Team USA's disastrous start to their attempted defence of the Ryder Cup was summed up by their battle in the rough on the sixth hole.

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth took on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday morning with Europe leading 6 1/2 to 1 1/2 after a blistering opening day of golf. The American duo found themselves two down on the sixth hole and struggling.

Caught in the rough during the foursome pairings, in which players take alternate shots on the same ball, Thomas took a huge chunk out of the grass before kicking and then standing on the ball.

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Admitting his error, Thomas and Spieth managed to get themselves out of trouble before getting the deficit back to two after 10 holes.

One fan said of the incident: "Thomas stood on that ball and then kicked it next shot that hole should conceded now."

A second added: "Thomas kicked the ball forward. Surely they forfeit the hole."

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A third posted: "We’re playing on despite the fact JT kicked the ball and said it."

A fourth continued: "Thomas kicked the ball. Why is that not being looked at?"

Europe led by three, by seven, were level and led by two across the respective four pairing as the lead group reached hole 12 at 9:05 BST on Saturday.

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Luke Donald's side held the join biggest lead ever going into the second morning, with USA's Zach Johnson saying that many of his players weren't feeling well, but insisting that it wasn't an excuse.

He said: "We're fighting things internally. It's kind of passed around a little bit, caddies, players."

He added: "I'm grateful we have a team doctor. The bottom line is there's been some unforeseen things that we've had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health. It's not an excuse, because we have depth."

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