Open champion Paul Lawrie displayed ice-cold nerve to emphatically beat Jeff Maggert in the singles of the Ryder Cup.

His win was tempered by the knowledge that Europe had already lost the contest and he took the congratulations of his team-mates with barely a smile.

But he can take away the fact that he had an outstanding Cup debut and was arguably the best of the seven first caps in the team.

With Europe suffering badly at the head of the pack when he teed off, Lawrie came out with all guns blazing. He promptly halved the first and birdied the second to give himself a one-hole lead.

The Ryder Cup rookie's level-headed, unfussy demeanour stood him in good stead as the crowd roared Maggert on.

The next hole was again halved, then Lawrie put in another outstanding approach shot - a constant feature of his game throughout the day - to clinch a birdie putt and go two ahead.

He struck again on the eighth and ninth with two more birdies from superb approaches and tidy putts.

By now, Maggert was clearly wandering what he could do to make headway against the implacable Scot.