The Amateur

GB&I dominate day one of the St Andrews Trophy

Great Britain and Ireland have opened up a four-point lead over the Continent of Europe following a commanding singles session after day one of the St Andrews Trophy.

The R&A

21 Jul 22

3 mins

Great Britain and Ireland have opened up a four-point lead over the Continent of Europe following a commanding singles session after day one of the St Andrews Trophy.

At the two-day contest at Penati, Slovakia, the opening foursomes were shared to leave the score at 2–2 before an afternoon surge saw the visitors claim an overnight 8–4 advantage. In hot conditions, there were a host of narrow matches but it was GB&I who held the edge over the closing holes throughout the day. England's Arron Edwards-Hill and Calum Scott from Scotland claimed a battling half point against Pietro Bovari (Italy) and Daniel Da Costa Rodrigues (Portugal), with Barclay Brown – fresh from playing last week’s 150th Open in St Andrews – doing likewise with Mark Power. They forced a half against Swedish duo David Lundgren and Adam Wallin.

Clutch birdies

There was also a foursomes win for Sam Bairstow, runner-up in The Amateur Championship, and Matthew McClean, who triumphed on the 18th against Luis Masaveu Roncal from Spain and Austrian Maximillian Steinlechner. “I think through nine holes this morning we were looking at 4-0 down, so it was great to see the lads make some clutch birdies on the 18th to keep us in it,” said Edwards-Hill. “We kept the momentum with us this afternoon and it sounds like everyone played really well. It was nice to play some good golf today and it’s a nice team environment.” Bairstow, Brown, Edwards-Hill, Power and Englishman John Gough all notched singles wins in the afternoon, with Scott and Wales’ Archie Davies also adding another half each to the GB&I total. Non-playing GB&I captain Stuart Wilson from Forfar said, “It was a slow start in the morning but the guys did really well to turn the matches around. “It was very tight in the afternoon but the 18th has been quite kind to us if you look at it over the whole day.

“I’m sure they will all relish the challenge and there is still a lot of work to be done. There is no room for complacency as it just went our way today.” Stuart Wilson, GB&I Captain

Relish challenge

“It’s been quite a heavy schedule for some of the players coming in, maybe a wee bit of tiredness. It will be a good chill-out tonight and recuperate for tomorrow.” Opposing captain Yves Hofstetter, a former Swiss international team player, said, “It was a good start this morning but the matches last until the 18th. We had a good start but we were a little bit too weak to the finish of the matches. We should have had a few more points this morning. “The outcome of the morning had a little influence on the spirit of the players. Sometimes if you are down in the morning it is difficult to get back into a real fighting position in the afternoon. Four points behind – it is always possible (to come back). We really have to attack during the foursomes.” This is the first time the St Andrews Trophy has been staged since the Continent of Europe triumphed 15.5 – 9.5 at Linna Golf in Finland in 2018. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. View latest scores at the St Andrews Trophy HERE