Europe lead 9-3 going into final day of EurAsia Cup
Sunday 17 January 2016 11:21, UK
Europe will take a commanding 9-3 lead into Sunday's deciding singles matches at the EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Darren Clarke's side matched their first day performance in Saturday's foursomes matches, winning four of the six games and securing another half.
Matchplay ace Ian Poulter led off the European side by claiming the first point of the day, just as he had on Friday, when he and fellow Englishman Danny Willett beat Asia's top pairing Byeong-Hun An and Thongchai Jaidee 3&2.
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And Poulter said the aim had been to get Europe off to a flyer, with the momentum they provided spreading through the rest of the team.
He told the European Tour website: "It was good golf. We had all intentions to play smart, keep them under pressure.
"It's probably their strongest pairing. They played nicely yesterday [in beating Willett and Matthew Fitzpatrick 3&1]. I think they were probably nine-under par, and we've done our job.
"We hit good golf shots. We played the right side of pins. We made no mistakes, no bogeys, and we backed each other up at the right time."
Poulter will also play the lead-off role on Sunday when he takes on Danny Chia in the first of 12 singles matches, Europe going into them needing to win three-and-a-half points.
Bernd Wiesberger was partnered with Ross Fisher on Saturday and they claimed a second victory for Europe by beating Jeunghun Wang and KT Kim by two holes.
The sole setback for Europe came in the third game of the day when Chris Wood and Kristoffer Broberg were defeated by two holes by Kiradech Aphibarnrat and SSP Chawrasia.
Andy Sullivan and Shane Lowry played together for the second successive day and claimed another victory, beating Prayad Marksaeng and Shingo Katayama 3&2.
Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick put up the most impressive performance on Saturday, strolling to a 5&4 victory over Anirban Lahiri and Ashun Wu.
And just like Friday, Victor Dubuisson and Soren Kjeldsen were involved in the closest game of the day as their foursomes clash with Chia and Nicolas Fung ended in a half.
Sunday's singles matches (Europe first):
Ian Poulter v Danny Chia
Danny Willett v Byeong-Hun An
Andy Sullivan v Thongchai Jaidee
Matthew Fitzpatrick v Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Shane Lowry v Anirban Lahiri
Bernd Wiesberger v KT Kim
Lee Westwood v Nicholas Fung
Ross Fisher v Jeunghun Wang
Chris Wood v SSP Chawrasia
Kristoffer Broberg v Shingo Katayama
Victor Dubuisson v Ashun Wu
Soren Kjeldsen v Prayad Marksaeng
Watch the conclusion of the EurAsia Cup live on Sky Sports 4 HD - coverage starts at 12.30am on Sunday.
