Continental Europe won the Seve Trophy for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2000, after they managed to triumph against Great Britain and Ireland in a tight and thrilling final day that went down to the final match at Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche.
Since that victory at Sunningdale 13 years ago, the Continental side had lost the previous six editions of the event. Jose Maria Olazabal, who led Europe to victory at the Ryder Cup last year, was determined that his players would end that run this week in the event that bares the name of his great friend and mentor Seve Ballesteros.
Both sides were tied entering the final day, after Great Britain and Ireland brilliantly fought back from a two-point deficit in the foursome session on Saturday afternoon.
The singles would ultimately be tightly contested, and the fate of the Trophy went to the final match on the draw. It was a repeat performance for Francesco Molinari, as he once again took on the anchoring role that he undertook at Medinah last year. His defeat of Chris Wood in the final match confirmed that Continental Europe would claim the victory by a margin of 15-13.
Afterwards, a delighted and proud Jose Maria Olazabal reflected upon the achievements of his players. “Very emotional - it's been a tough day,” said the two-time Masters champion. “Everything went to the last match. The boys really played well today and I'm very, very happy to have won the Seve Trophy this time.
“It was going to go down to the last three matches at least. We had a pretty good start, then Great Britain & Ireland took over and we started to see some reds on the board. But the boys kept their composure and played really well, especially these last few matches, they played really great golf.”
Sam Torrance sent out his two strongest players of the week, Jamie Donaldson and Paul Casey, in the opening two singles, but they only claimed a half point collectively, with Casey narrowly losing to Nicolas Colsaerts, after Donaldson had halved his match with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
For Olazabal, that was the key moment that led to victory. “I think the first two matches were crucial, to get a point and a half out of those two, it was big.”
Ultimately, Torrance, the winning 2002 Ryder Cup captain, conceded that his players had lost to the better side on the day. “They were very strong,” he said. “We gave it everything, but came out just short.”
Both sides were also a player short, with Simon Khan unable to compete after a back injury. His scheduled match was subsequently halved, with veteran Thomas Bjorn sitting out the singles after failing to gain a point during the event.
With both teams having gained an extra half point by default, either side required five points from nine matches to win the Seve Trophy.
Great Britain and Ireland edged ahead early in the proceedings, after Tommy Fleetwood defeated the in-form Joost Luiten 3 and 2.
Moments later, Donaldson and Fernandez-Castano halved the opening match, before Nicolas Colsaerts holed from five feet on the 18th to see off Paul Casey after a thrilling contest.
At this point, both teams were tied on 11 points, but Continental Europe would edge ahead with home favourite Gregory Bourdy claiming a 4 and 3 win against Scott Jamieson to become the first player in the event’s history to win all five points on offer during the week.
Marc Warren would tie the match once against, after the Scot defeated young Danish star Thorbjorn Olesen by a comfortable 4 and 3 margin. As a result, the teams were tied at 12-12, but the Continental side had exerted a firm grip in three of the last four matches.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, who has played in each edition of the event, brushed aside David Lynn, who was suffering from flu symptoms. Four birdies in the opening six holes saw the 49-year-old Spaniard pull clear, and he eventually settled for a 6 and 4 victory.
From old to young, and it was Matteo Manassero who would take the Continental side to within half a point of the winning total. The 20-year-old would defeat Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher by a margin of 3 and 2, taking his side to the 14-point mark.
Despite Paul Lawrie earning another point for Great Britain and Ireland, after the veteran saw off Mikko Ilonen 2 and 1, Francesco Molinari looked set to clinch the Trophy for the Continentals.
Last year in the Ryder Cup, Molinari defeated Tiger Woods in the anchor match at Medinah to complete Europe’s remarkable victory against the United States. He was in the same position again, this time requiring half a point against Chris Wood to claim the Seve Trophy for the Continentals.
Ultimately, instead of claiming that vital half point, the Italian would defeat Chris Wood on the 16th hole with a 12 foot birdie putt to clinch the Seve Trophy for his team.
“It feels great, for us, for Chema (Olazabal), for all the times that we have lost in the past,” said the Italian. “I played the last two before this, and it's never a good feeling to finish on the losing side. We tried really hard; they played great yesterday afternoon to get back into it and it was all to play for today.
”It was funny yesterday when Olazabal was reading the list; I kind of knew I was going to be last, but I was waiting every name, hoping to hear mine, and I didn't until the tenth spot. But it's great for us and for everyone.
”I tried to stay away from the leaderboards as much as possible, but then obviously you see everyone coming up to your match and watching you. I tried not to do the math, so I just realized here that I needed a half a point, so I wasn't going to hit my putts too firmly. It's good to finish in style with two birdies.
”You've got nine teammates here and the captain, and you don't want to let anyone down. I've done it twice now going last in the singles, I don't know if I want to do it again!”
Having been captained by Jose Maria Olazabal for a second time, Molinari was asked to reflect upon the influence of the Spaniard. “He's amazing. He's one of the most inspiring figures in golf, not only European, but in the world of golf. Every time he speaks, everyone is listening carefully. He's just as inspiring as anyone can be.”