Local hero Rory McIlroy, keen to excel on his Walker Cup debut and his farewell to amateur golf, instead suffered the biggest disappointment of his young career.
Left with a 25-foot putt to win his first day singles at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland McIlroy, the 18-year-old who was one of the stars at the Open in July, three-putted and so lost to Billy Horschel.
With Scot Lloyd Saltman, the next best-known player in the Britain and Ireland team, beaten twice things did not look good with three games left on the course.
But holders America, all square on the last tee in all of them, lost them all and at 6-6 the contest, decided on the last putt the last two times, is set up perfectly for another thriller.
McIlroy, utterly dejected by his missed three-footer on the last green, headed straight for the locker room, but then said: "I fought hard to get back into it and to not get anything out of the match after that is not good for me or the team.
"I'm obviously very disappointed. To three-putt the last, it's just so stupid."
He started and finished with a bogey six for an approximate seven over par 78.
He did not feel, however, he let his opponent off the hook at the 17th. Horschel was three and a half feet away, but McIlroy, a shade closer, agreed a half on the hole.
"There was nothing in it, so we just picked them up," he stated.
After struggling with Welshman Rhys Davies in the foursomes 24-year-old Saltman, winner of three points out of four in the last match and a spectacular 15th in the Open at St Andrews that summer, was then crushed five and four by Rickie Fowler.
Saltman's suffering was complete when he had a nightmare shank into a gorse bush with a chip at the long 12th.
Davies hit back to beat Dustin Johnson five and four, but English champion Danny Willett lost the last two holes to American champion Colt Knost after making birdies at the 14th, 15th and 16th to level.
Welshman Llewellyn Matthews had already been hammered five and four by Jamie Lovemark by then, but his fellow countryman Nigel Edwards, who experienced ecstasy and agony in the deciding game in the last two contests, won the last to beat Kyle Stanley.
That left two games and Jamie Moul brought it back to 5-6 when he also took the last with a birdie four to beat Chris Kirk.
With David Horsey all square and one to play against Webb Simpson the pendulum appeared to have swung the United States' way again when the Manchester golfer pulled his drive close to the gorse.
However, Simpson, his side's hero in the morning, pulled his third left of the green and then saw his chip fail to make it up the slope in front of him.
He finished with a double bogey seven and Horsey did not even have to make his five-footer.
That the teams ended the morning session 2-2 was thanks to an amazing 35-yard eagle putt by Simpson.
His partner Jonathan Moore had just made a 25-footer to stay alive on the 17th and opponents Moul and Willett, having been three up after 14 and two up with two to play, could simply not believe what followed.
Short of the green in two at the long last Simpson took out his putter and knocked it in, a blow which Willett could not respond to from the left rough.
Two of the other three games had had dramatic finishes too. McIlroy and compatriot Jonny Caldwell salvaged a half when Knost missed a four-footer on the last after Caldwell had holed from seven.
The home winners in the session were English duo John Parry and Horsey.
They twice trailed early on, but turned it round to beat the experienced Trip Kuehne and Kyle Stanley two and one, with Parry wrapping things up with a wedge to within a foot of the flag on the 435-yard 17th for a conceded birdie.
"I was actually aiming a bit left of the flag and just hit it hard," admitted the Harrogate golfer.
America are the holders, but they went into the contest as underdogs. They last won away from home at Portmarnock in 1991 — when Phil Mickelson was a member of their side.
Not only that, but when they won in 1999, 2001 and 2003 Britain and Ireland trailed going into Sunday.
