USA Rallies With Five Singles Victories,

Takes 5-4 First-Day Lead

 

Merseyside, England - The United States of America won five of the six singles matches on Saturday afternoon, rallying after being shut out in the morning foursomes to take a 5-4 lead over the squad from Great Britain and Ireland after the first day of the 33rd Curtis Cup Match, being played at Formby Golf Club.

 

Jane Park of the USA cruised to a 4-and-3 victory over Shelley McKevitt on Saturday afternoon. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

GB&I, which went 3-0 in the foursomes (alternate shot), took a 4-0 lead when Emma Duggleby of England, playing in her third Curtis Cup, defeated Liz Janangelo of West Hartford, Conn., 3 and 2, in the opening singles match. Duggleby won holes 13 through 15 and then closed out Janangelo when both players halved the par-3, 120-yard 16th hole.

 

But the USA won the next five matches, starting with Erica Blasberg 's 1-up victory over Danielle Masters of England. Blasberg, of Corona, Calif., held a three-hole advantage heading into the par-4, 384-yard 15th hole but lost the next three holes and stood all square heading into the par-4, 380-yard 18th. Masters had a birdie putt from 60 feet that she rolled to within eight feet, and then Blasberg sank her 12-foot birdie putt to win the hole and the match.

 

"I struggled a little bit coming in and she took advantage of that," Blasberg said. "But standing on the 18th tee, I said to myself, 'Let's get something done here after goofing around for the last three holes.' "

 

None of the next four matches advanced past the 15th hole. Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, Calif., defeated Fame More, 5 and 3. More, like Duggleby, played in the 2002 Match at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pa.

 

Michelle Wie of Honolulu, Hawaii, at 14 the youngest Curtis Cup player in USA history, handled Anna Highgate, 5 and 4, while Jane Park of Beaumont, Calif., defeated Shelley McKevitt of England, 4 and 3. In the final match, Annie Thurman of Highland, Utah, beat Anne Laing, 4 and 3. Thurman holed out from 85 yards on the par-4, 375-yard second hole and never trailed.

Creamer and Park are both 17-year-olds.

 

USA Captain Martha Kirouac said the morning's foursomes served as a wake-up call for her team.

 

Annie Thurman, right, of the USA offers a handshake to Anne Laing after beating the GB&I player, 4 and 3, in singles competition on Saturday afternoon. Thurman's victory gave the USA squad a 5-4 lead going into the final day of the 33rd Curtis Cup at Formby Golf Club. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

"I think we went out this morning just a little bit flat," said Kirouac. "This team is very competitive. They didn't like being shut out three to zip this morning, and I think they showed that this afternoon."

 

Wie admitted the team struggled with the foursomes format.

 

"Foursomes is a little bit tough because you don't really get into a rhythm," she said. "But this afternoon helped our confidence for tomorrow."

 

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. It was the first time that GB&I had defeated the USA on American soil.

 

On Sunday, three more foursome matches will be played followed by six singles matches. The USA has won the last three Curtis Cup Matches and owns a 23-6-3 lead in the series that dates back to 1932.

 

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.

 

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

 

Foursomes (alternate shot)

Shelley McKevitt, England and Emma Duggelby, England def. Jane Park, Beaumont, Calif., and Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif., 3 and 2

Nicola Timmins, England, and Danielle Masters, England def. Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif., and Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah, 1 up

Anne Laing, Scotland, and Claire Coughlan, Ireland def. Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas, and Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1 up

 

Singles

Emma Duggelby, England def. Liz Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn., 3 and 2

Erica Blasberg, Corona, Calif., def. Danielle Masters, England, 1 up

Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif., def. Fame More, England, 5 and 3

Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii, def. Anna Highgate, Wales, 5 and 4

Jane Park, Beaumont, Calif., def. Shelley McKevitt, England, 4 and 3

Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah, def. Anne Laing, Scotland, 4 and 3

 

 

Merseyside, England, -- Pairings for Sunday's foursomes (alternate shot) matches at the Curtis Cup Match, to be played at the par 37-35-72, 6,369-yard Formby Golf Club (All times EDT )

 

3:00 a.m. - Erica Blasberg, Corona, Calif., and Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif., vs. Emma Duggelby, England and Shelley McKevitt, England

3:15 a.m. - Liz Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn., and Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii, vs. Anne Laing, Scotland, and Claire Coughlan, Ireland

3:30 a.m. - Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas, and Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah, vs. Nicola Timmins, England, and Danielle Masters, England