– The Great Britain and Ireland team has taken a comfortable and deep lead in the Team Cup after the first session of Saturday’s foursomes, with an identical score to Friday’s fourballs (3.5-1.5) bringing the total score to a telling 7-3 in favour of the British. In other words: the continental Europe team has been left with virtually no room for manoeuvre and will play a significant part of their chances, if not all, in the second session of Saturday’s foursomes. Another partial defeat would leave the continental team in a desperate situation ahead of Sunday’s ten singles matches. Not to mention if they were to lose by a landslide again…
– The continental pair formed by the Frenchmen Matthieu Pavon and Romain Langasque have contributed two of their squad’s three points. They won Friday’s fourball and today they have once again won their foursome with authority (3 and 2 against Smith and Canter). But it is obvious that they alone cannot shoulder the weight of the team.
– Hatton is very much Hatton. When it comes to the crunch, he makes his presence felt. Tyrrell and Matt Wallace managed to draw at the last gasp in a very tight match against Olesen and Norgaard, it’s true, but they were trailing in the final stretch. And precisely in that final stretch, Hatton produced a delightful bunker shot on the 15th hole, a par 3, to leave a given par, pulled off a great second shot on the 17th from out of position and, above all, holed an eagle putt on the 18th hole from about twenty metres.
– Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood have formed a very Ryder-like pair and also made it count to win their match 2UP against Francesco Molinari and Julien Guerrier. The Frenchman, it must be said, held up the pair, especially over the back nine, alongside an Italian who continues to hit very good irons, but in a much more erratic manner, a bit hit and miss. Molinari, moreover, has struggled more than expected on the greens.
– The pair formed by the Danes Rasmus Hojgaard and Rasmus Neergaard Petersen are not quite firing. They have lost both matches they have played and today, in particular, they were always trailing Aaron Rai and Tom McKibbin, eventually losing 4 and 3. Despite everything, they will repeat in the afternoon foursomes. It won’t be for lack of opportunities to make amends. A detail: the Danes have only won one hole, the 6th at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort, and they did it with a bogey… Although it would also be fair to point out that they halved the 4th and 8th holes with birdies.
– Worse luck still befell the duo formed by Matteo Manassero and Antoine Rozner, who did not win a single hole against Matthew Jordan and Paul Waring in this foursome format. The Italian and the Frenchman, in fact, only managed to make one birdie, on the 2nd hole, a par 5. It was only a matter of time before they ended up losing, and they did so on the 15th hole by 5 and 3.
– Matthieu Pavon was decisive in Friday’s fourball match (five birdies and very consistent play) which he won alongside Langasque against Rose and Wallace, but today he has once again been the true backbone of the pair in their foursome match against Smith and Canter, with a collection of fantasy second shots.
– As mentioned: either the continental team wakes up this afternoon or we will be left without the Team Cup ahead of time. Let’s remember that Great Britain and Ireland need thirteen points to win the trophy and they already have seven with fifteen still to play.
