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GB&I skippers Tommy Fleetwood, Sean Lowry and Tyrell Hatton had all tasted victory at Abu Dhabi Golf Club before but failed to score a point for the pre-tournament favorites.
Fleetwood and Lowry fought back from three shots behind on the nine holes to play with Alex Noren and Thomas Peters before Noren’s birdie on the par-5 18th was locked. A narrow win, while Hatton and Jordan Smith also lost to Thomas de Terry and Antoine Rozner in the final bout.
Fleetwood’s only win came from Robert McIntyre and Seamus Ball, who beat Sepp Straka and Adrian May at 10 under. Lunk 4&3, while the other two four-a-side games of the day were both halved.
Matt Wallace and Callum Sinkwin were halved with Victor Perez and Guido Migliozzi thanks to Wallace’s birdie on the 18th hole, while Richard Mansell was also in the lead. A final birdie made sure he and Evan Ferguson halved with European captains Francesco Molinari and Nicola Hoygaard.
“I think the team on day one played well,” said Fleetwood, whose side trailed four of five games at one stage.
“I think in the end, to end that game 3-2, we definitely went back to our team room and felt better. I just say to the guys that I believe in them, they’re going to get something out of it in the end, and from The last hole was very difficult to come down.
“I think it’s very close, there’s still a long way to go, but it’s great that we’ve both made it through the first round of the year. I think we’ve established what this team competition is really about, and I think getting the adrenaline pumping It’s been great streaming down the hole at the end.”
Molinari, who partnered Fleetwood to four wins at the 2018 Ryder Cup and a perfect 5-0 win over Phil Mickelson in singles, said: “I’m really Happy and proud of how we started today. My guys did an amazing job.
“Obviously there’s a long way to go, but it’s always nice to win a day, to win a game. The challenge tomorrow is two games, so you need to be mentally prepared for that.”
All 20 players will play two games per quarter, with each game scheduled for Saturday, five foursomes each, and 10 singles games on Sunday.
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is overseeing the event, which effectively fills the void left by the Cypher Trophy. The event was held eight times between 2000 and 2013 and has hosted future Ryder Cup captains Colin Montgomery, Jose Maria Olazabal, Nick Faldo, Paul McKinley and Thomas Bjorn En provided experience as a captain.
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