STEPHANIE MEADOW WILL BE KEY PLAYER FOR GB AND I IN VAGLIANO TROPHY MATCH

Stephanie Meadow driving from the second tee at Carnoustie in the Women's British Amateur Championship final last June. 

 IMAGE BY CAL CARSON GOLF AGENCY

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
Julie Williams continues her review of the world's top female amateur golfers:

Stephanie Meadow 
 
R&A’s World Amateur Golf Ranking: 13
2012 in review: Member of Alabama’s national championship-winning team; one collegiate victory; GB and I Curtis Cup team; won Ladies British Amateur; qualified for U.S. Women’s Open
The biggest sign that Meadow had made it big in 2012 was when, in early July, her name was thrown in with Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. Meadow made so many headlines late in the spring that she became known as the next great golf prodigy of Northern Ireland.
Meadow was crucial in Alabama’s romp to the national title. She opened with rounds of 69-73 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee, to help the Crimson Tide take the early-week lead. Weeks later, she was even more crucial in GB and I’s Curtis Cup victory in Nairn, Scotland.
Meadow not only secured three points for her team that week, but she made the final putt to give her team the victory. 
The the outcome of the whole match came down to Meadow v Amy Anderson in the Sunday singles, and Meadow never let up against Anderson, who turned out to be the strongest American player that week. Meadow won on the 16th green, 4 and 2, and her team-mates erupted.
Stephanie's success continued at the Ladies British Amateur at the end of the month at Carnoustie. Meadow had to defeat Georgia sophomore Rocio Sanchez Lobato in the final match, and won, 4 and 3. She played in the U.S. Women’s Open just three days later (gaining entry courtesy of the Ladies British victory), but missed the cut. 
She didn’t make another transatlantic flight for the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Hoylake, into which her victory had Carnoustie has earned her a place. Meadow, after all, also had summer school to worry about.
The only stumble for Meadow during the summer was at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, where she failed to make match play. When school resumed, however, Meadow came back to lead the team in scoring through the fall. 
EDITOR: With a depleted GB and I team following the defection of several Curtis Cup stars to the pro ranks, Stephanie Meadow will be a cornerstone of Tegwen Matthews' nine-strong line-up bidding to wrest the Vagliano Trophy from the grasp of the Continent of Europe at Chantilly GC, near Paris in June.