Curtis Cup: Matthews' team ends 16-year wait for transatlantic victory

Nick Rodger

Golf Correspondent

Monday 11 June 2012

We might as well get the bunting up again for another few days.

Great Britain and Ireland captain Tegwen Matthews with her victorious team. Picture: Getty Images

Custom byline text:

Nick Rodger

Back in 1952, Great Britain and Ireland's amateurs won the Curtis Cup for the very first time at Muirfield. Last night at Nairn, a new generation of golfing girls were celebrating on Scottish turf as they beat the USA in the biennial contest for the first time since 1996 to end a wretched run of seven straight defeats in spectacular style.

Tegwen Matthews' spirited side produced a superb final day singles display to win the closing session 5-3 and record a thrilling 10.5-9.5 victory. In the end Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadows gilded the lily with a 4 and 2 win over Amy Anderson which sparked jubilant scenes and sealed a notable first in transatlantic team competition. The Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup, the Walker Cup and now the Curtis Cup all sit proudly in various trophy cabinets on this side of the pond."This is the best thing ever in my whole life," said Matthews, after a victory that provided a fitting tribute to team manager Sue Turner, who passed away in February. "I am exceptionally proud of all of them for the desire and determination that they have shown."From being whitewashed 3-0 in the opening series of foursomes on Friday, the battling GB&I team had hauled themselves back to within a point, keeping their hopes alive heading into the final day.Anybody looking for some extra optimism would not have found it by leafing through the record books though. Prior to yesterday's one-to-one showdowns, the US had led going into the singles 24 times and had lost only once, at Prince's back in 1956. GB&I, meanwhile, had won only five singles sessions since the match was inaugurated in 1932. The current crop clearly learned from this warning from history.For the first hour of play, however, the signs were hardly encouraging. The hosts were down in four of the early encounters, but the pendulous nature of the matchplay format swiftly had things swinging in their favour. Kelly Tidy, the former British Ladies' champion from Bolton, was up against it in the top tie, having found herself three-down to Austin Ernst through six. Team captain Matthews would have highlighted the importance of beating Ernst and Tidy responded to her role as the frontrunner magnificently. The 20-year-old trundled in an 18-footer for birdie on the seventh to kick-start a rousing recovery which she completed on the 17th, when she holed a 15-footer for another birdie to clinch a morale-boosting win, 2 and 1."I hoped that the rest of the team heard the roars from the crowd when that went in and it would spur them on," said Tidy. The US countered when Lisa McCloskey beat the sole Scot Pamela Pretswell 4 and 3 but GB&I were on a charge and Holly Clyburn levelled the match with a 3 and 2 defeat of Erica Popson. Amy Boulden, the Welsh champion and the winner of the Helen Holm Strokeplay at Troon recently, had been two down after eight against Emily Tubert, but a brace of birdies at nine and 10 sparked a comeback and she posted a 3 and 1 win on the 17th green. That gave GB&I a one-point advantage and, significantly, put them ahead for the first time in the entire competition. Charley Hull, the world No.4, pitched in with a 5 and 3 victory over Lindy Duncan, the English teenager's first success of the weekend, to inch the home side nearer the promised land, but it was still desperately close. Brooke Pancake did her best to throw a star spangled spanner in the works with a 6 and 5 trouncing of Leona Maguire to keep US hearts beating, before the focus switched to the decisive duel of Meadows versus Anderson. Like her fellow Portrush member Graeme McDowell, who delivered Europe's winning point in the Ryder Cup two years ago, Meadow stood firm under the pressure. Two-up through 13, the US-based 20-year-old birdied the 15th to push the hosts to the brink of glory and the cup-winning point was finally confirmed on the next hole.Nairn has been a happy hunting ground for GB&I's amateur teams down the years. In 1999, the men beat the US to the Walker Cup here."Maybe the golfing Gods are up there saying 'every time you come to Nairn you'll win," added Matthews. They were certainly looking down on a boisterous Highland fling last night.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Curtis Cup: Matthews' team ends 16-year wait for transatlantic victory

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED