American comeback sets up singles drama for Saturday at the Curtis Cup
After the opening day of the Curtis Cup, it looked like these matches might get away from the Americans. On the road at Conwy Golf Club in Wales, the U.S. team failed to get any real momentum going in the opening two sessions. After Day 1, they trailed GB&I 4 ½ to 1 ½.
What a difference a day makes.
After another day of foursomes and fourballs, the two sides are tied with six points apiece. Eight points remain on the table with a full slate of singles showdowns set for Saturday.
Perhaps it was obvious what was coming on Friday morning when Americans Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck, the top two players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, got revenge on GB&I opponents Hannah Darling and Louise Duncan. After grinding out half a point on Thursday, Heck and Zhang came back for a 3-and-2 victory. It was one of 2 ½ morning points claimed by the Americans.
Scoring: Curtis Cup
“We didn’t really do much different,” Zhang said in comparing the two matches. “We had the same mentality. We got some good shots going. We just built on the momentum. We always knew we had the grit in us. Yesterday in the match we managed to get it to all square even with some arrayed shots. So it was just great in general. We really fed off each other.”
On the day, only GB&I teammates Hannah Darling and Annabell Fuller scored a full point for their side – which came against Gina Kim and Rachel Heck in afternoon fourballs – but it still allowed the home team to not fall behind.
“We need to go out tomorrow and perform well and win,” Darling said of Saturday. “I mean, that’s, I guess, the only option tomorrow. I have full confidence in the team. We’re all playing well, we just need to go out there tomorrow and just believe that we can.”
GB&I captain Elaine Ratcliffe attributed much of the lost ground as being a product of a slow morning. The Americans came out strong, and GB&I didn’t push quite hard enough.
“This afternoon we took our time and then I think those back 10 holes we played some really good golf,” she said. “To be fair to the American team, they did as well.”
On tap for Saturday singles are some intriguing match-ups. At the last Curtis Cup, when the U.S. hosted at Quaker Ridge in Scarsdale, New York, in 2018, the Americans swept singles. That’s unlikely to happen again.
The Saturday singles matches for what is set to be a special final day of the #CurtisCup
Everything to play for going into Saturday with the scores tied between the two sides 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DPXtj2qCkZ
— The Curtis Cup (@CurtisCup) August 27, 2021
U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Jensen Castle takes on Darling at the top of the bracket. Zhang, meanwhile, brings up the rear against Emily Toy.
“They were definitely inspired and fired up to play better today and I really didn’t have to do much pep talking,” said U.S. captain Sarah Ingram. “I know that they are all real fighters and that they would follow up a tough day with a really good day.”
Let the drama unfold.
