European Ryder Cup players Jose Maria Olazabal (right) and Sergio Garcia of Spain smile on the fourth green during their four-ball match at the Ryder Cup tournament at The K Club in County Kildare, Ireland, yesterday. - Reuters

STRAFFAN, Ireland (AP):

PAUL CASEY'S ace - the fifth in Ryder Cup history - closed out a 5-and-4 romp for he and David Howell over Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson, part of a dominating afternoon in which Europe expanded their lead to 10-6.

"Nice," said Casey after his ace with a four-iron at the 14th. "It's my first hole-in-one. We played great golf today, but it was just one of those days."

The Casey-Howell rout in the afternoon foursomes was only a small part of it.

They closed it out minutes after Sergio Garcia improved to 4-0 this week, combining with Luke Donald for a 2-and-1 win over Phil Mickelson and David Toms. Garcia moved to 14-3-2 lifetime. Mickelson fell to 1-8-1 over his past 10.

Tie

Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood added another half point with a tie against Chad Campbell and Vaughn Taylor.

Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk won 3-and-2 over Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, but even that couldn't alter the facts.

It will take nothing less than another Brookline miracle for the Americans to avoid losing this tournament. In 1999 at Brookline, the U.S. team trailed 10-6 after two days, but won 8 1/2 of 12 points in the final-day singles to win the cup. That was the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history.

"It's imperative we, as a team, get off to a quick start," Woods said of today's matches, "just like we did in '99."

Before Casey's hole-in-one, it was Garcia doing most of the wowing on a dominating day at The K Club.

The par-five 16th hole defined his relentlessness in these team events. He drove the ball deep into the right rough, and Donald hacked out into a muddy mess of wood chips about 100 yards from the hole. Meanwhile, Mickelson hit his tee shot safely into the fairway.

Garcia had no business winning that hole and Mickelson had no business losing it, but that's how it went.

Good partners

"I don't know," Garcia said when asked the secret to his success. "Good partners help. Luke and myself make a really good couple."

Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal made a good couple, too. The new 'Spanish Armada' set the tone in the morning with a 3-and-2 win over Mickelson and Chris DiMarco in better-ball.