Laurie Canter and Tommy Fleetwood wereted no time in taking the lead from Sunday's singles clash as Britain and Ireland head into the DP World Tour Team Cup in Abu Dhabi The two points needed to beat the continental team.
Justin Rose's side are 13 points clear heading into Sunday's match at 11-4, having won their previous two games 3.5-1.5 and winning 4-1 in Saturday afternoon's foursomes to end up winning 17-8 .
Kanter scored the first point with a 5-4 win over France's Romain Langasque.
When Fleetwood faced another Frenchman in Mathieu Pavon and Hatton faced Thorbjorn Olsen, both leading by two points, each winning at least half a point, victory was a foregone conclusion.
The impressive Pavin confirmed the British and Irish team when he ran into trouble in a greenside bunker on the 17th hole and was unable to escape, eventually losing the match to Fleetwood who hit the green safely. victory.
“It obviously feels great,” said Ryder Cup star Fleetwood, who won all four points this week. “What an incredible group of lads we have this week and an unbelievable captain, so it's great to be a part of it. Everybody played well.”
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Hatton went on to beat Olsen, with Justin Rose and Paul Welling beating Julian Guerrier and Rasmus Nergaard-Petersen.
Niklas Norgaard, Antoine Rozner and Matteo Manassero have scored points for the continental team in the past two games.
“I loved the challenge, loved the experience and the boys made me look really good at it,” said Rose, who is widely touted as a future Ryder Cup captain.
“The way they played was top-notch. We tried to hang in there and play wave after wave and got a big lead today and I think everyone thought we could get the job done.
“Match play is a power game about making key putts at the right time.
“The margins are always smaller than they look on the scoreboard, but I think it's an incredible way to start the season for all of us.”
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Photo: Kate McShane/Getty Images
