Eagles fly in to edge hosts ahead

First hole eagles from captain Colin Montgomerie and David Howell – and then a near hole in one by Howell – helped Britain and Ireland hold the early edge in the Seve Trophy at The Wynyard near Middlesbrough today.

Montgomerie rolled in a 25-foot putt to give himself and debutant Graeme McDowell the lead against Dutchman Maarten Lafeber and Italian Emanuele Canonica and that was the way it remained after eight holes.

In the fourth of the five fourballs Howell and Paul Casey were one up on Swedes Niclas Fasth and Peter Hanson after five and, bringing up the rear, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley were two ahead of French pair Thomas Levet and Jean-Francois Remesy after four.

Continental Europe were up in the other two games, however.

Their new captain Jose Maria Olazabal – he has taken over the reins from Seve Ballesteros, who is now tournament host – combined with fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez to be two up on Welshmen Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge after six.

And in the top game Ian Poulter and Nick Dougherty were one down at the turn to Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson.

Howell almost aced the 208-yard third, the ball coming to rest less than two inches from the hole and bang on line. If it had gone in the Swindon golfer would have won himself a car.

He and Casey had a vital fourballs win in Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph last year and Montgomerie had also kept Irish duo McGinley and Harrington together from that encounter.

The two Dubliners also won four points out of five in the 2002 Seve Trophy. Britain and Ireland won that tussle and retained the trophy in Valencia two years ago.

McDowell's eight-foot birdie putt increased his and Montgomerie's advantage to two - they turned in a four-under 31 to Lafeber and Canonica's 33.

Dougherty birdied the 475-yard, par-four 10th, but so did Stenson to keep himself and Bjorn one up.

Howell and Casey still had the narrow slender lead after seven and McGinley and Harrington remained two up after six, while Dodd and Dredge had at least come back from three down to two down, neither Olazabal nor Jimenez being able to par the 449-yard sixth.