Team Cup: Great Britain and Ireland claim victory over continental Europe with eight games to go

Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald claims the Team Cup was “very valuable” despite Britain and Ireland golfers claiming victory over continental Europe with eight games to go.

Any danger quickly dissipated as Justin Rose’s GB&I side claimed a 17-8 victory, with the overall result sealed by Tommy Fleetwood’s 3-1 victory over Matthieu Pavon.

The Englishman, who also scored the winning point at the 2023 Ryder Cup, achieved a 100 percent record this week.

Laurie Canter had already taken GB&I, needing just two points from the 10 individual events on the final day, to the brink of victory by defeating Romain Langasque 5 and 4.

By the time Tyrrell Hatton maintained his unbeaten record with a 3-1 victory over Thorbjorn Olesen, the overall result was already known.

Despite the one-sided event, Donald insisted this week’s meeting at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club was worthwhile preparation for the European Ryder Cup defense in Bethpage in September.

“I think it was a very valuable week for everyone involved – all the players, myself and the vice-captains,” the European captain told BBC Sport.

“We learned a lot a few years ago and we continue to learn for the challenge that lies ahead in New York.”

Donald led Europe to a convincing victory and won back the Ryder Cup in Italy in 2023. “New York will be a different environment than Rome,” he warned.

“We tested a few things in terms of messaging and communicating to players what it will be like and what it means to be part of a Ryder Cup.”

“There are a lot of young people here, but at the same time a lot of future potential players, and it’s just about making them aware of the importance of the Ryder Cup, what it means and how much it can do for you as a player.”

“I think that after this week every individual will have a better sense of what the Ryder Cups mean, the history behind it and what they need to do to be a part of it.”

Rose is considered the most likely candidate to replace Donald for the 2027 game and underlined his credentials in this first taste of captaincy.

By fielding Fleetwood and Hatton, his two strongest players, in the opening games, he showed a ruthless way of securing victory as quickly as possible.

“We know how careful Justin has been throughout his career to prepare and do the right things and get the most out of everything,” Donald said. “I think he took this job very seriously.

“I think he understands that at some point it will be time to become a Ryder Cup captain. He picked my brain and I think his message to the team was spot on.”

“I pretty much left it up to him to do it himself and he’s obviously going to be very happy with the result.”

Rose defeated Julien Guerrier 3&2 and unbeaten Paul Waring secured a 4&3 victory over Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

It wasn’t until the fifth individual competition that continental Europe picked up a point, when Niklas Norgaard defeated Matthew Jordan 3 and 2. Antoine Rozner defeated Matt Wallace on the final green, as did Matteo Manassero against Tom McKibbin.

Continental captain Francesco Molinari leveled with Jordan Smith before Rasmus Hojgaard birdied the final game to force a draw with Aaron Rai in the bottom game.

After securing the winning point, Fleetwood agreed that the three days of competition had been valuable. “I love the role Luke said this Team Cup will play in September,” said the 33-year-old.

“Everyone from Luke, the vice-captains, the players and all that stuff has put so much effort into this week because it plays such an important role in September.”

“Who knows how many will make the Ryder Cup team this time as there is still a long way to go and we still have a lot of individual golf to play before then. We’ll just have to wait and see.”