GB&I jump out to Seve Trophy lead

PARIS, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The Great Britain and Ireland team ran out to a 4-1 lead Friday over Continental Europe in the first day of the Seve Trophy competition.

GB&I, which has won the last five Seve Trophy events, took four of the five fourball matches Friday at the Saint-Nom-La-Breteche course in Paris.

GB&I got the first point of the tournament when Scott Jamieson and Ross Fisher teamed for a 6-and-4 victory over Peter Hanson and Raphael Jacquelin.

Simon Dyson and Jamie Donaldson defeated Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal 2-and-1 in the day's first match while Darren Clark and David Horsey finished 1-up on Nicolas Colsaerts and Matteo Manassero.

Robert Rock and Ian Poulter took their match 5-and-3 over Thomas Bjorn sand Alexander Noren for the other GB&I point.

The lone Continental Europe point was earned by Andres Hansen and Francesco Molinari who were 1-up winners over Mark Foster and Lee Westwood.

The Seve Trophy is an every-other-year event pitting golfers from Great Britain and Ireland against a team of players from the European continent. It was first contested in 2000, which ended in Continental Europe's only victory.

It is named for Spanish golfing great Seve Ballesteros but this is the first competition since Ballesteros died.