Great Britain and Ireland dominated Continental Europe with a 17-8 win in the DP World Tour’s Ryder Cup-styled Team Cup at the Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.
Justin Rose’s team stormed into a 11-4 lead over Francesco Molinari’s Continental Europe after the opening two days of the match-play event and therefore only required two points from Sunday’s singles matches to seal victory in the contest.
England’s Laurie Canter got them one step closer thanks to handsomely beating Frenchman Romain Langasque 5&4. But it was fellow countryman Tommy Fleetwood who secured the victory by claiming the winning point with eight matches to spare by defeating France’s Matthieu Pavon 3&1 to give Great Britain and Ireland their hands on the trophy for the first time.
“It obviously feels great,” Fleetwood said, who also claimed the winning point for Team Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup. “I always find it very motivating and inspiring being around the lads in a team environment, you want to get the best out of yourself. Happy that we got it done this time.”
Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, and Paul Waring all also claimed victories in their singles matches on the final day to help Great Britain create a resounding 6-point winning margin over Continental Europe.
“There’s a lot of awesome lessons for all the guys come September,” Rose said. “Match play is unique, we don’t do enough of it. You can’t just turn that tap on immediately so having these opportunities is really important and there are plenty of lessons to remember.
“You can’t simulate the intensity of a Ryder Cup with the crowd and energy but you want to win. The environment is hard to replicate but that competitive match play is so valuable.
“I’ve loved the challenge, experience and the lads have made me look incredibly good at it with the way they’ve played. We had one clear message, to go out on the front foot, to try and be relentless, play wave after wave.
“We had a big lead coming into today and everyone felt like we could get the job done but just to grow everyone’s individual pride. Every credit to Continental Europe, they fought till the very end.”
Despite the one-sided nature of the event, Team Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has also defended the contest believing that it was good preparation for September’s competition in New York.
“We learned a lot a couple of years ago and we are continuing to learn for the challenge we have ahead of us in New York,” Donald said speaking to BBC Sport.
“We have been testing out some stuff in terms of messaging and getting it across to players what it is going to be like and what it means to be part of a Ryder Cup.
“There’s a lot of young guys here but, at the same time, a lot of future potential players and it’s about just getting them to appreciate the importance of the Ryder Cup, what it means and how much it can do for you as a player.
“I think every single person will come out of this week feeling better about what Ryder Cups mean, the history behind it and what they need to do to be a part of it.”
What is the next event?
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the Hero Dubai Desert Classic taking place between 16-19 January at the Emirates GC in the United Arab Emirates.