They were out in 29 and a brilliant 11 under par when the game finished – and this after Westwood contributed eight birdies in a first day victory over Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Holders Britain and Ireland, two points ahead overnight, now lead 6 1/2-3 1/2, but there are still 18 more points to play for this weekend.

Continental Europe again had Alex Cejka and Raphael Jacquelin to thank for not allowing Colin Montgomerie’s side to get further ahead – although Montgomerie played a part in that.

One down with two to play, Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie hit their tee shots to within five feet of the flag on the 213-yard 17th. Lawrie’s miss meant Montgomerie had to hole his to take the game down the last, but he missed as well.

Next to the same hole were Paul Casey and Brian Davis, with a very different outcome. Casey holed out from sand to go one-up, then sealed a second successive victory over Ignacio Garrido and Miguel Angel Jimenez with a seven-iron to eight feet on the downwind 466-yard last.

“You don’t get many of those in a year,” said Casey said of his bunker shot. “I’d had four lip-outs, so we probably shouldn’t have been all square going down 17 in the first place.”

Swedes Fredrik Jacobson and Niclas Fasth gave Europe their second win of the day, Fasth making a 25-foot putt on the last for victory over Padraig Harrington and Phillip Price.

But in the bottom game Justin Rose and Ian Poulter hit back from their first day defeat to Cejka and Jacquelin by beating Ballesteros and Olazabal three and one.

They were five-up after 11, but the Spaniards took the next three holes and might have made it four in a row. Olazabal, however, failed to get up and down from sand on the long 15th and the most successful partnership in Ryder Cup history had to wait only two more holes to suffer another defeat.

“He’s nothing without me,” joked Howell when asked about partner Westwood, whose eagles came courtesy of a 243-yard three-iron to two feet on the fifth and then two woods to 18 feet on the 564-yard 15th.

None of the other three players in the group were near the green in two and the shaking of hands had already begun when the former European number one with two putts for victory, rolled in the putt.

Westwood, however, did not want to take the spotlight away from Howell, called in on Sunday night as replacement for Darren Clarke.

“We fit well together and relax,” he said. “We did the right things at the right time and rolling in the putts always deflates the opposition.” At the long 11th, for instance, he made a 20-footer from off the green and Garcia then missed from four feet.

The match continues with greensomes and the more familiar foursomes tomorrow. Greensomes are where both players drive and they then choose one ball, while foursomes are one drive only from each pair. Ten singles follow on Sunday.