The United States won the Ryder Cup for the first time in nine years at Valhalla Golf Club, in Louisville, Kentucky, yesterday.

Needing a total of five and a half points from the individual battles, Paul Azinger's US team achieved their target of 14½ points when Jim Furyk closed out a 2 and 1 win over Miguel A. Jimenez on the 17th green.

The victory ends a wait of nine years for the Americans who had lost three consecutive matches since their victory at Brookline in 1999 - the last two by record 18½-9½ scores.

However, cheered on by the partisan home galleries, the US made a fast start and always held the edge on a tense final day in Kentucky.

"We had a plan, we stuck to it," Azinger told Sky Sports after his team had clinched victory.

"We created a 13th man, the crowd was really fantastic and beautifully behaved.

"The golf was spectacular on both sides and our guys just came out on top. I couldn't be happier, they really ground it out.

"It could have gone either way the first day or the second day but it just tilted our way.

"The European team is an incredible team and I feel fortunate to pull this off."

Earlier in the day, Ryder Cup rookie Anthony Kim made the most of his lead-off assignment in singles by thumping Sergio Garcia 5&4 to get the US team off to a roaring start in their final drive to reclaim the trophy.

"I got chills up my spine the whole day and I'm loving every minute of it," said Kim.

"I wouldn't trade this for $10 million."

Kim, the youngest player on the US team, birdied three of the first four holes of his match against the Spaniard and then took advantage of some shaky play by Garcia to go 3-up after seven and was never headed.

The Californian won 2.5 points overall in his maiden Ryder Cup, and his margin of victory over Garcia was the widest winning margin by a rookie since David Duval dusted Sweden's Jesper Parnevik by the same score in 1999.