Great Britain and Ireland are closing in on an emphatic Team Cup victory over Continental Europe after taking an 11-4 lead into the final day of the Ryder Cup-style event in Abu Dhabi.
The team event is being played as part of preparations for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black this September, live on Sky Sports, with Luke Donald on-site to support playing captains Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari.
Rose’s side held a two-point advantage after the Friday fourballs at the Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and doubled their cushion after taking 3.5 points in the Saturday morning foursomes, before moving closer to victory by winning the afternoon session.
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Matt Wallace sinks a huge putt to win the hole and take his match alongside Tyrrell Hatton to a tie – with an air guitar to celebrate!
Tyrrell Hatton continued his unbeaten start to the tournament by partnering Matt Wallace to victory in the top match, with GB And Ireland winning three of the other four matches – in another one-sided session – to continue their dominance.
GB and Ireland require just two points from the 10 singles matches on the final day to claim the biennial contest, while Continental Europe – the defending champions after their 2023 success – look set for a heavy defeat despite Mathieu Pavon and Romain Langasque winning all three of their matches together.
Great Britain and Ireland closing on emphatic win
Hatton and Wallace grabbed the early lead in the top match but fell behind when the Continental Europe pair claimed successive birdies from the seventh, only for Hatton to roll in from 15 feet to level the match at the ninth.
Wallace chipped in at the par-five 10th and holed from eight feet to win a third successive hole, with a par enough to claim the 13th hole before the closing out victory over Rasmus Hojgaard and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen with two holes to spare.
Tyrrell Hatton won his match alongside Matt Wallace to help GB and Ireland to extend their Team Cup lead
“That was big for us,” Hatton said. “Every match is tough but it was awkward to be playing so good this morning and continuing that in the afternoon. We were a bit scruffy at times but, ultimately, around the turn that was massive for us.”
Matthew Jordan and Tom McKibbin came from one down with three to play to produce a three-birdie finish and snatch a 1up victory over Olesen and Norgaard, while Tommy Fleetwood and Jordan Smith despatched Molinari and Julien Guerrier 3&2.
Tommy Fleetwood has won 2.5 points from his three matches for Great Britain and Ireland
“It was an amazing finish,” McKibbin said. “We both struggled out there a bit but dug in and gave it all we had until the last hole and thankfully it paid off.”
The biggest win of the tournament came when Paul Waring and Laurie Canter thrashed Antoine Rozner and Matteo Manassero 6&4, with Continental Europe’s only point coming when Pavon and Langasque extended their unbeaten record with a 4&2 win over Rose and Aaron Rai.
“That’s probably the best I’ve played so far and Laurie [Canter] was as good,” Waring said. “The pair of us were clinical and hitting high quality shots.”
What happened earlier in the day?
GB and Ireland won three and tied one of the five matches in the fog-delayed morning session, which started 35 minutes later than scheduled, moving Rose’s side 7-3 ahead and in control of the contest.
Rose and Tommy Fleetwood closed out a 2up win over Molinari and Julien Guerrier, having seen Hatton hole a final-hole eagle to snatch a half-point for him and Wallace against Thorbjorn Olesen and Niklas Noorgard.
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Tyrrell Hatton sinks a putt from over 60 feet to eagle the par-five last and grab a half-point in his match alongside team-mate Matt Wallace at the Team Cup
Aaron Rai and Tom McKibbin thrashed Nicolai Hojgaard and Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen 4&3, while Paul Waring and Matthew Jordan claimed the biggest win of the session by despatching Matteo Manassero and Antoine Rozner 5&3.
Continental Europe’s only full point won came in the bottom match, where French duo Pavon and Langasque defeated Jordan Smith and Laurie Canter 3&2, with Molinari’s side claiming just 1.5 points for the second successive session.
What happens on Sunday?
All 20 players will again be involved in the Sunday singles, which begins at 10.35am local time (6.35am GMT) and sees matches going out in nine-minute intervals.
Sunday singles draw to follow…
Can Continental Europe make a historic comeback at the Team Cup? Watch the final day live on Sunday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
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