Great Britain and Ireland lead Continental Europe 3½-1½ after day one of the Ryder Cup-style Team Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.

The three-day competition is designed to give Europe captain Luke Donald a look at some of the players in contention for September’s Ryder Cup match against the United States in New York.

Donald said on the eve of the event that it is of “massive importance”, while players from both sides were subjected to chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A” over the PA system during practise days in preparation for what is expected to be a hostile crowd at Bethpage.

“What we did, a bit of razzmatazz on a few certain holes was a unique way to practise,” said GB&I playing captain Justin Rose, a veteran of six Ryder Cups as a player.

“That was something that I wasn’t really privy to until this week because I felt like that was very much a Bethpage 2025 protocol, not necessarily Team Cup protocol.

“But using this event is an amazing opportunity to expose the players to different ways to practise.”