Great Britain and Ireland hasn’t won a Curtis Cup in eight years.
That could change Sunday.
The GB&I side broke out of a tie Saturday afternoon at Sunningdale to take a 7-5 lead entering the eight-match singles session. The Americans have won 11 of the past 13 Cups – and three straight since GB&I captured the biennial match-play event in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire in Ireland.
Scotland’s Hannah Darling stayed perfect, moving her record to 3-0, as she teamed with England’s Mimi Rhodes to take down U.S. youngsters Jasmine Koo and Asterisk Talley, 3 and 2, in the first of three afternoon four-ball matches. In that match, Talley, a 15-year-old who was runner-up at both the U.S. Girls Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur this summer, nearly aced the par-4 ninth, though that was the only hole she and Koo won.
“With the last two being losses for Great Britain and Ireland, I want this more than ever for the team,” said Darling, a three-time Curtis Cupper. “We have such a good time and a group of really, really good girls with a great captain and vice captains, too. This is just for everyone, and we want this really bad.”
Another Scot, Lorna McClymont, and Ireland’s Beth Coulter added a 2-and-1 four-ball victory over Anna Davis and Melanie Green while England’s Lottie Woad and Ireland’s Sara Byrne improved to 1-0-3 as a pair this week with a hard-earned tie with Rachel Kuehn and Megan Schofill.
Woad and Byrne are the first GB&I duo to play four sessions and not lose a match since the format moved to three days in 2008.
“No lead is ever big enough,” GB&I captain Catriona Matthew said. “In any kind of sport, you’d rather be going in 7-5 up than being 7-5 down. There’s still a long way to go. The Americans are going to come out fighting tomorrow. We’ve had a great day today, enjoyed today, but we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
SUNDAY SINGLES MATCHES
U.S. vs. GB&I
Asterisk Talley vs. Lottie Woad, 5:05 a.m. ET
Catherine Park vs. Sara Byrne, 5:15 a.m.
Anna Davis vs. Hannah Darling, 5:25 a.m.
Zoe Campos vs. Patience Rhodes, 5:35 a.m.
Melanie Green vs. Mimi Rhodes, 5:45 a.m.
Jasmine Koo vs. Beth Coulter, 5:55 a.m.
Megan Schofill vs. Lorna McClymont, 6:05 a.m.
Rachel Kuehn vs. Aine Donegan, 6:15 a.m.
