Seve shows his magic touch

The love that Seve Ballesteros still has for match play golf was evident again today as he led Continental Europe into action against Britain and Ireland at El Saler near Valencia.

Ballesteros, 279th on the Order of Merit this season and 1,231st in the world, birdied two of the first three holes after linking up again with his old Ryder Cup partner Jose Maria Olazabal in the Seve Trophy.

But that still was not enough to give the 46-year-old the lead against Lee Westwood and David Howell.

Westwood made birdies on the same hole, first by holing from 14 feet at the second after Ballesteros had made a 10-footer, then by two-putting the long third.

Ballesteros clipped a tree with his second shot there but came out into the clear, pitched to four feet and with Olazabal out of the hole after a wild drive and fluffed chip, made the putt.

Brian Davis and Paul Casey shared the first two holes against the other all-Spanish combination in the home team, Ignacio Garrido and Miguel Angel Jimenez, but Justin Rose and Ian Poulter fell two down after two to Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin and German Alex Cejka, each of whom quickly made a birdie.

In the other fourballs Britain and Ireland captain Colin Montgomerie and his fellow Scot Paul Lawrie – his wild card pick – were playing Swedes Fredrik Jacobson and Niclas Fasth, while Phillip Price and Padraig Harrington took on Thomas Bjorn and Sergio Garcia.