“We played unbelievable” - Robert MacIntyre lauds winning round at Hero Cup with Seamus Power 

The first day of the inaugural Hero Cup resulted in Continental Europe's favor as the team led 3-2 after the conclusion of the opening day.

Despite the setback on Day 1, the pairing of Bob MacIntyre and Seamus Power was a positive for the GB&I as the duo dominated in their match against Continental Europe duo Adrian Meronk and Sepp Straka.

Interestingly, MacIntyre and Power never met before the Hero Cup.

“We bonded over taking money off Shane and it was good we got a win today,” MacIntyre was quoted in The Scotsman.

The pair won money against Shane Lowry in the practice round at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

With the Hero Cup being projected as the warm-up for the Ryder Cup in September, a good performance here could mean the MacIntyre-Power duo being a potential partnership for Rome.

“We played unbelievable,” said MacIntyre while looking back at his win.

The pair won the fourth and sixth before victories on back-to-back holes in the 11th and 12th that ended all hopes for their opponents. This was the only major win that the British and Irish could achieve on Day 1 of the Hero Cup.

It didn't seem as if the pair were meeting for the first time as the tuning was on point.

“We said before we went to the first tee, 'how do we want to play it here as it’s two chances on every hole?’ and we seemed to do that well. If one person wasn’t in it, the other one was in close. It was probably just the perfect round of golf," MacIntyre added.

MacIntyre added that though he hadn't met Power before the tournament. However, a similar background helped them bond.

"We also played on the first practice day with Shane and there was a bit of craic then to ease us in and it was good today.”

Power was also equally happy with the pair's performance.

“There’s obviously a few moments in a match and, on 11, Bob made a putt from outside our opponents and stuff like that can change a match. A lot of good stuff, we didn’t leave too many out there and hopefully, we can kick on from this. These things always seem to come down to the last few matches, so every point you get is huge and we were pleased to get one today,” said the two times winner on PGA Tour.

GB & I skipper Tommy Fleetwood was grateful for the pairing's performance as the team couldn't get any other major victory barring the Scottish-Irish duo. He said the pair played great golf. He added that playing in the team is different and requires great chemistry.

"You can look at all the stats you want, but guys that gel well together and have that chemistry is really important," Fleetwood added.

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Pairings for the Hero Cup Day 2 morning schedule

Fleetwood led GBR&I team will be looking to improve on Day 2

The Hero Cup second-day pairings have a visible effect on the results of the first day. The winning pair on the first day, Alex Noren and Thomas Pieters will open for Continental Europe on Saturday against Ewen Ferguson and Richard Mansell for the first of two foursomes sessions.

Here is the full schedule for the first day:

1. 7.35 am Thomas Pieters & Alex Noren vs Ewen Ferguson & Richard Mansell
2. 7:45 am Sepp Straka & Thomas Detry vsTommy Fleetwood & Tyrrell Hatton
3. 7:55 am Francesco Molinari & Nicolai Hojgaard vs Callum Shinkwin & Matt Wallace
4. 8:05 am Antoine Rozner & Adrian Meronk vs Jordan Smith & Bob MacIntyre
5. 8:15 am Victor Perez & Guido Migliozzi vs Shane Lowry & Seamus Power