Championships

Home Internationals – Round-up

The R&A

10 Aug 23

3 mins

England and Ireland began the R&A Men’s and Women’s Home Internationals at Machynys Peninsula in Wales with victories on Wednesday.

England defeated Scotland 13-8 in the early match, while Ireland bettered Wales 13 ½-7 ½ to set up an enthralling day two. It is only the second time men and women have teamed together in the Home Internationals format. In the England-Scotland meeting, eight of the 21 foursomes and singles matches went to the 18th hole to highlight a closer contest than the scoreline suggested. Former University of Stirling team-mates Penny Brown and Lorna McClymont won two points out of two, one of them in a one-hole foursomes win over Sophie Fullbrook and Isla McDonald-O’Brien. Rosie Belsham, Jack Bigham, Zachary Chegwidden and James Claridge all chipped in two points out of two to help England to victory.

Good performances

“We had number of matches today that came down the 18th hole which didn’t quite swing our way, but it was a good afternoon from the team in the singles against a strong English side,” said Scottish captain Gillian Paton. “We had a lot of good performances. Lorna (McClymont) and Penny Brown led the way, but that’s not surprising. Penny’s an excellent player and Lorna’s had a great season winning the Welsh, the Irish and getting picked for the Vagliano Trophy team. “The players just have to keep doing what they’re doing because they are in good form. Hopefully a few putts will go our way tomorrow. It’s definitely all still to play for.” English captain Gareth Jenkins added, “The score line is flattering, to be honest. It doesn’t show how close the match was. I’m really proud of the team because we had players who were strong when it mattered. I think Rosie made four birdies over her last four holes to win. Jack made a birdie at the last to get his victory. James also birdied the last get his singles point. It really could have gone either way.”

Too much to do

Ireland took the foursomes session 5 ½ to 1 ½ against Wales and looked likely to steamroller the home side. However, Wales were projected to defeat the defending champions 11-10 at one point early in the singles session. “It’s hard to come back in the singles when you don’t get a good result in the foursomes,” said Welsh captain Laura Jane Griffiths. “We just gave ourselves a little too much to do in the afternoon.” James Ashfield led the Welsh charge in the afternoon. He defeated Ireland’s Alex Maguire by one hole and that seemed to inspire the rest of the rest squad. “The team was pretty down after the morning session, and were determined to fight back,” Griffiths added. “I’m so proud of them and their team spirit. It was really so close.” Irish skipper Niall Mac Sweeney said, “The morning foursomes was probably a bit misleading, and we always knew Wales were going to come back at us. “It was tense all afternoon. We managed to turn things around to pull it out of the fire, but it was a very tight call. I’m delighted to get out of that with a win.” Eleven matches went to the 18th hole, with eight in the singles. “I know eight of the matches went to the 18th hole because I walked all eight of them!” said a relieved Irish captain.

Boys’ and Girls’ Internationals

Meanwhile, Ireland kept the pressure on England during the second round of matches at the Boys’ and Girls’ Home Internationals to set up an intriguing final day showdown with the reigning champions at Lindrick. While England’s teenagers maintained their 100% record with a 15-6 victory of Wales in the combined event to take another step towards retaining the title, Ireland also made it two wins out of two with a 14-7 defeat of Scotland. Team golf has always been a game of fine margins and it could not be tighter. England have racked up a total of 32 points from their two matches. Ireland have a haul of 31. “We have to go out and win, it’s as simple as that,” said the Irish captain, Peter English. “It couldn’t be closer. We have an exciting head-to-head with England and that’s where you want to be going into the final day of a tournament.”

Close encounters

The Irish asserted their authority in the morning by winning the foursomes 6 ½ - ½. They had to work hard, though, to establish that advantage in a number of keenly fought, nip-and-tuck encounters. In the top match, for instance, James Walsh and Gavin Tiernan were four-up through 13 holes against Fergus Brown and Scottish Boys’ champion, Billy Devine, but the Scots rallied on the run-in to reduce the deficit to just a hole playing the last. As the ebb and flow intensified, Tiernan’s 5-iron tee-shot on the par-3 18th came to rest in a perilous position next to a tree on the left hand side of the green. With Devine and Brown safely on the putting surface, it looked like the Scots might just plunder a half-point. Walsh had other ideas, however, and dinked a delightfully executed recovery shot to within a couple of feet. The Scottish birdie attempt failed to drop, the hole was halved and Tiernan and Walsh held on for a slender victory. “I just had to stab at it and fortunately, it came out nicely,” said a smiling Walsh. “They were coming back at us so it was crucial that we held on.” Caoimhe O’Grady, the Irish Girls’ champion, and Ellen O’Shaughnessy staved off the challenge of Summer Elliott and Asitha Ashok and clinched a two-hole win on the 18th.

Robust displays

The foursomes in general were tighter than the overall 6 ½ - ½ scoreline suggested but Ireland delivered decisive blows at crucial times to give themselves a sizeable cushion to take into the singles. The Scots showed admirable zeal in the afternoon and put in a series of robust displays. The girls in particular, spearheaded by the impressive Grace Crawford and Sheridan Clancy, aided the fightback but Ireland shaded the session 7 ½ - 6 ½. “We had to fight today and credit to Scotland for coming back at us,” added English. “They were hurting after the morning because the scoreline didn’t reflect how close some of the foursomes were.” In the day’s other tussle, England overcame a spirited Wales team to tee-up the chance of yet more glory in the annual, round-robin contest. The established foursomes pairings of Hugh Adams and Harry Malin, and Sam Easterbrook and Frazer Jones, both came through handsomely again as England took charge of the morning session. The Wales tail wagged, though, and victories in the final two matches gave them some hope at 5-2 down. England didn’t have it all their own way in the singles as the Welsh displayed sturdy resistance. Kris Kim, the McGregor Trophy winner, had to show his fighting qualities with a late turnaround against Dylan John. Kim had been trailing but won 16, 17 and hit a cracker into the last to claim a one-hole victory as the English dug deep. “I think the score flattered us a bit to be honest,” admitted the England captain, Stephen Burnett. “It wasn’t comfortable but we have it all to play for.”

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