The US won the Ryder Cup last night for the first time in nine years in a highly charged atmosphere at the Valhalla club. They reached the target of 14.5 points in the eighth match out when American Jim Furyk defeated Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez by 2&1.

Paul Azinger, the US captain, who had described the vociferous Kentucky support as his 13th man, led the celebrations after Jimenez conceded a short par putt after his long birdie attempt failed to drop.

It left European captain Nick Faldo's tactic of back-loading his side in tatters as matches involving Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington were left meaningless.

Sergio Garcia, for so long an inspirational Ryder Cup player, faltered under an inspired charge from US rookie Anthony Kim as Europe failed to get off to the fast start they needed in the final session of singles amid a high charged atmosphere at sunny Valhalla.

As Padraig Harrington in the anchor role teed off and all matches were under way, the US were up in seven after just two hours of play. Europe were up in just four with one level and a huge turnaround was needed if captain Nick Faldo's troops were to make it an unprecedented four wins in a row.

Garcia eventually succumbed 5&4 and the wisdom by Faldo of putting his form players at the bottom of the draw when his team was 9-7 down was under question. It was, after all, that tactic by Curtis Strange at the Belfry in 2002 that proved disastrous when Sam Torrance put his best players out first.

Robert Karlsson pulled back a point for Europe with a comprehensive 5&3 victory over Justin Leonard. The task for Europe wasn't impossible but it needed a highly optimistic outlook to foresee from the matches behind where Europe were going to find the points to reach the magic total of 14.5.

Paul Casey needed to win the second match out to provide the inspiration, but when rookie Hunter Mahan drained a 40-footer for a birdie and performed a fist-pumping dance at the 17th to go one up the prospects were looking bleak.

At that point if all matches stayed as they were, the US were going to win 15.5-12.5, but Mahan followed one act of brilliance with one of golfing suicide when he sent his drive at the last into water to allow the Englishman a halved match. European hopes were still hanging by a thread.

By that time Justin Rose, in his first Ryder Cup, took the scalp of Phil Mickelson by 4&2. "I was right up for that - Phil is a huge scalp," he said before heading back on to the course to support his team-mates believing one or two matches needed to be turned around, not least the last one out in which Harrington was two down to Chad Campbell after nine holes.

However, Henrik Stenson lost by 3&2 to local hero Kenny Perry and Oliver Wilson was defeated by an inspired Boo Weekley who reached the turn in 29 bringing chants at every turn of "Boo-S-A" to the Floridian player the Kentuckians have adopted as their own.

In the first match, Garcia had struggled in the role that Colin Montgomerie, over the years, had made his own. The Spaniard reached the turn three-down to the aggressive, crowd-whipping Kim.

There had been a lively atmosphere on the first tee as the pair teed off at three minutes past high noon with European and American fans exchanging chants. Both found the fairway and as a sign of things to come the American played from around 170 yards to two feet and Garcia followed to three feet.

Garcia holed out and conceded his opponent's putt. It was to be the last such concession in what turned out to be an irritable match.

Kim went one up at the second, holing out from three feet after cries from the gallery for Garcia to concede it were ignored. There was further barracking from the pro-USA crowd at the fourth where Garcia was conceded a short birdie putt but Kim was made to hole out from a similar distance. "Give it to him," urged the crowd, and when it wasn't one fan shouted: "Lockjaw."

It was a testosterone-laden contest and after Garcia missed a birdie attempt to level the match, the ball dribbled 18 inches past. This time it was Kim's turn to remain silent. An American asked: "Is this the same competition in which Jack Nicklaus gave Tony Jacklin a three-footer to halve the match at Royal Birkdale in 1969?"

Garcia took great care to hole that one, but mistakes at the next two holes left the Spaniard facing an uphill struggle. At the sixth, after a lengthy consultation with referee John Paramor, he had to take a penalty drop after missing the fairway from the tee.

Then at the par-5 seventh he dumped two balls in the water short of the green and conceded the hole. There were huge cheers from the American galleries as Garcia came up short, just the kind of crass behaviour that US captain Paul Azinger was advocating at a pep rally in downtown Louisville on Thursday evening.

Garcia then missed for a birdie from four feet at the short eighth allowing Kim a half after finding a bunker from the tee. At the turn Kim had taken just 11 putts and Garcia's frailties in that department were becoming cruelly exposed.

The Spaniard did pull one back with a birdie at the long 10th, but lost the next three and the end came when he missed a six-foot birdie putt at the short 14th leaving Kim an up-and-down for a victory he did not realise he had achieved, marching on to the next tee only to be called back.

"I thought we had one more hole to go," he said before handshakes were exchanged and the US points total was raised to 10 with the first full point of the day. Kim was six under par for the 14 holes played.

It is the first Ryder Cup in which Garcia, with only two halved matches to his credit, has failed to produce a full point for Europe.

Ian Poulter was three up in his match against Steve Stricker and the Englishman has certainly answered his critics. The controversial wild-card selection has fully justified his selection and had accumulated three points going into the final session and is the only player that Faldo has fielded in all five sessions.