Arnold Palmer Cup Matches: Internationals run out to early lead
December 21, 2020 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, View results for Palmer Cup, Tralee Golf Club
Hosting USA at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando (instead of Europe) The Internationals are off to a 8-3 lead
ORLANDO, Florida - Despite being the hosts this year, Team International did not give the Americans a friendly welcome to kick off the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup. Taking a commanding 9-3 lead in today's mixed four-ball matches, the Internationals have the advantage heading into the second day of competition at Bay Hill.
Drawing first blood, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, and Adrien Pandaries took a 2&1 win over Florida Gators Addie Baggarly and Ricky Castillo. The duo set the tone for the Internationals in what became an onslaught for the Americans until late.
Losing three of the first four matches, the Americans notched their first ‘W (4&3) thanks to a Zach Zediker birdie fest. Playing alongside Allisen Corpuz, Zediker tallied all five birdies for the pair while Corpuz kept cruise control on to allow for Zediker to attack the pin.
“I kept telling her [Corpuz] ‘make pars and I can play aggressive from there’”, Zediker said post-match. “I was just looking at flags all day and getting it as close as I possibly could.”
Their win over Sam Choi and Sofia Garcia was just one of two wins for the Stars and Stripes on Day 1.
The most lopsided match of the day came at the hands of Ingrid Lindblad and David Puig. Taking on Jonathan Brightwell and Kenzie Wright, the Swede and Spainaird made light work of the course with a 6&5 victory. The Internationals got out to a hot start with birdies on four of the first five holes while Brightwell and Wright negated one of the birdies with one of their own on No. 4. Unable to get any momentum rolling, two of the final three holes were decided by an American bogey.
In perhaps the most unique match of the day, Megan Schofill took on Puwit Anupansuebsai and Sophie Guo due to a withdrawal from a teammate. Holding her own, the Auburn University standout took a 2 up lead through two holes and was 1-up all the way through No. 10. Unfortunately for the Americans, the underdog victory was not to be, as the Internationals won hole Nos. 11, 13, and 16 to take a 2&1 win, keeping Team USA from what would have felt like a stolen point.
As the final few matches came to a close, the Internationals looked as though they would hit double digits after just one round of matches. John Augenstein and Rachel Kuehn teamed up to give the US at least a couple of positives from the day as they battled back from 2 down through No. 15 to force a halve with Yuxin Lin and Angelina Le.
The half point gained from that tie turned into a full point when USA's Julia Johnson and Garrett Reband came back from 1-down with a birdie on the last to tie Linn Grant and Vincent Norman of the Internationals.
Closing out round one as the anchors, Pierceson Coody and Kaitlyn Papp faced Mattias Schmid and Emma Spitz. Giving the Americans hope, the Longhorns dominated, not allowing the Internationals to win a single hole, capping the match off with an eagle on the par-5 16th.
Day 2 play begins at 7:30 am ET with Foursomes. The afternoon session begins at 12:30 pm ET and will be mixed foursomes.
- Arnold Palmer Cup story
About the Palmer Cup
The annual Ryder Cup-style competition features top men and women collegiate players from the United States against their International counterparts. Each team will be comprised of 12 men's and 12 women's golfers. Day one will feature Mixed Four-Ball...
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