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Great Britain and Ireland lead Continental Europe 3\u00bd-1\u00bd after day one of the Ryder Cup-style Team Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.<\/b><\/p>\n
The three-day competition is designed to give Europe captain Luke Donald a look at some of the players in contention for September’s Ryder Cup match against the United States in New York.<\/p>\n
Donald said on the eve of the event that it is of “massive importance”, while players from both sides were subjected to chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” over the PA system during practice days in preparation for what is expected to be a hostile crowd at Bethpage.<\/p>\n
Ryder Cup veteran Justin Rose is the playing captain of the GB&I side, while Francesco Molinari, who has three appearances as a player, is in the same position for Continental Europe.<\/p>\n
Both paired themselves with players hoping to make debuts in New York. But both ended up losing their opening fourball matches.<\/p>\n
Rose and fellow Englishman Matt Wallace were beaten 3&1 in the top match as French duo Matthieu Pavon and Romain Langasque secured the first point.<\/p>\n
Molinari, playing with resurgent fellow Italian Matteo Manassero, suffered the biggest defeat of the session, beaten 4&2 by Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai, who has climbed to number 22 in the world after winning his first PGA Tour event last August.<\/p>\n
Fleetwood was playing-captain of the GB&I side in 2023 when this event was resurrected with the aim of helping Europe regain the Ryder Cup in Rome later that year.<\/p>\n
Tyrrell Hatton and Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin, the only non-Englishman in the 10-man GB&I team – and a man rumoured to be joining Hatton on the LIV Golf circuit – defeated French pair Antoine Rozner and Julien Guerrier 3&2.<\/p>\n
Jordan Smith and Laurie Canter beat Rasmus Hojgaard and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen by one hole, while the match featuring Matthew Jordan and Paul Waring against Thorbjorn Olesen and Niklas Norgaard ended in a tie with both sides picking up a half point.<\/p>\n
Referring to those two matches that were the only ones to go down the 18th, Rose told BBC Sport: “There were some nice moments because if they go the wrong way it changes the whole complexion of the day, so the team closed it out nicely.”<\/p>\n
All 20 players are in action in all sessions across the three days with Saturday featuring two sessions of alternate shot foursomes with 10 singles to follow Sunday.<\/p>\n
With 25 points to be won, the first team to 13 claim the trophy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n