Vivendi Trophy: Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, so impressive in beating Alvaro Quiros and Soren Kjeldsen yesterday, found themselves up against at the Vivendi Trophy at St-Nom la Breteche near Paris today
With Britain and Ireland leading Continental Europe 3-2 overnight, the Irish duo fell behind at the opening hole in their fourballs match with Italian Francesco Molinari and Dane Anders Hansen and remained one down as the match reached the fourth tee.
McDowell missed an eight-foot birdie opportunity on the first and Molinari made no mistake from seven feet. And with the Ulster pair unable to get a foothold, Molinari won the 11th and 12th to extend their advantage.
Simon Dyson and Oliver Wilson played 13 holes in nine under par, but were still only one up on Henrik Stenson and Alvaro Quiros.
Dyson and Wilson, first-day winners over Soren Hansen and Peter Hanson, stood two up after five before big-hitting Quiros eagled the next and birdied the ninth to level.
Stenson then birdied three of the first four holes on the back nine, but did not win any of them and fell behind when Wilson birdied the 417-yard 11th.
That was one of three in a row for the Worksop golfer and Dyson, sick with food poisoning before the event, hit his approach to three feet on the 445-yard 13th to match Stenson’s three.
Behind them Nick Dougherty and Ross Fisher hit back from their opening-day
defeat to be one up as well on Hanson and Hansen, but it was the Continental
ahead in the next two games.
It was tighter in the bottom clash, first-day winners Anthony Wall and Chris Wood this time one up on Miguel Angel Jimenez and Soren Kjeldsen after eight.
Latest scores
Henrik Stenson and Alvaro Quiros
1 down to Simon Dyson and Oliver Wilson (after
13 holes)
Peter Hanson and Soren Hansen
2 down on Nick Dougherty and Ross Fisher (12 holes)
Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari
2 up
Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy (11 holes)
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Robert Karlsson
2 up Robert Rock and Steve Webster (9 holes)
Miguel Angel Jimenez and Soren Kjeldsen
1 down
Anthony Wall and Chris Wood (8 holes)
