Tom McKibbin lost his unbeaten record and didn't get a mention from Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald as Great Britain and Ireland romped to a 17-8 win over Continental Europe in the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi.

Needing just two points for victory, Justin Rose’s GB&I wrapped up the trophy early in the day when Laurie Canter thrashed Romain Langasque 4&3 and Tommy Fleetwood claimed the winning point with a 3&1 win over the previously unbeaten Matthieu Pavon in the top match.

McKibbin was hidden at eighth in the singles order and while the Newtownabbey star (22) eagled the 10th from 40 feet to go one up against Matteo Manassero, he lost the 12th and 15th to par threes and lost one up to the Italian.

GB&I were up in nine of the ten singles at one stage in the proceedings and while Continental Europe claimed three wins and two halves from the last six matches when the result was decided, Donald was impressed by stalwarts like Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton before giving special mention to Pavon, Laurie Canter and Aaron Rai.

"Tommy and Tyrrell played unbelievable golf; we know how good they are," Donald told Sky Sports. "They were certainly a difference maker in the end.

"I was impressed with Laurie and on the European side, Pavon, I think, really played some good golf. He just looked very ready from the get go. But everyone  played a part, and everyone contributed."

Fleetwood won his four matches to finish the event as the only player with a 100pc record, while Hatton, who beat Thorbjorn Olesen 3&1, ended up with 3.5 points from four, the same mark as Paul Waring, who was the only other unbeaten player.

McKibbin matched Canter, Pavon, Jordan Smith, and Romain Langasque with three points from four.

The Holywood star's move to LIV Golf remains unofficial, but having qualified for just The Open so far, he would likely need a captain's pick to make the Ryder Cup side, and Donald appears to have many options.

Even without Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre, GB&I were far too strong for Continental Europe, who lost Nicolai Hojgaard to illness before the start and got just half a point from his twin brother Ramus, who battled back from three down with five to play to halve his singles with Rai.

Speaking after the trophy ceremony, Donald emphasised the importance of giving younger players experience in team matchplay with Rai another player who stood out for him.

"He's 22 in the world right now," Donald said of Rai, who became a PGA Tour winner last season. "He's proved that he's just getting better and better each year, every time he plays.

"So it was really important for him to come be a part of a team environment; see how these team competitions work. And he loved the week."

As for Canter, who won three of his four matches, Donald said: "Very impressive. I think just behind Tommy and Tyrrell, he was our third-best player statistically going into the singles."

With only sparse crowds attending in Abu Dhabi, Donald knows that September's Ryder Cup in partisan New York will be a very different prospect.

"It's important for them to be in that team environment, to understand what a Ryder Cup and a team event feels like," Donald said of the potential rookies.

"But the Ryder Cup is times 100 maybe the feelings, the anxiety, the stress, the crowds watching you, the being under the microscope.

"It's a different thing. So you try and recreate a little bit of that, and give them a taste of what it's going to be like, and whet their appetite for wanting to play well the next seven, eight months so they can be on that team."

Rose, who would be considered one of the favourites to captain Europe in the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in 2027, impressed as GB&I skipper.

"It's great to see Francesco again as captain, but also Justin Rose taking on that role," Donald said. "A little part of the process is to try to get some of these guys who might be future Ryder Cup captains in the mix and feel what it is like to prep, to be a captain, and to put playing on top of that.

“It's not easy as well. I think Justin found that, I think he had one hour sleep one night….

"Again, that's all part of it to; to prepare these guys for future Ryder Cup captaincies and prepare these players, hopefully to be ready for New York, but if not, then the next one and the next one after that.

"So we're trying to build a legacy and get these players really inspired by what it would mean to play in Ryder Cup."

McKibbin is scheduled to tee it up in this week's Dubai Desert Classic, where Rory McIlroy defends his title against the likes of LIV Golf's Jon Rahm, who is reportedly keen to see the Antrim man join him, Hatton and Caleb Surrat on his Legion XIII team.

Team Cup, Abu Dhabi Golf Resort

Continental Europe 8; Great Britain and Ireland 17

Singles (Cont. Europe 4, GB&I 6)

Matthieu Pavon lost to Tommy Fleetwood 3&1; Thorbjorn Olesen lost to Tyrrell Hatton 3&1; Romain Langasque lost to Laurie Canter 5&4; Julien Guerrier lost to Justin Rose 3&2; Niklas Norgaard beat Matthew Jordan 3&2; Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen lost to Paul Waring  4&3; Antoine Rozner beat Matt Wallace 1 up; Matteo Manassero beat Tom McKibbin 1 up; Francesco Molinari halved with Jordan Smith; Ramus Hojgaard halved with Aaron Rai