GOLF JUNIOR SOLHEIM CUP:IN THE sleepy surroundings of a suburban Chicago country club, we are offered a fleeting glimpse of the future of women's golf. And it's bright, so bright we might have to wear shades.
For the past two days the cream of Europe’s juniors have been battling with their American counterparts in the Junior Solheim Cup, the prelude to this weekend’s main event at nearby Rich Harvest Farms.
As they are wont to say in this part of the world, these girls have game. Serious game.
Front and centre at the Aurora Golf and Country Club are the Maguire twins from Co Cavan, Lisa and Leona, integral members of the European team.
There is a school of thought that the girls are so gifted they could be ready for the senior event when it rolls into Killeen Castle in two years’ time but, given they will only be 16 at the time, such notions appear fanciful.
Nevertheless, there is little doubting the pedigree of the girls’ talent. Lisa, a wild-card selection by European captain Carin Koch, repaid that faith in spades and along with playing partner Kelly Tidey finished the opening day with a maximum haul of two points.
Leona endured a tougher start to her campaign, going down with Sally Watson in the fourballs before the same pairing squandered a one-hole lead on the 18th in the afternoon foursomes and halved the match.
Overall, the Americans enjoyed the better of the opening skirmishes and took a commanding three-point lead into yesterday’s singles.
Faced with an uphill struggle, Koch gambled with her singles selection and anchored the team with Lisa Maguire and Tidey, her two strongest performers on Tuesday.
Such a strategy is fraught with risk as it hinges on the team building momentum in the early matches if those later duels aren’t to be rendered meaningless.
Since its inception in 2002, no junior team has claimed the trophy on foreign soil. And despite a promising start from the Europeans, with Watson winning her match out in the country, it became apparent they would not be bucking that trend.
Following thunder storms in the area, the course played every inch of it’s 6,418-yard length but the standard of play was out of the top drawer.
It may not attract the same level of scrutiny or media attention as the senior event – which starts tomorrow – but that is not to say the pressure is any less intense. Missed putts are keenly felt as nerves jangle and knees wobble. There are no caddies on hand to encourage, advise and cajole, with the girls left to fend for themselves and make their own decisions.
Given that they are all 18 or younger, the level of maturity on display is seriously impressive. Precious few holes were won in par, with birdies the order of the day. And as the day progressed, it was the Americans who were posting more of those crucial birdies.
There were, mercifully, no whoops of “You da man!”, few crass hollers of “get in the hole” ringing around the Aurora fairways but the home fans were the ones with more to shout about.
Four of the first six points went the American’s way leaving Europe needing all of the final six points to salvage the match.
Leona Maguire’s duel didn’t get beyond the 14th green as she was soundly beaten by Ana Gulugian, the Irish girl’s body language betraying her deep disappointment.
And while her twin sister battled gamely with Kristen Park in the bottom match, eventually succumbing to a 2 and 1 defeat, the result mattered little as events elsewhere kept the home side in charge.
For a time it appeared Alexis Thompson would hole the winning putt. The poster girl of the US team is a superstar in the making. Still only 14, she became the youngest player to make the cut since 1947 at the women’s US Open earlier this summer, eventually finishing in 34th place.
But Tonje Daffinrud of Norway was not about to be intimidated, giving as good as she got before falling to a one-hole defeat on the 18th green.
In the meantime, Kristina Wong had secured the crucial point, the 18-year-old drawing on all her experience to see off Sweden’s Johanna Tillstrom.
The scale of this defeat will hurt Koch’s young side, but there is enough quality on display and time on their side to suggest they are well capable of reclaiming the title on Irish soil.
The organisers of the next Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle announced yesterday that the event will take place from September 23rd-25th in 2011.
JUNIOR SOLHEIM CUP – DAY ONE:
FOURBALLS (USA first):Jessica Korda, Alexis Thompson bt Anna Arrese (Spain), Ana Fernandez de Mesa (Spain) 4 and 2; Tiffany Lua, Jane Rah bt Rosanna Crepiat (France), Johanna Tillstrom (Sweden) 5 and 4; Sarah Brown, Alexandra Stewart beat Leona Maguire (Ireland), Sally Watson (Scotland) 2 and 1; Ani Gulugian, Stephanie Kim lost to Sherlyn Popelka (Switzerland), Klara Spilkova (Czech Republic) 5 and 3; Alison Lee, Kristen Park bt Tonje Daffinrud (Norway), Sophia Popov (Germany) 2 and 1; Jennifer Johnson, Kristina Wong lost to Lisa Maguire (Ireland), Kelly Tidy (England) 3 and 1.
FOURSOMES:Jessica Korda, Alexandra Stewart hlvd with Leona Maguire (Ireland), Sally Watson (Scotland); Tiffany Lua, Jane Rah bt to Sherlyn Popelka (Switzerland), Klara Spilkova (Czech Republic) 3 and 2; Sarah Brown, Alexis Thompson bt Anna Arrese (Spain) Ana Fernandez de Mesa (Spain) 1 up; Ani Gulugian, Alison Lee lost to Tonje Daffinrud (Norway), Johanna Tillstrom (Sweden) two up; Jennifer Johnson, Kristen Park bt Sophia Popov (Germany), Rosanna Crepiat (France) 4 and 3; Stephanie Kim, Kristina Wong lost to Lisa Maguire (Ireland), Kelly Tidy (England) 3 and 2.1.
