Continent retain Vagliano Trophy by 15-9 margin which did not reflect how well GB and I played

COLIN FARQUHARSON REPORTS
FROM BOGOGNO GC, ITALY


The Continent of Europe have won the Vagliano Trophy biennial women's amateur international match for the sixth year in a row.
They shrugged off the challenge of Great Britain and Ireland, who started the final day level at 6-6, to make a 4-0 clean sweep of the Saturday foursomes and followed that up by taking the final set of singles 5-3.
All of that added up to a 15-9 victory for captain Anna Roscio, winning in her home country at the Bogogno Golf Club, northwest of Milan.
GB and I team captain, Elaine Farquharson-Black, an Aberdeen planning solicitor, said:
"There can't be many events where a team makes 91 birdies over 2 days and finishes runners up. What a fantastic display of golf GB and I put on. We fought hard after a tough morning today, and with 5 of the 8 singles matches going up 18, the final score line of 15-9 does not tell the whole story. Well played, team!"Even rival skipper Roscio agreed that GB and I deserved better than to be beaten by 6pt. It didn't reflect the overall closeness of the match. GB and I, who have not won the biennial match since 2005, were at their best on Friday when they gave as good as they got.
Golf is a funny game but the GB and I camp is not laughing. For some reason their high hopes of winning the prestigious trophy for the first time since 2005 never got off the ground.
To lose the foursomes 4-0 was the killer blow from which Elaine Farquharson-Black's team never recovered.
There were individual wins today by Olivia Mehaffey (1 hole against Matilda Castren), Sophie Lamb (3 and 2 over Linnea Strom) and a grandstand finish by Indian Clyburn who won the 18th for a one-hole win over Morgane Metraux, a victory that smashed the Swiss player's  100 per cent winning record through the first three sessions of play.
An indication of the high standard of play came from Mehaffey, who is ranked No 13 in the world:
"I was seven under par in my first singles match and five under par in my second singles ... and only just managed to be the winner by one hole in both," said Olivia, from the Royal Co Down Ladies Golf Club.
+The 2019 Vagliano Trophy and Junior Vagliano Trophy matches will be hosted by Royal St George's Golf Club, Kent.

FINAL RESULTS

CONTINENT OF EUROPE  OUTCLASS GB AND I IN JUNIOR VAGLIANO

 

The Continent of Europe team, pictured above, outclassed Great Britain and Ireland in the six-a-side Junior Vagliano Trophy match for Under-16s.

The Continentals ran out overall winners by a 15-3 margin (7-2 on Day 1, 8-1 today), equalling their victorious scoreline at Royal Porthcawl in 2011.

They had the match won within three sessions of play, i.e. leading 10-2 after the Day 2 foursomes.

Claire Coughlan-Ryan captained GB and I when they lost by only 3pt two years at Malone Golf Club, Belfast and she led the team again this weekend but it has to be said that the Continentals were much the better team, seemingly more mature at 16 than their opposite numbers.

 

Amanda Linner (Sweden) and Isabella Holpfer (Austria) both won four out of four wins over the two days.

 

 

 

JUNIOR VAGLIANO TROPHY

GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND 3,

CONTINENT OF EUROPE 15

 

DAY 1 SCORE: GB and I  2, CONTINENT OF EUROPE 7

 

DAY 2 SCORE: GB and I 1, CONTINENT OF EUROPE 8

FOURSOMES (0-3)
Sarah Byrne (Ireland) and Carys Worby (Wales) lost to Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (Spain) and Caterina Don (Italy) 2 and 1.
FfionTynan (Wales) and Caitlin Whitehead (England) lost to Emilie Alba Paltrinieri (Italy) and Alessia Nobilio (Italy) 5 and 3.
Euphemie Rhodes (England) and Lily May Humphreys (England) lost to Amanda Linner (Sweden) and Isabella Holpfer (Austria) 3 and 2.

 

SINGLES (1-5)
Humphreys bt Garcia-Poggio 2 and 1.
Rhodes lost to Nobilio 5 and 4.
Worby lost to Paltrinieri 2 and 1.
Tynan lost to Don 9 and 7.
Byrne lost to Linner 4 and 3.
Whitehead lost to Holpfer 1 hole.