World Cup of Golf: Belgium get the job done
Belgium's Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry held off a late run from the Australian team on home turf to win the World Cup of Golf.
Final day report
Belgium's Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry held off a late run from the Australian team on home turf to win the World Cup of Golf.
The Belgian pair started the day with a five-shot lead at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne and carded a four-under round of 68 to secure the title.
It was a rare uneven round from the pair who were three under at the turn but dropped three shots on the back nine to finish 23 under for the tournament.
The Australian pairing of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman had a clean final round and rose three places up the leaderboard with a 65, but their second-day 76 meant the pair could only tie for second on 20 under.
They were joined by Mexico's Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz who went round in six under on Sunday.
Reigning champions Denmark, represented by Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen, rose seven places with a 65 and were tied for fourth on 17 under alongside Canada.
England duo Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter finished eighth on 15 under after a 70 on Sunday, three shots ahead of Irish pair Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne on 12 under, while Scotland's Russell Knox and Martin Laird went round in 73 to finish tied 14th.
Day three report
Belgium's Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry extended their lead ahead of the final round of the World Cup of Golf, shooting an impressive 63 in the fourballs.
The Belgian pair sit 19-under par at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne with an almost flawless round, including an eagle on the par-five ninth.
They sit five shots ahead of Mexico's Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz, who climbed five places to tie for second with a round of 65.
On day two, Ancer and Diaz moved up 13 places to seventh after finishing two-under in the best round of the day.
They sit alongside Italian pair Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore and South Korea's An Byeong-hun and Kim Si-woo on 14-under par.
Three countries sit tied for fifth on 13-under - Alexander Bjork and Joakim Lagergren of Sweden, Australian pair Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman and England duo Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter.
Reigning champions Denmark, represented by Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen, are tied for 11th on 10-under, a shot behind Scotland's Russell Knox and Martin Laird and Irish pair Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne.
Day two report
The Belgian pair mastered the miserable conditions in the foursomes at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne to climb through the leaderboard with a one-under-par 71.
South Korea's An Byeong-hun and Kim Si-woo shot a 72 to finish level with the Belgians on 10-under par at the end of the second round.
England's Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter finished with a two-over 74 as they slipped two places to tied third alongside Italy, India and Malaysia.
Hatton and Poulter struggled with the elements and carded four bogeys and two birdies having held a joint overnight lead with Australia and South Korea after an opening round 10-under 62.
Australians Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman also struggled with the conditions and are tied for eighth after a four-over 76.
Scotland's Russell Knox and Martin Laird took moved up 23 places into joint eighth after a one-under 71.
Italian pair Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore finished one under to move up to joint third, while Mexico's Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz climbed 13 places to seventh after finishing two under in the best round of the day.
Day one report
Ryder Cup team-mates Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton fired a 10-under-par 62 to give England a share of the lead after the opening round of the World Cup of Golf.
Poulter and Hatton combined for 10 birdies, including eight in the space of 11 holes from the seventh, to end the day at the top of the leaderboard alongside host nation Australia and Korea at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne.
Defending champions Denmark, represented again by Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen, are just a shot off the lead alongside Belgium's Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry and the Malaysian pair of Gavin Green and Ben Leong.
Ireland's Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne are two shots off the pace after a 64 matched by India's Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri.
"I think we're quite happy with that," Poulter said. "On a day like today you have to make some birdies. We made enough to get on the top of the board, which is the main goal.
"We dovetailed nicely. When one was out of position, the other one was in position and that's exactly what you have to do in fourballs. Foursomes is a completely different game.
"This golf course will be a lot more difficult tomorrow and obviously Sunday, so we've got a couple of days of enjoyable golf and then there's a couple days of stressful golf. We are happy with the start but there is a lot of golf to be played over the next three days."
Australia, who are represented by Marc Leishman and Cam Smith, recorded an eagle and eight birdies in their 62 and Leishman said: "I think it was very important for us to get off to a good start.
"You don't want to be fighting back the whole tournament. Cam had his putter going today, which was great, and we combined pretty well."
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