The man from the valleys was the Monarch of the Glen and Europe's reign as Ryder Cup kings continued.

Eight wins in the past 10 meetings? The USA may soon have to join forces with Canada and Mexico at this rate.

By 5.40pm last night, the Gleneagles scoreboards blazed with the words Europe 16½ USA 11½. It was done and dusted long before then, of course. Jamie Donaldson, the Welsh rookie, was the man who settled the issue about an hour earlier. Forget the warbling Tom Jones. Pontypridd has a new star.

With the scoreline at 13½ - 9½, the 38-year-old had retained the spoils for Europe having moved into a four-hole lead with four to play in his match with Keegan Bradley. He gilded the lily - or should that be the leek? - in sizzling style on the 15th, though, whipping a wonderful wedge to within gimme distance. "The wedge of my life," he later declared in the fevered euphoria.

Tom Watson, the American captain, knew the game was up. As Donaldson's shot plonked itself down near the flag he offered the handshake of congratulations to his opposite number Paul McGinley. By the time this weary 65-year-old trudged to the green, the Americans were down and out. "Pick it up, they've won," Watson said to Bradley. The celebrations could begin.

Ryder Cup Sunday had dawned with a sense of glory-laden anticipation although no one was taking anything for granted.

"Zero complacency, 100% concentration, let's get the job done," stated Rory McIlroy as he rallied the troops. The Euro vision made for pleasant reading. Somehow, Team USA needed to fling a star-spangled spanner into the works. O' say can you see, by the dawn's early light? Not a sight to offer encouragement, to be honest. At 10-6 down, the visitors faced a monumental task. It was going to be one heck of a labour day.

Ok, so it had happened before but singles surges like the one the US required yesterday are as rare as a two dollar bill. Europe, of course, came back from a four-point deficit on super Sunday two years ago at Medinah to win by a point while the US conjured a similar salvage operation at Brookline in 1999.

A couple of years earlier, at Valderrama in 1997, Europe had been 10½ - 5½ up going into the singles and held on grimly for a slender triumph as the US blitzed the session 8-4.

History was not on the USA's side even if a couple of greats from golfing history were. Jack Nicklaus joined current captain Watson on the first tee and the two of them could be seen blethering away and peering and pointing at a sheet of paper. "How the hell do we get out of this, then?" was perhaps the question Tom was asking his old pal.

Either that or they were just mulling over that night's a la carte menu at the Craigrossie Hotel on Auchterarder High Street. Here we had two golfing gods pondering proceedings and the US certainly needed some divine intervention. Would the prayers be answered? Well, there was a spell when faith was restored as the fired-up frontrunners in the US line up got up and at it in the early exchanges.

Jordan Spieth, who was only 60 days old when the USA last won on European soil 21 years ago, spearheaded this early thrust.

Spieth romped into a three-hole lead through five in the top match with Graeme McDowell while his fellow Texan rookie Patrick Reed was stirring things up, both on and off the course, in match two against Henrik Stenson as he went on the kind of animated, fist-pumping offensive that made Ian Poulter's hyped-up histrionics look about as energetic as a sloth with an underactive thyroid. "Old guys have nerves, young guys don't," Watson had suggested before battle commenced.

Spieth, looking to maintain his unbeaten record in his Ryder Cup debut, took the fight to the Northern Irishman, who was struggling to gain a foothold in the tie on the front nine. McDowell's countryman McIlroy, meanwhile, was stamping his authority on affairs.

The 25-year-old, out in the third match against his friendly rival Rickie Fowler, was simply majestic and swept to an emphatic 5 and 4 win. McIlroy, the world No.1, was dominant throughout with a crusading card that featured seven birdies and a conceded eagle. The first, vital point had been posted on the board. A significant psychological point had been made too. "I knew what was expected of me," said the reigning Open and US PGA champion in the back-slapping aftermath. "I was more up for this day than I was on the final days of my two major wins this season."

McIlroy was up for the cup all right. And so too was McDowell. Toiling early on, the former US Open champion seized a lifeline. "Jordan missed one on seven to go four-up and I felt something turn," he admitted. The fightback was on at a time when the board looked as red as the floor of an abattoir as the US tried to cut into the lead. With the tension mounting, Spieth missed a tiddler on 10 to see his lead reduced to two before McDowell picked up his third birdie in four holes on the 11th to get to within striking distance. Spieth leaked another shot and another hole on the next and the momentum was well and truly with McDowell.

He inched ahead for the first time when his American opponent bogeyed the next and McDowell twisted the knife with a birdie at 15 to move two ahead and eventually set the seal on a 2 and 1 success.

"I was put out first and I always saw myself as a guy who plays further down the order," added McDowell. "I was honoured to do it. It's a very no-confusion, no-frills role. You go out and do your job."

McDowell did his job and there were plenty of others doing theirs. The roaring Reed had delivered the USA's first point, after a one-hole victory over Stenson, but Martin Kaymer, the hero at Medinah two years ago, played another starring role on Scottish soil, chipping in for an eagle from the side of the 16th to put the tin lid on a rousing 4 and 2 defeat of Bubba Watson.

Stephen Gallacher gave Phil Mickelson a run for his money before the Scot was floored by a late birdie blitz and went down 3 and 1 but Justin Rose, an absolute rock over the three days, safeguarded his five-match unbeaten record this weekend by digging deeper than a Colditz tunneller and salvaging a half against Hunter Mahan.

The Englishman had been four down after six but a magnificent bag of seven birdies from the seventh aided the recovery. Mahan helped too, mind you. He fluffed his lines at Celtic Manor in 2010 and he got himself in muddle again as he made a real hash of the 18th, slipped to a bogey and handed Rose a conceded birdie. The halved match pushed Europe to the 13½ point mark and within half a point of glory.

Donaldson would carry them to the promised land.