Great Britain and Ireland waste little time on final day to secure Team Cup

Great Britain and Ireland won the Team Cup as they quickly secured the two points needed on the final day.

Justin Rose’s team had won the first two sessions 3.5-1.5 and Saturday afternoon’s foursomes 4-1 to lead 11-4 going into Sunday’s singles, with 13 required for victory.

Matthieu Pavon, whose perfect record partnering fellow Frenchman Romain Langasque had accounted for three of Continental Europe’s four points, was five under through eight holes but found himself two down as Tommy Fleetwood set the tone for GB&I.

Laurie Canter put the first point on the board with a 5 and 4 win over an out-of-sorts Langasque and when Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton each moved two up with two to play, victory was assured.

Fleetwood had the honour of formally finishing the job when Pavon was unable to escape from a bunker at the 17th, securing a 3 and 1 win which was soon matched by Hatton.

Ryder Cup star Fleetwood, who won all four of his points across the week to embellish his formidable record in team events, said: “It obviously feels great, what an unbelievable group of lads we had this week and an unbelievable captain so just a pleasure to be a part of it.

“Everybody just played so well. I always find it very motivating and inspiring being around the lads in a team environment, you want to get the best out of yourself. Happy that we got it done this time and sure we’ll enjoy it later.”