USA, GB&I Tied 6-6 Going Into Sunday Singles

 

Merseyside, England - The United States of America continued to struggle in foursomes (alternate shot) competition at the 33rd Curtis Cup, losing two of three matches Sunday morning at Formby Golf Club as Great Britain and Ireland tied the Match at 6-6 going into the six afternoon singles matches. The USA lost five of the six foursomes matches in the two-day competition.

 

Annie Thurman (right) and Brittany Lang discuss a putt with their caddies during their 5-and-4 victory in Sunday morning's foursomes action. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

Annie Thurman of Highland, Utah, and Brittany Lang of McKinney, Texas, posted the lone USA victory with a decisive 5-and-4 win over England 's Nicola Timmins and Danielle Masters in the final match of the morning. Thurman and Lang recorded three consecutive birdies, starting with Thurman's chip-in at the par-4, 375-yard second hole, to take control early.

 

Emma Duggleby and Shelley McKevitt, both of England, got the GB&I side off to a good start with a 2-and-1 win over Erica Blasberg of Corona, Calif., and Sarah Huarte of Shingle Springs, Calif. Duggleby and McKevitt built a 5-up lead after 10 holes and then held on for the win. Duggleby, who played in the previous two Curtis Cups, is a perfect 3-0 in the Match, having posted the lone win in singles on Saturday afternoon. She went 2-2 in 2002 at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pa.

 

Michelle Wie of Honolulu, Hawaii, at 14 the youngest USA competitor ever in the Curtis Cup, and Liz Janangelo of West Hartford, Conn., dropped a 3-and-2 decision to Anne Laing of Scotland and Claire Coughlin of Ireland. Starting at the 10th, Laing and Coughlin won three consecutive holes to take a 4-up lead and held on from there, losing just the 15th. Coughlin holed a 6-footer for birdie on the 16th to halve the hole and close out the match.

 

USA Captain Martha Kirouac did not regret her decision to change the USA foursomes pairings after Saturday.

 

Michelle Wie (top) and Liz Janangelo team up to read a putt during their foursomes match Sunday morning.  (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

"We tried to mix things up and get a different perspective," said Kirouac. "GB&I just played a little better and putted better. We just don't get the rhythm going in this format. We'll regroup and come out this afternoon and we'll be fine."

 

No team has lost the Curtis Cup after sweeping the first day of foursomes. The GB&I last won all three first-day foursomes matches in 1986, when it went on to earn a 13-5 victory over the USA at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. That was the first loss by the USA on American soil in Curtis Cup history. GB&I is seeking its first Curtis Cup victory since the 1996 Match at Ireland's Killarney (Killeen) Golf Club.

 

Attendance figures were released by the Ladies Golf Union, which conducts the Curtis Cup when it is played in Great Britain and Ireland. A total of 7,462 spectators watched the competition on Saturday. Similar crowds are present Sunday.

 

Begun in 1932, the Curtis Cup is a biennial match for women's amateur golfers between a team from the United States of America and one from Great Britain and Ireland. Victory in a match scores one point. When a match goes 18 holes without a decision, one-half point is awarded to each team. Three foursome (alternate shots of partners) matches and six singles matches are played on each of the two days of competition.

 

The Match is conducted alternately in the USA and Great Britain and Ireland. The team winning the Cup takes custody for the ensuing two years. In case of a tie, the Cup remains with the previous winner. The USA leads the series, 23-6-3.

 

 

Merseyside, England - Results of Sunday's foursomes (alternate shot) and pairings for Sunday afternoon's singles matches at the 33rd Curtis Cup Match at the 6,369-yard, par-72 Formby Golf Club (all times EDT):

 

Foursomes (alternate shot)

Emma Duggelby, England, and Shelley McKevitt, England, def. Erica Blasberg, Corona, Calif., and Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif., 2 and 1

Anne Laing, Scotland, and Claire Coughlan, Ireland, def. Liz Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn., and Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii, 3 and 2

Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas, and Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah, def. Nicola Timmins, England, and Danielle Masters, England, 5 and 4

 

Singles

8:00 a.m. - Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif., vs. Emma Duggelby, England

8:10 a.m. - Jane Park, Beaumont, Calif. vs. Anne Laing, Scotland

8:20 a.m. - Liz Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn., vs. Shelley McKevitt, England

8:30 a.m. - Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii, vs. Nicola Timmins, England

8:40 a.m. - Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas, vs. Claire Coughlan, Ireland

8:50 a.m. - Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah vs. Danielle Masters, England

 

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