All to play for in Curtis Cup after USA stage comeback

The manmade hill around the 18th green forms an amphitheatre that demanded a command performance, and Hannah O’Sullivan, the world number one, duly delivered.

It had taken five hours of a drawn-out fourballs to reach the closing green but, in rolling in a right-to-left breaking 20-footer for birdie, O’Sullivan ensured the opening day of this 39th Curtis Cup would finish as it started: the teams were locked together, inseparable.

After Britain and Ireland claimed the morning foursomes 2-1, things were flipped the other way in the fourballs as the United States struck back for a 2-1 win of their own in that second session to tie matters overall at 3-3.

All to play for so, with neither side gaining an edge but neither cast adrift. There are still 14 more points to be divided up over three sessions.

Advantage

In truth, Britain and Ireland will probably feel they should have emerged from a long day with some sort of an advantage. And, if anything, that 18th – an uphill par 4 of 414 yards – proved the difference.

Of the two matches that actually reached the clubhouse, the Americans won both. The foursomes win by Monica Vaughn and Bailey Tardy in the morning over Meghan MacLaren and Maria Dunne also put some pep into the visitors’ steps going into the fourballs.

And, again in the fourballs, that 18th bestowed favours on the USA as O’Sullivan – undeterred by the fact that Olivia Mehaffey had put her approach in close – rolled in her putt to leave the Irishwoman shaking hands rather than getting a chance to hole out.

“Disappointed not to get something out of that match,” admitted B&I captain Elaine Farquharson-Black.

USA captain Robin Burke said: “I feel very fortunate that it’s three to three. GB & I came out strong and my girls had to fight this afternoon for their points and they did fight. It came down to the bitter end . . . If we’d lost all three [in the morning], it would have been hard to get my girls to pick themselves up. A one point difference over three, that’s like night and day.”

Of O’Sullivan’s match-winning putt to tie matters, Burke said: “Hannah’s a competitor, that’s why she’s US amateur champion. She knows how to get the job done and she showed us what a champion she is again . . . she can handle the pressure!”

Two of the B&I players – Leona Maguire and Bronte Law – each emerged with two wins from the fray, although Farquharson-Black’s approach differed from her opposite number in that the home captain is comfortable in shuffling the decks when pairing up players. Maguire’s wins came partnering Charlotte Thomas in the foursomes and with Law in the fourballs.

“I didn’t want to have ‘you can only play with her’ sort of thing. You can slot them in, turn them around when you’ve got eight good players. The first hard thing is, ‘who do you leave out?’, then ‘in what order?’, because I believe they can win in any position,” said Farquharson-Black.

Farquharson-Black also left Rochelle Morris in the role of onlooker for both sessions and has again left the English player out of Saturday morning’s foursomes. Such a move would indicate a cool and calculated approach with little room for any sentimentality, although she acknowledged the mood in the locker room is “bubbly, a lot of banter.”

Quality of play

For sure, the quality of play was of the highest order. For instance, Maguire and Law – who sped around and were some 45 minutes ahead of the second fourball match when their 4 and 3 win over Sierra Brooks and Bethany Wu was secured on the 15th green – shared six birdies.

Ultimately, though, the two USA matches won on the 18th meant that Britain and Ireland didn’t manage to open up any daylight on their opponents.

“We’ll regroup and start again. I have been doing it very much in matches of three, you don’t get ahead of yourself,” said the B&I captain.

As for Burke, her belief that it would come down to putts was perhaps evidenced by O’Sullivan’s final act on the 18th green.

“That’s the truth, isn’t it? It’s always about the putt,” said Burke.