GIRLS HOME INTERNATIONALS AT GULLANE NO 2

ENGLAND'S CHAMPION FINISH!

England responded to the last-day pressure of having to beat Ireland to finish top of the table in the Girls Home Internationals at bright and breezy Gullane No 2. The English team won the Stroyan Cup in the style of champions, smashing the 100 per cent record of the Irish by beating them 7.5 to 1.5.

England finished the three-day programme with two wins and a draw (against Wales). Ireland earned the Swansea Spoon as runners-up with two wins and one defeat.

Scotland beat Wales 6-3 - their first win of the week – and finished third with one point.

Wales finished last with half-a-point but they could claim that they gave champions-to-be England their hardest match, holding them to a draw on the opening day.

The writing was on the wall for Ireland when England took the morning foursomes 3-0 and there was no stopping the rampant English in the singles.

Paula Grant, the Irish girls champion, did gain half a point by winning the 17^th and 18^th holes to salvage a square match with Georgia Hall.

And Olivia Mehaffey scored Ireland’s only singles win with a remarkable recovery against Alex Peters who had been four up after six holes. Mehaffey won the seventh, ninth, 10^th, 12^th and 13^th to lead by one after 13.

But Peters came again to square the match at the 14^th  The next three holes were halved before Mehaffey completed her comeback by winning the 18^th for victory.

All the other singles went England’s way. Hayley Davis beat Jean O’Driscoll by one hole after being one down on the 11^th tee. Davis won the 13^th and 17^th to turn things around.

Bronte Law, who was the most successful performer over the three days with five wins out of six, achieved her fifth point by beating Jessica Carty 3 and 1. It was Law’s victory that put England 5-0 ahead and assured of retaining the title. Law won the second, fourth and fifth for an early three-hole lead which Carty could never cut back to better than a two-hole deficit. Law won the 17^th to clinch victory inside the distance.

Brogan Townend was a 6 and 5 winner against Ariana Coyle-Diez, having won six of the first seven holes.

Emily Taylor was another big-margin winner for England. She beat Chloe Ryan by 7 and 5. The Irish player did not win a hole and wsas four down at the turn.

Scotland, for the first time in three days, went into the singles with a lead from the foursomes, a two-point lead which the Welsh overcame with a 3 and 2 win by Amy Boulden over Alyson McKechin and a 3 and 1 victory by Katie Bradbury over Gemma Dryburgh.

But Eilidh Briggs, two down with six to play, squared the match by winning the 13^th and 14^th (with a birdie) but then lost the 16^th to be one down again … winning the 18^th with another birdie to gain an honourable halved match.

Scotland won the last three singles wit Ailsa Summers beating Myrian Hassan by 2 and 1 after winning the seventh, ninth and 11^th for a three-hole lead.

Lauren Whyte won by 5 and 3 against Sara Ree-Evans who was three down after the fifth and never won a hole.

Hannah McCook completed Scotland’s first win with a 4 and 3 win over Jessica Evans. A close match suddenly swung the Scot’s way when she won the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th   

Day 3

IRELAND 1.5, ENGLAND 7.5

Foursomes

Paula Grant and Jessica Carty lost to Bronte Law and Emily Taylor 2 and 1.

Ariana Coyle-Diez and Jean O’Driscoll lost to Hayley Davis and Georgia Hall 3 and 1.

Chloe Ryan and Sinead Sexton lost to Alex Peters and Meghan MacLaren 2 and 1 (0-3)

Singles

O’Driscoll lost to Davis 1 hole.

Carty lost to Law 3 and 1.

Grant halved with Hall.

Coyle-Diez lost to Brogan Townend 6 and 5.

Olivia Mehaffey bt Peters 1 hole.

Ryan lost to Taylor 7 and 5 (1.5-4.5).

SCOTLAND 6, WALES 3

Foursomes

Alyson McKechin and Eilidh Briggs bt Amy Boulden and Chloe Williams 4 and 3.

Gemma Dryburgh and Ailsa Summers halved with Katie Bradbury and Jessica Evans,.

Hannah McCook and Clara Young bt Myriam Hassan and Sara Rees-Evans 2 and 1 (2.5-0.5)

Singles

Briggs halved with Williams.

McKechin lost to Boulden 3 and 2.

Dryburgh lost to Bradbury 3 and 1.

Summers bt Hassan 2 and 1.

Lauren Whyte bt Rees-Evans 5 and 3.

McCook bt Jessica Evans 4 and 3 (3.5-2.5)

HOW THEY FINISHED

1^st England 2.5pt

2^nd Ireland 2pt.

3^rd Scotland 1pt.

4^th Wales 1/2pt

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION

Pat Smillie, England’s national junior coach, pointed to the team’s foursomes play as a key factor in their win. They won 8½ out of a possible nine points and she said: “The quality of the foursomes play was excellent and it’s reflected in a very cohesive, happy team.
She went on: “The foursomes today was first class and the girls carried the momentum into the singles, where we saw some outstanding play.”
Bronte Law, for example, had five birdies and was three-under par. Brogan Townend and Emily Taylor both scored big wins while Hayley Davis, playing her last match for England as a girl, also captured her singles point with a strong finish in her game. Hayley, 18, the English girls’ champion, is competing in next week’s British girls’ championship - alongside most of the team - and soon after will fly to the USA to start university there.