McGinleys men secure Seve Trophy

Great Britain & Ireland held off a strong Continental Europe fightback to claim victory on the final day of the Vivendi Seve Trophy at St-Nom-La-Breteche in Paris.

Europe began the day at a frenetic pace, recovering from 11 1/2 points to 6 1/2 down overnight to pull level at 11 1/2 each by mid-day.

But Great Britain & Ireland, captained by Paul McGinley, had enough in the tank in the later matches to pull away to a 15 1/2 to 12 1/2 victory, and their sixth in succession.

David Horsey finished all square against Nicolas Colsaerts to halt Europe’s run of five straight wins at the start of the day, while the European fightback further derailed when Scott Jamieson finished one up against Pablo Larrazabal to swing the momentum back in GB&I’s favour.

Ian Poulter sank a crucial birdie on the 18th to seal a one up victory over Matteo Manassero, and victory was assured when Mark Foster sneaked home by the same scoreline against Raphael Jacquelin to take GB&I past the winning 14 1/2 point threshold.

The final pairing of the day, Ross Fisher and Peter Hanson, ended all square.

“It feels amazing and I’m pleased for the boys,” said Foster after his victory-clinching round against Jacquelin.

“I was playing really well and then lost the pace of green for four or five holes and I left Raphael back in and I knew I was in for a game then and I had to refocus. It would have hurt a lot if we hadn’t won today and I’m glad to pull through.”