But Jaidee kickstarted a stunning fightback by beating Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell 3&2 and after five further wins for Asia, the entire contest came down to the match between Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Japan’s Hideto Tanihara.

Fernandez-Castano eagled the par-five 16th to get back on level terms before Tanihara saved par from a greenside bunker on the 17th to set up a nerve-wracking finish on the last.

Neither player was able to find a decisive birdie and after Fernandez-Castano held his nerve to hole from three feet for par, he conceded Tanihara’s shorter putt to ensure a tie.

Jaidee's win over McDowell got his side off to the perfect start and 50-year-old opposite number Miguel Angel Jimenez needed all of his experience to snatch victory over 23-year-old Malaysian wild card Nicholas Fung with a birdie on the 18th.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat then recovered from one down with four to play to birdie the next two holes and a par on the 17th was enough to seal a 2&1 victory over Thomas Bjorn.

Kim Hyung-sung defeated an off-form Pablo Larrazabal 4&2 and Prayad Marksaeng then almost snatched a remarkable win over Jamie Donaldson with a birdie on the 18th.

However, Donaldson commendably held his nerve to follow Marksaeng in for a birdie of his own to salvage half a point, having enjoyed a four-hole lead at the turn.

Gaganjeet Bhullar put another point on the board for Asia with a 4&3 victory over Thorbjorn Olesen and when Anirban Lahiri won the 16th and 17th to beat Victor Dubuisson 2&1, the match was tied at 8 1/2 points each.

A miserable day for Stephen Gallacher in the final match was summed up when he lost his ball with a wild tee shot on the 15th to seal a heavy defeat to Siddikur Rahman, putting Asia ahead for the first time all week.

However, having seen a three-hole lead reduced to one, Joost Luiten held his nerve to hole from five feet to par the 18th and beat Japan’s Koumei Oda to level the scores.

That meant it all came down to Fernandez-Castano and Tanihara, the Spaniard missing a short par putt on the 15th to fall one down but getting back to all square with a stunning eagle on the 16th after Tanihara had piled on the pressure with a birdie from 20 feet.

Tanihara saved par from 10ft on the 17th to keep the match all square and with neither player really threatening a winning birdie, Europe’s players held their breath as Fernandez-Castano – whose short putting has long been his Achilles heel – held his nerve.