USA Holds 2-1 Lead After Friday Morning Foursomes

St. Andrews, Scotland – Amanda Blumenherst and Tiffany Joh paired for a nail-biting 1-up victory during Friday’s foursomes matches to help the USA Curtis Cup team take a 2-1 lead over the squad from the Great Britain and Ireland following a rainy morning session on the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Blumenherst, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Joh, of San Diego, Calif., won four consecutive holes, starting at the par-4 second, to take control against Breanna Loucks and Florentyna Parker. During the four-hole stretch, the two won three holes with birdies and the fourth with a par, and held a 5-up lead after 12 holes.

But Loucks and Parker staged a furious rally, winning four of the next fives holes to cut their deficit to 1 down heading to the 18th green.

“It would have been really upsetting if we had lost just because we were up by so much and we played so well for the first 14 holes,” said Blumenherst, a member of the victorious 2006 USA Curtis Cup team. “We were making putts and were bogey free for quite a while and we were doing great, and then they started making putts.”

Mina Harigae reacts after narrowly missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole that would have given the USA a half-point in the second foursomes match of the morning. (Matthew Harris/USGA)

At the par-4 18th hole, both teams had birdie putts. After Joh missed her attempt, Parker’s 6-footer slid by the hole, allowing the Americans to hold on for the narrow victory.

“I couldn’t believe some of the putts they made coming down the stretch,” said Joh, the runner-up at last week’s NCAA Women’s Division I Championship. “I totally thought they were going to make the last one because they had one-putted the last six or seven holes.”

Stacy Lewis and Alison Walshe trailed 2 down to Elizabeth Bennett of England and Jodi Ewart of Scotland after five holes, but came back to earn a 3-and-1 victory for the USA’s first point of the Match. Lewis, of The Woodlands, Texas, and Walshe, of Westford, Mass., squared the match with a birdie on the ninth hole and won holes 11 and 12 with birdies.

After losing the 14th hole to a birdie by the GB&I duo, Lewis and Walshe won the 15th with a par and then earned a critical half at 16, which Lewis called “the greatest half ever.”

After Lewis hit her tee shot into a fairway bunker, Walshe was left with no choice but to chip out sideways into the fairway. Lewis then hit her 7-iron from about 145 yards to 8 feet, which Walshe made to earn the half and help the duo maintain their 2-up lead.

Lewis, the 2007 NCAA Women’s individual champion, said getting the first point for the USA side was important.

“I think it was huge,” said Lewis. “We got down early and then Alison gave me some looks at it and I made some putts.”

The morning’s rainy weather conditions also helped the Americans, who were feeing more at ease after several days on the Old Course.

“I feel really comfortable with it,” said Lewis. “It was different today because it was wet and shots were actually stopping on the greens. I think it helped, especially with the wedges.”

Only a 1-up victory by Scottish teenagers Sally Watson and Michele Thomson allowed the GB&I team to avoid being swept in the morning foursomes. Watson and Thomson won four holes in a five-hole stretch to take command against Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., and Jennie Lee of Henderson, Nev.

But Harigae and Lee almost pulled off a memorable comeback of their own. Trailing 4 down after 10 holes, they cut the deficit to 1 down on No. 17 and had a chance to halve the match on the 18th. But Harigae’s 6-foot birdie putt on the final green missed, allowing the GB&I side to escape with a critical point.

Captain Carol Semple Thompson, who played on a record 12 USA Curtis Cup teams, was pleased with the early results.

“I was thrilled to get two points,” said Thompson. “I was getting a little worried when we were down in the first two matches, but I figured Stacy and Alison would come back so I was very pleased with that, and I think Mina and Jennie did a great job coming in too. I’m very proud of them. They’re playing beautifully and sticking with it and fighting hard.”

The 2-1 split in points marked the first time there was not a sweep in the first-day foursomes since the 2000 Match at Ganton Golf Club in England, when the USA won 2½ of a possible three points.

The teams now move on to Friday afternoon’s four-ball (best-ball) matches. It is the first year four-ball matches will be a part of the Curtis Cup, which has expanded to three days of play.

The Curtis Cup Match is a women’s amateur team competition played every other year, with one squad from the USA and the other representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales.

Beth Murrison is a manager in media relations for the USGA. E-mail her with questions or comments at bmurrison@usga.org.

Results

St. Andrews, Scotland – Results of the first round of foursomes at the 2008 Curtis Cup Match, played Friday morning at the par-72, 6,638-yard Old Course at St. Andrews.

Foursomes

Match 1

Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas, and Alison Walshe, Westford, Mass. (USA) def. Liz Bennett, Sway, England, and Jodi Ewart, Middleham, England (GB&I), 3 and 1

Match 2

Sally Watson, Elie, Scotland, and Michele Thomson, Ellon, Scotland (GB&I) def. Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif., and Jennie Lee, Henderson, Nev. (USA), 1 up

Match 3

Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif. (USA) def. Breanne Loucks, Wrexham, Wales, and Florentyna Parker, Southport, England (GB&I), 1 up

Pairings

St. Andrews, Scotland – Pairings for the first round of four-ball (best-ball) matches to be played Friday afternoon at the par-72, 6,638-yard Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland (times are EDT):

7:45 a.m. – Carly Booth, Comrie, Scotland, and Michele Thomson, Ellon, Scotland (GB&I) vs. Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii and Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif., (USA)

8 a.m. – Sally Watson, Elie, Scotland, and Krystle Caithness, Cellardyke, Scotland (GB&) vs. Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif., and Meghan Bolger, Oakland Park, Fla. (USA)

8:15 a.m. – Florentyna Parker, Southport, England, and Liz Bennett, Sway, England (GB&) vs. Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas (USA)