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Leonard and Mahan went nine under through 15 to become the day's most prolific U.S. team, and the first American duo to win its first two matches since Corey Pavin and Lanny Wadkins in 1993. Leonard salted away their second win of the day with a chip-in birdie, his fifth, on 15.
"My cheeks are sore from smiling all day long," said Leonard, who had never won a match in two Ryder Cups coming into today. "This is a lot different than my other Ryder Cup experiences."
Holmes and Weekley weathered a front-nine birdie barrage by Lee Westwood, who made four straight 3s from the second through the fifth holes.
"The Dukes of Hazard vs. Fleet Street," NBC's Johnny Miller said of the anchor match, and it featured copious theatrics from Weekley. He encouraged fan participation from the very first hole, and glared at Westwood after reaching the watery, par-5 seventh hole in two.
The Southern tandem birdied 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 to take their first lead of the day. Weekley ran around the course heating up the crowd and generally taking to the Cup as Garcia has: emotionally.
The large gallery responded with calls of "Boo, Boo, Boo," and loosed the biggest roar of the day when Weekley curled in a long, snaking birdie putt on the 12th hole. He stormed around the green, raising his arms and carrying on so maniacally he could have swallowed his chewing tobacco.
Westwood shook his head, a fitting reaction on a day to forget for Team Europe. It was a day that gave new life to the red, white and blue, which partied like it was 1999, the last time an American team won the Cup. In the end it was just one good day, but it felt like a lot more than that.
"Well, they played exceptional golf," Faldo said. "At the end of the day, that's just the facts of where the score is."
