Golf:Continental Europe captain Jean van de Velde praised his team as they fought back to trail Great Britain and Ireland by a single point after the second day of the Vivendi Seve Trophy at St-Nom-La-Breteche.
The Europeans turned the tables after a strong day on the course, winning three of the five fourballs pairings and halving another to slash their overnight deficit from 4-1 to 5 1/2 to 4 1/2.
The change in fortunes justified Van de Velde’s changes to the pairings, while
his opposite number, Paul McGinley, stuck with the combinations that did so well on the opening day.
Van de Velde said: “I’m very proud of what they’ve done and what I’ve seen today. They were really focused from the first hole. Yesterday was a shaky start and some of them couldn’t find their rhythm. They were not there.
“Today they tried and they knew what they had to do to play well. I’m very happy.”
The Continental Europe coach was especially pleased with the efforts of number one pairing Thomas Bjorn and Raphael Jacquelin, who fought back from three down to square the round against Simon Dyson and Jamie Donaldson and take a crucial half.
“It was a big half-point on the first game,” Van de Velde said. “They were trailing all the way and they managed to raise their game up considerably in the last five holes so I’m pleased with that last half-point. I’m pleased with everything and a good result.”
It seemed the Europeans were in a dominant mood after the pairings were mixed up and refreshed from the opening day.
Miguel Angel Jimenez and fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal beat British Open champion Darren Clarke and partner David Horsey 3&2, and rookie pairing Nicolas Colsaerts and Matteo Manassero claimed a two-up win over Scott Jamieson and Ross Fisher.
Van de Velde’s trust in inexperienced duo Colsaerts and Manassero paid off as they found their rhythm, having gone one down against Clarke and Horsey yesterday.
Van de Velde added: “Matteo is 30th in the world so of course he’s a rookie but he’s a pretty good rookie.
“You still have to implement the trust you have in them. It’s not because it didn’t work out I was going to throw everything away.
“They held on through the pressure and they went down to the wire. They could have closed it on 17 but fine, he didn’t, they were here on the 18th on the green and I am very pleased with that.”
Paul McGinley was disappointed after the change in fortunes for his team but saved special praise for world number two Lee Westwood.
The pairing of Westwood and Mark Foster was the only real positive for McGinley, as they beat Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari 5&3.
“We didn’t play with the same intensity and they were fired up,” McGinley said.
“A couple of their players played really well and carried them through. Obviously we know they’ve got quality in their team and we didn’t hole the putts we did yesterday.
“We’re playing at the very top level in the world and sometimes the other guys will go out and play better than you.”
Speaking of Westwood, McGinley added: “I think he won that match on his own. Fozzy (Foster) was great when he needed to be but Westwood made birdies and eagles when he needed to.
“We needed to win a point and it looked at one stage that we were going to struggle to win any.
“Lee Westwood was very important for us. He carried it through and carried the team today.”
Second day fourballs (Continental Europe names first):
Raphael Jacquelin & Thomas Bjorn v Jamie Donaldson & Simon Dyson match halved
Peter Hanson & Alexander Noren bt Ian Poulter & Robert Rock 5&3
Nicolas Colsaerts & Matteo Manassero bt Ross Fisher & Scott Jamieson 2 holes
Francesco Molinari & Anders Hansen bt Mark Foster & Lee Westwood 5&3
Miguel Angel Jimenez & Pablo Larrazabal bt David Horsey & Darren Clarke 3&2
Continental Europe 4 1/2 Great Britain & Ireland 5 1/2
Tee-off times for Saturday’s greensomes (Irish times).
0735 Nicolas Colsaerts & Matteo Manassero v Jamie Donaldson & Simon Dyson
0750 Peter Hanson & Alexander Noren v David Horsey & Darren Clarke
0805 Raphael Jacquelin & Thomas Bjorn v Ian Poulter & Ross Fisher
0820 Miguel Angel Jimenez & Pablo Larrazabal v Lee Westwood & Scott Jamieson
