British team leads Vivendi Trophy 3-2 after day 1

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SAINT-NOM-LA-BRETECHE, France (AP) -- Britain and Ireland led 3-2 over Continental Europe after Thursday's opening fourballs of the Vivendi Trophy, a match play event on the European Tour.

Captained by three-time Ryder Cup winner Paul McGinley, Britain and Ireland had leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but Continental Europe hit back each time at the Saint-Nom-la-Breteche Golf Club on the outskirts of Paris.

"We are delighted, 3-2 up against a very, very strong European team, as everybody knows, and to come out ahead after the first day was a great start for us," McGinley said. "We are delighted."

The Vivendi Trophy, formerly known as the Seve Trophy after Seve Ballesteros, was created in 2000. Continental Europe won the inaugural event before Britain and Ireland won it four consecutive times. But without the likes of Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, McGinley's team was expected to be strongly challenged this year.

England's Anthony Wall and Chris Wood scored the first point by beating Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson 6 and 5.

"The big surprise of the day, for everybody, would be Anthony and Chris beating Henrik and Karlsson as emphatically as they did," McGinley said. "So that was a huge boost for us and a huge boost momentum-wise for our team, which is something we spoke about."

Karlsson, last year's European Order of Merit winner, has just recovered from an eye problem that has sidelined him since May.

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy beat Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark and Alvaro Quiros of Spain 4 and 3.

Anders Hansen of Denmark and Francesco Molinari of Italy narrowed the gap by downing England's Robert Rock and Steve Webster 4 and 3.

England's Simon Dyson and Oliver Wilson then won 3 and 2 against Soren Hansen of Denmark and Peter Hanson of Sweden.

However, Spain's Miguel-Angel Jimenez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano came from two holes down to win 2 and 1 against England's Ross Fisher and Nick Dougherty.

"I said to Miguel and Gonzo going out, I said: 'I need a point from you, so you just need to find it somehow,' and they pulled through," Bjorn said. "Experience pulled us back at the end, you know, with Miguel and Gonzo. They were brilliant.

"Before I even got on the golf course, it looked like it was turning into a disaster. It got a bit tougher than I thought. But at the end of the day, we are 3-2 behind and it's by no means a disaster."

Five other fourballs are set for Friday. On Saturday morning, there are four greensomes, where both players drive and hit alternate shots with the preferred tee shot. Then there are four foursomes on Saturday afternoon and 10 singles matches on Sunday.

Ballesteros, who has undergone four operations to remove a cancerous brain tumor, says he will try to attend at the weekend.

"I am feeling very tired at the moment as I have just finished my radiotherapy treatments, which I have been receiving over the past month," Ballesteros said in a statement. "I will wait until the end of the week to decide if I'm able to attend or not."

Europe Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie is at the Vivendi Trophy ahead of the 2010 tournament next October at Celtic Manor, Wales.