Great Britain & Ireland led in four of the opening five fourball matches during the early stages of the Vivendi Seve Trophy at St-Nom-La-Bretèche.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez was given the honour of hitting the first shot of the tournament in memory of his friend Ballesteros, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
But along with compatriot Pablo Larrazabal, Jiménez was unable to prevent in-form Simon Dyson and Welshman Jamie Donaldson storming two up with birdies at the first two holes.
Jiménez did birdie the fourth to leave Continental Europe only one down in the opening match.
In the second game Ross Fisher and Scott Jamieson birdied the third after both hitting their tee shots within ten feet – Fisher’s effort hitting the pin – to be one up on Peter Hanson and Raphaël Jacquelin.
The Frenchman had levelled the contest with a birdie from five feet at the second, but neither he nor Swedish Ryder Cup star Hanson had an answer to the British pair’s stunning efforts at the next.
There was more joy for Paul McGinley’s side at the par three third in game three as well.
World Number Two Lee Westwood birdied from five feet as he and compatriot Mark Foster moved one up on Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari.
David Horsey birdied the first to go one up with Open Champion Darren Clarke on rookie pairing Matteo Manassero and Nicolas Colsaerts, with English pair Robert Rock and Ian Poulter taking on Thomas Björn and Alex Noren in the last match out.
Fisher birdied the fourth to double the GB & I advantage in match two, but Björn – who earlier this month won back-to-back events in Scotland and Switzerland – birdied the first to put some blue on the board for Jean Van De Velde’s side.
Hansen looked to have levelled game three when he chipped in from the bunker on the fourth for birdie, but Westwood holed a 20 footer to remain one up.
Poulter became the latest GB & I player to knock his tee shot stone dead on the third, and that proved enough to bring the final game back to all square.
Westwood hammered a three wood to within five feet at the seventh and holed the eagle putt to restore Great Britain & Ireland’s lead after Hansen had squared the match at the sixth.
Larrazabal levelled the top game with a birdie at the seventh but last week’s winner Dyson carded his first birdie at the next to put Great Britain & Ireland one up again after eight.
In the fourth game Horsey’s two opening birdies left Great Britain two up, while it remained all square in the last.
