed with the short stick, Rose and Poulter put up a phenomenal performance.

Nevertheless, everal fans were buzzing about Poulter's performance. The European improved his Ryder Cup record to 11-3 and was not shy about letting everyone know about his excitement.

Unfortunately for Europe, their momentum faded as the day went on. America's Phil Mickelson and newbie star Keegan Bradley came up big in the second matchup. The respective win tied a Ryder Cup record for one of the most dominating victories in history, which came against Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. From the very first hole, the U.S. tandem showed how ready and willing they were.

Although Europe didn't succumb to the Americans without a strong fight, the majority of Saturday morning was dominated by the U.S., as Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner were victorious against Sergio Garcia and Nicolas Colsaerts in yet another spectacular match.

Although the situation currently looks bleak for the Europeans, the team did show some resiliency in their very last two matches on Saturday. An 8-4 showing in Sunday's singles matches would serve to give them the points they need to tie the best comeback in Ryder Cup history.

Go to rydercup.com to watch the Ryder Cup via live stream on Sunday, Sept. 30th at 12:03 PM ET.

Below are the standings thus far.

Standings

TEAM                                    POINTS

United States 10

Europe 6

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