CONTINENTALS TAKE 2PT LEAD AFTER DAY 1 OF SEVE TROPHY
FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
In-form Dutchman Joost Luiten took the starring role as Continental Europe claimed a 3 ½ - 1 ½ lead over Great Britain and Ireland after day one of the Seve Trophy by Golf+ at Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche on the outskirts of Paris.
“It was a great match out there,” said Luiten. “We made three birdies in the first six holes and were only one up which is just typical of fourball match play. We then won another two holes to be three up by the turn and although we didn’t quite play as well on the back nine, we hung in enough to get the point.”
In-form Dutchman Joost Luiten took the starring role as Continental Europe claimed a 3 ½ - 1 ½ lead over Great Britain and Ireland after day one of the Seve Trophy by Golf+ at Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche on the outskirts of Paris.
José
María Olazábal's side are looking to end a run of six straight defeats
in the biennial contest and took the first steps towards that goal with
an impressive showing in the opening fourballs, a session spearheaded
by Luiten, the winner of the recent KLM Open in his native Netherlands.
The
27 year old partnered Frenchman Grégory Bourdy – the only home player
in the Continental side – and the bulk of the crowd spurred seemed to
spur the Dutchman to great heights as he ended the front nine with three
consecutive birdies, before closing the match out on the 17th green with another birdie four to beat Jamie Donaldson and David Lynn by 2 and 1.
“It was a great match out there,” said Luiten. “We made three birdies in the first six holes and were only one up which is just typical of fourball match play. We then won another two holes to be three up by the turn and although we didn’t quite play as well on the back nine, we hung in enough to get the point.”
Olazábal
had opted to send out his most experienced pairing first with Thomas
Björn having played in all but one of the previous contests - captaining
the side instead in 2009 – alongside
Miguel Angel Jiménez, who is the only player to have competed in all
eight Seve Trophies to date since 2000.
They are the two most capped players in the history of the event with a total of 59 matches between them - not to mention a combined age of 91 - but despite leading early on, they eventually succumbed 3 and 2 to the 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie and fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher.
They are the two most capped players in the history of the event with a total of 59 matches between them - not to mention a combined age of 91 - but despite leading early on, they eventually succumbed 3 and 2 to the 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie and fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher.
However,
Europe were ahead in the remaining four fourballs as that match
finished, and went on to close out three of those before salvaging a
half in the other.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Nicolas Colsaerts beat Marc Warren and Scott Jamieson 5 and 3 to level the scores before Mikko Ilonen and Thorbjørn Olesen survived a nervy finish to overcome Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Wood on the 18th, thus ending Wood's unbeaten record in the event.
Francesco Molinari then birdied the last to ensure he and Matteo Manassero snatched a half against Paul Casey and Simon Khan, before Luiten and Bourdy brought the curtain down on the day on the 17th green.
Asked what pleased him the most about the day, Olazábal said: "The way the youngsters played; Joost played extraordinarily well today and made a bunch of birdies, Thorbjørn also played very well.
"It was a great experience for them but the main thing is to win points and I think the team is really happy today."
GB&I Captain Sam Torrance added: "They played very well. Our boys played very well too but they made a few more birdies than us. It’ll be our turn tomorrow.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Nicolas Colsaerts beat Marc Warren and Scott Jamieson 5 and 3 to level the scores before Mikko Ilonen and Thorbjørn Olesen survived a nervy finish to overcome Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Wood on the 18th, thus ending Wood's unbeaten record in the event.
Francesco Molinari then birdied the last to ensure he and Matteo Manassero snatched a half against Paul Casey and Simon Khan, before Luiten and Bourdy brought the curtain down on the day on the 17th green.
Asked what pleased him the most about the day, Olazábal said: "The way the youngsters played; Joost played extraordinarily well today and made a bunch of birdies, Thorbjørn also played very well.
"It was a great experience for them but the main thing is to win points and I think the team is really happy today."
GB&I Captain Sam Torrance added: "They played very well. Our boys played very well too but they made a few more birdies than us. It’ll be our turn tomorrow.
Friday
will see another session of five fourball matches with, unsurprisingly,
Olazábal keeping faith with his five partnerships of the first day,
although he has shuffled the order.
Torrance
keeps three of his pairings the same, the only change being the
splitting up of the Scottish partnership of Jamieson and Warren and the
England/Wales duo of Lynn and Donaldson; Jamieson now playing with Lynn
while Warren partners Donaldson.
THURSDAY 3rd OCTOBER / JEUDI 3 OCTOBRE 2013
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FOURBALL MATCHES RESULTS
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MATCH
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
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PTS
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GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
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PTS
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1
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Thomas BJØRN (DEN)
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Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
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1
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Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ (ESP)
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Stephen GALLACHER (SCO)
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3 & 2
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2
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Mikko ILONEN (FIN)
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1
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Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG)
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Thorbjørn OLESEN (DEN)
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Chris WOOD (ENG)
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1 HOLE
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3
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Francesco MOLINARI (ITA)
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½
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Paul CASEY (ENG)
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½
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Matteo MANASSERO (ITA)
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Simon KHAN (ENG)
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HALVED
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HALVED
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4
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Joost LUITEN (NED)
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1
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Jamie DONALDSON (WAL)
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Grégory BOURDY (FRA)
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David LYNN (ENG)
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2 &1
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5
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Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
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1
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Marc WARREN (SCO)
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Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO (ESP)
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Scott JAMIESON (SCO)
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5 & 3
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MATCH STATUS
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3 ½
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1 ½
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FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2013 / VENDREDI 4 OCTOBRE 2013
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FOURBALL MATCHES
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MATCH
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TIME
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GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
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1
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11H35
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Paul CASEY (ENG)
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V
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Mikko ILONEN (FIN)
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Simon KHAN (ENG)
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Thorbjørn OLESEN (DEN)
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Referee
|
Yannick Terpraut
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MATCH
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TIME
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GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
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2
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11H50
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David LYNN (ENG)
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V
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Francesco MOLINARI (ITA)
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Scott JAMIESON (SCO)
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Matteo MANASSERO (ITA)
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Referee
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Mark Litton
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MATCH
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TIME
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GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
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3
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12H05
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Jamie DONALDSON (WAL)
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V
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Thomas BJØRN (DEN)
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Marc WARREN (SCO)
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Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ (ESP)
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Referee
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Jacques Savare
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MATCH
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TIME
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GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
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4
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12H20
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Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG)
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V
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Joost LUITEN (NED)
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Chris WOOD (ENG)
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Grégory BOURDY (FRA)
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Referee
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Gary Butler
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MATCH
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TIME
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GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
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5
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12H35
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Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
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V
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Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
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Stephen GALLACHER (SCO)
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Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO (ESP)
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Referee
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Tony Disley
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