Great Britain & Ireland staged a stirring fightback to level the scores at 3-3 against the USA following a fantastic opening day at the 43rd Curtis Cup.
In glorious conditions at Sunningdale Golf Club in front of large galleries, Meghan Stasi’s visiting team opened up a 2-1 lead following the morning foursomes.
But a chip-in from 15 yards by Ireland’s Sara Byrne on the 17th sealed a 2&1 win with Lottie Woad over Catherine Park and Zoe Campos to pull the sides level, as Catriona Matthew’s side won the afternoon fourballs by the same 2-1 margin.
Three sets of foursomes and fourball matches again take place tomorrow ahead of eight singles on Sunday. GB&I are bidding to win the Curtis Cup for the first time since 2016.
AFTERNOON FOURBALLS
In a high-quality match, Jasmine Koo and 15-year-old Asterisk Talley reeled off nine birdies in an impressive 5&4 victory over Mimi Rhodes and Lorna McClymont to give the USA their first point of the afternoon and a 3-1 lead.
The pair were four up after six holes before a fightback from their GB&I opponents to half the deficit by the 8th. But the 2023 American Junior Solheim Cup duo made birdies on the 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th to close out the win.
The other two matches were far tighter and also full of outstanding golf. Hannah Darling and Aine Donegan recorded six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 2nd as they edged to a one-hole win over Anna Davis and Megan Schofill, with the latter holing out from a bunker at the 9th for an eagle as the tie ebbed and flowed.
There was more drama in the final match of the day as Byrne and England’s Woad, the leading player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), bravely triumphed. Woad was in fine form as the pair notched eight birdies versus Park and Campos, the top-ranked USA player at fourth in the world, before Byrne saved the best for last.
Just off the green at the side of the 17th, Byrne chipped in for a winning birdie to the biggest crowd roar of the day.
MORNING FOURSOMES
In the opening morning foursomes, the USA claimed a one-point advantage as an emphatic win for Melanie Green and Rachel Kuehn was followed by two dramatic halved matches.
The Women’s Amateur Champion Green and three-time Curtis Cup player Kuehn stormed to a 6&4 victory over sisters Patience and Mimi Rhodes in game one, aided by a terrific performance on the greens.
The Rhodes siblings had plenty of chances of their own but their putts just would not drop, enabling their American opponents to put the first point on the board.
While that contest was wrapped up on the 14th green, there was considerably more drama in the second and third games.
Irish duo Beth Coulter and Donegan won the 18th to secure a valuable half-point in a topsy-turvy match against Koo and Campos, which saw both sides lead on three occasions.
The final foursomes saw both teams pull off terrific comebacks before finishing up all-square. Woad and Byrne were three down after nine to Park and Talley but then won five of the next six holes – birdieing four of them – to impressively move two up with three holes to play.
The exhilarating run from the GB&I pair featured a near-ace for Woad on the 15th, where her tee shot came to rest a foot from the hole. However, Park and Talley then responded with a wonderful fightback of their own, winning both the 17th and 18th to salvage an unlikely half-point and ensure the USA ended the session leading by a point.
“GOOD COMEBACK”
GB& I captain Catriona Matthew said: “I’m absolutely delighted. At one point this morning it looked like we were going to be beaten three-nil but then we had a good comeback.
“I know Lottie and Sara were a little disappointed with their finish but they’ve gone out there and won their point this afternoon.
“The standard of golf has been pretty amazing. The Americans have made a lot of birdies, we’ve made a lot of birdies and it was exciting out there in the fourballs.
“It was nice to finish off those matches. I can see in the team that their confidence is growing just from that finish there this afternoon.”