FINAL RESULT: 0-2;-3.00pts

England 15th
Denmark 18th

A fittingly poor end to the season.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)

England to win 4.25/1 @ Five Dimes
Available at a slightly higher price earlier in the week, they are still backable at odds down to 4/1. This is the pairing that last year defended the title won by Donald and Casey in 2004 and for the first two days they held the lead, but slipped behind Wales after the 3rd round fourballs and were denied a win as the final round as rain cancelled the last day's play. They would have been playing the foursomes format, which would have given them a big advantage over the Welsh pairing of Dredge and Dodd. That was a year ago and they will not lack motivation to atone for that lost opportunity. Of their primary challengers, Pettersson has struggled with his game over the last three months, Cink and Henry have suffered a letdown after their performances in the Ryder Cup and Harrington and McGinley have recorded just one top-4 finish since the move to the new format. The odds are shorter than the 6/1 when winning in 2004, but there is value at these odds as there is far less opposition this time around.

Denmark to win 33/1 e.w. @ Stan James (1/5 1-2-3-4)
Rather scratching around for an each-way play in this event ... but the Danish pairing get the nod over the French. Thomas Bjorn and Soren Hansen had been the pairing in 2001 when they really should have won. They didn't record a single bogey all week, while the South African and American teams only joined them in a playoff courtesy of improbable eagles on the final hole. It would be the South Africans who would win the playoff and deny the Danes. The team struggled with Anders Hansen and Soren Kjeldsen in 2003 and 2004, but Soren Hansen returned to the team to partner Anders Hansen last year to finish 5th and the return of the senior figure in Danish golf, Thomas Bjorn, should lead them to an improved collective effort. And it is their ability to play better as a team than individually, as they did last time, that creates some optimism that they will again be in contention in the final round.