Monty's men continue recovery

Colin Montgomerie watched from the sidelines as his Britain and Ireland team continued to turn things around in the Seve Trophy at The Wynyard near Middlesbrough.

After recovering from 4-1 down to 6-4 behind yesterday the holders quickly established the upper hand in the four morning greensomes – the format where both players drive and then select one ball for the rest of the hole.

Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington narrowed the deficit to 6-5 when they beat Continental Europe captain Jose Maria Olazabal and Thomas Levet three and two.

And as that match ended the home team were ahead in all the other three games.

David Howell and Paul Casey led Niclas Fasth and Peter Hanson by two with three to play before the the Swedes took the 601-yard 16th with a superb eagle.

Stephen Dodd and Graeme McDowell were one up on Miguel Angel Jimenez and Emanuele Canonica with three to play and in the bottom contest Ian Poulter and Nick Dougherty came from one down to be two up on Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson at the same point.

Montgomerie, after one win and one defeat with McDowell, rested himself for the first time since the match started in 2000 but came back for the afternoon foursomes alongside Dougherty.

McGinley and Harrington were ahead from the time they birdied the 365-yard fifth. A missed five-foot putt by Olazabal doubled the gap and it became when Harrington pitched to six feet on the 13th.

The Continental pair did take the long 14th, but McGinley pitched to three feet at the next and the long 16th was halved.

It was the first time Harrington and Olazabal had clashed since their controversial game in Valencia two years ago, when the Dubliner objected to the twice Masters champion repairing marks on a green.

Olazabal, feeling his integrity had been questioned, conceded the hole and they went on to halve the game before entering into a lengthy conversation.

This time there were smiles when, on the 16th green, Harrington asked his opponents if he could repair something in front of his putt.

He rolled it two feet past, but McGinley was asked to make it – although unbeknown to him Olazabal and Levet were already shaking hands with each other.

Howell and Casey won the first three holes and remained three up with five to play before losing the 14th and 16th.

Howell and Casey halved the 17th to remain one up and Howell's pitch to 10 feet on the last clinched victory when Fasth and Hanson were unable to birdie the hole.

Jimenez and Canonica levelled on the 16th, but at the last Dodd pitched to six feet and McDowell had the putt to win. He missed it, though, and with the game all square the two teams remained level overall.

Bjorn and Stenson, meanwhile, eagled the 16th and then birdied the short 17th to draw level with Poulter and Dougherty.

Bjorn and Stenson both hit bad drives down the last, but after Poulter had missed a 25-foot birdie attempt Stenson had virtually the same putt as McDowell had just missed - and made it.

That was halved and the teams were tied 7-7 at the halfway point.