European women in action on the first day of the Patsy Hankins Trophy at the Doha golf Club yesterday. PICTURES: JayaramAsia-Pacific made a strong start in their bid to dethrone defending champions Europe by ending the first day’s play in the Bonallack Trophy with a one-point advantage at the Doha Golf Club yesterday.On a hot day in Doha, the Asia-Pacific team edged Europe 5.5-4.5, withOliver Gillberg and Angel Hidalgo securing Europe’s only win of the morning session with a 2&1 victory over Gregory Foo and Kazuya Osawa in the fourballs. Finnish duo, Sami Valimaki and Matias Honkala, who teed-off first for the European side, managed to secure a half in their match, while Asia-Pacific won the other three matches to win the session 3.5-1.5.In the afternoon foursomes, wins from Robin Dawson & Marc Hammer, Catherine Edgar & Frederic Lacroix, and Kristoffer Reitan & Rasmus Hojgaard allowed the European side to claim the session 3-2, and close the gap to their opponents to just one point. In the Patsy Hankins Trophy for ladies which is played simultaneously with the Bonallack Trophy, Europe trails holders Asia-Pacific by a whopping four points after day one.In the morning fourballs, Bianca Fabrizio & Blanca Fernandez were the only pair to score points for the European side, defeating Wenbo Liu and Du Mohan 3&2, meaning Asia-Pacific held a four-point lead heading into the afternoon. Frida Kinhult & Amanda Linner, Zhen Bontan & Elena Moosmann, Puk Lyng Thomsen & Annabell Fuller, Bianca Fabrizio & Blanca Fernandez all halved their foursomes matches, taking Europe’s total to three points. Gudrun Bjorgsvindottir and Clarisse Louis, who teed-off first in the session, lost 6&5 to Atthaya Thitikul and Yuka Saso, leaving the final score for the day at 7-3 to Asia-Pacific. The Bonallack Trophy is played between two teams of twelve male amateur golfers representing Europe and Asia-Pacific. There are three days of play. The first two days comprise five foursomes matches each morning and five four-ball matches each afternoon. On the final day, all twelve team players compete in singles match play. A win counts as one point, a half yields half a point and a lost match returns zero. In the event of a tie, the trophy shall be retained by the holders. The tournament is being played in Qatar for the first time and ends tomorrow.