-- USGA Photo
NAIRN, Scotland (June 8, 2012) -- The sun
might not be visible at The Nairn
Golf Club, but it is seemingly shining a
spotlight on the USA Team.
Despite troublesome winds and intensely
overcast skies, the Americans
swept all three of Friday morning’s
foursomes (alternate-shot) matches to
take a 3-0 lead going into the afternoon’s
three four-ball (best-ball)
matches.
“The team was so loose going out, it was
almost eerily calm feeling,” said
Captain Pat Cornett of her players. “They
were calm. I was calm. I think
they demonstrated an amazing quiet and
controlled confidence.”
CURTIS CUP
PLAYER
PROFILES: MEET THE U.S. and GREAT
BRITAIN & IRELAND TEAMS
Only one match reached the 18th green.
Austin Ernst, 19, of Seneca, S.C.,
and Brooke Pancake, 22, of Chattanooga,
Tenn., trailed for much of their
match against Kelly Tidy, 20, of England,
and Amy Boulden, 18, of Wales.
After the teams split the first four holes,
GB&I grabbed a 1-up lead with a
birdie on the par-4 fifth. The Americans
escaped the par-5 seventh with a
halve, despite Ernst’s errant drive into a
gorse bush, which required the
team to take an unplayable lie. The pairing
again found trouble at the par-4
eighth and conceded the hole to go 2
down.
However, Ernst and Pancake were far
from out of contention. Three GB&I
bogeys between the 14th and 17th holes,
and clutch putting from Pancake,
gave the USA a 1-up lead going to the
final hole.
“[Ernst] lagged [the putt] up there and I
had to make the putt on 17 [to
win the hole],” said Pancake, a recent
University of Alabama graduate who
on Thursday was named the 2012 Capital
One Academic All-American of the
Year for the at-large division. “I said a half
point was really big from where
we came from in the middle of the match,
but I was like, 'Let’s get that
whole point for the U.S.'”
Both teams found the final green in three,
and Ernst nestled her approach
putt to within a few feet. When Tidy’s
birdie attempt to halve the hole
missed and Boulden converted the par,
Pancake was able to calmly tap
home her par putt to claim the match for
the USA.
“To come back how we did, it was huge,”
said Ernst, the 2011 NCAA
Division I individual champion who just
completed her sophomore year at
Louisiana State University.
“They played just amazing golf,” said
Cornett, “with Brooke making
incredible saves over the last four or five
holes.”
Amy Anderson, 19, of Oxbow, N.D., and
Tiffany Lua, 22, of Rowland Heights,
Calif., opened with a birdie at the par-4
first hole and never trailed en route
to a 2-and-1 victory over Holly Clyburn, 20,
and Bronte Law, 17, both of
England.
“They struggled a little bit off the tee and
got in some tough spots,” said
Anderson, the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior
champion who will be a junior this fall
at North Dakota State. “Tiffany and I really
worked well together in
alternate shot. We didn't get down on
ourselves when we hit a bad shot
and we really supportive when things
were going good.”
Duke University All-American Lindy Duncan,
21, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
teamed with University of Southern
California All-American Lisa McCloskey,
20, of Houston, Texas, for the morning’s
quickest victory. The duo took a 6-
up lead by the turn against Leona
Maguire, 17, of Ireland, and Stephanie
Meadow, 20, of Northern Ireland, and held
on for a 5-and-4 victory.
Maguire and Meadow did not go down
without a fight, taking the 11th and
12th holes, including a concession on 12,
to cut the deficit to 4 down.
However, Duncan and McCloskey, the
2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public
Links runner-up, proved too strong for the
Irish teammates, whose bogey
at the par-3 14th sealed the win for the
Americans.
GB&I Captain Tegwen Matthews was
understandably disheartened by the
morning’s results.
“It’s disappointing,” she said. “There was
some good golf played out there,
but the Americans were just that bit
sharper than us on and around the
greens.”
The Curtis Cup continues Friday afternoon
with the three four-ball matches.
Saturday will bring three foursomes
matches and three four-ball matches,
and the Match concludes with eight
singles matches on Sunday.
A point is awarded for each victory and a
half-point goes to each side for a
draw. The USA, winners of the last seven
contests in the biennial series,
needs 10 points to retain the Cup, while
GB&I needs 10.5 points to regain
the Cup.
The Curtis Cup Match is conducted by the
United States Golf Association
and the Ladies Golf Union.
View results for Curtis Cup