Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. – Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America were tied after all three foursomes matches were halved on Friday morning at the 2010 Curtis Cup Match being contested at the 6,247-yard, par-70 Essex County Club.
It’s quite freaky, said Holly Clyburn, who teamed with Hannah Barwood to give GB&I a half-point after squaring the match with the USA’s Alexis Thompson and Jessica Korda.
In the anchor match, Great Britain & Ireland’s Danielle McVeigh holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to put the two teams on equal footing going into the three afternoon four-ball matches.
With the USA’s Stephanie Kono and Cydney Clanton 1 up on the 18th tee, a stellar approach shot by 15-year-old Leona Maguire gave McVeigh, at 22 the oldest player on either side, a chance to make the putt that squared the match.
Jennifer Song and Jennifer Johnson of the USA salvaged a half- point in the first match with a brilliant rally against GB&I’s Sally Watson and Rachel Jennings. Two down with two to play, Song and Johnson birdied 17 and then won the 18th hole with a par.
Song split the fairway with her drive on the 414-yard closing hole, while Watson, who just completed her freshman year at Stanford University, drove deep into the right rough, where her ball nestled in high grass. GB&I could only salvage a bogey, giving the USA the hole and a crucial half-point.
Thompson and Korda struggled midway through the inward nine in their match with Clyburn and Barwood when they four-putted the 14th hole. The USA team was 1 up when Thompson hit to within 30 feet of the 165-yard hole. But Korda’s first putt stopped 6 feet short of the hole.
It was downhill and down-grain and I thought it would roll out, but it stopped, Korda said. Thompson tried to ram in the 6-footer for par, but the ball sailed 3 feet past. I didn’t think I’d hit it that hard, Thompson said. When Korda missed the comebacker, the team had made a double-bogey 5 and the match was square, where it remained until it ended on the 18th green.
The Curtis Cup Match is a biennial competition between the USA and Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1932 and is conducted by the Ladies Golf Union and the United States Golf Association.
Rhonda Glenn is the manager of communications for the USGA. E-mail her with questions or comments at rglenn@usga.org.
Results
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. – Results of the first round of foursomes at the 2010 Curtis Cup Match, played Friday morning at the par-70, 6,247-yard Essex County Club.
Match 1
Sally Watson, Scotland, and Rachel Jennings, England (GB&I) halved with Jennifer Song, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif. (USA)Match 2
Hannah Barwood, England, and Holly Clyburn, England (GB&I) halved with Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla., and Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (USA)
Match 3
Danielle McVeigh, Ireland, and Leona Maguire, Ireland (GB&I) halved with Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C., and Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (USA)
Pairings
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. – Pairings for the first round of four-ball (best-ball) matches to be played Friday afternoon at the par-70, 6,247-yard Essex County Club (All times are EDT):
2 p.m. – Danielle McVeigh, Ireland, and Pamela Pretswell, Scotland (GB&I) vs. Jennifer Song, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Kimberly Kim, Pahoa, Hawaii (USA)
2 10 p.m. – Rachel Jennings, England, and Leona Maguire, Ireland (GB&) vs. Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla., and Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif. (USA)
2:20 p.m. – Sally Watson, Scotland, and Lisa Maguire, Ireland (GB&I) vs. Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla., and Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (USA)