Curtis Cup 2021 R2

Day 1, Day 3

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The USA staged a stirring comeback on the second day of the 41st Curtis Cup at Conwy Golf Club in Wales today.

Trailing Great Britain and Ireland by three points after the opening day, the Americans, led by Captain Sarah Ingram, fought back to ensure the match sits level at 6-6 going into the final day singles tomorrow.

Curtis Cup 2021 R2

“They were definitely inspired and fired up to play better today and I really didn't have to do much pep talking," said Ingram. "I know that they are all real fighters and that they would follow up a tough day with a really good day.

“I saw a tonne of birdies. I saw some creativity, different shot making and I just saw a lot of confidence and just everybody having a good time. 

Curtis Cup 2021 R2

The USA made their intentions clear from the off in the morning foursomes with lead pairing Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck notching a convincing 3&2 victory over the Scottish pairing of Louise Duncan and Hannah Darling.

Rachel Kuehn and Emilia Migliaccio kept up the resurgence defeating Englishwomen Annabell Fuller and Charlotte Heath by the same margin.

Curtis Cup 2021 R2

The USA didn't have it all their own way, however, and the English pairing of Emily Toy and Caley McGinty secured an important half point at the last hole against Jensen Castle and Brooke Matthews. Toy holed from 3ft for a winning par five after McGinty had found the rough to the right of the green with her approach.

That left the score at 5-4 in Great Britain and Ireland's favour going into the afternoon fourballs.

The USA continued to ramp up the pressure in the fourballs. Kuehn and Castle seized the initiative in their match with Duncan and Lauren Walsh to go 3 up after eight and, despite Duncan reducing the deficit to one hole with birdies at the 9th and 11th, the Americans eased to a 3&2 win.

Curtis Cup 2021 R2

Darling and Fuller continued their successful fourball partnership by clinching a hard-fought encounter with Heck and Kim by 4&3. Darling, the Girls Amateur and St Rule Trophy champion, maintained her rich vein of form and her excellent driving was complemented by Fuller's strong approach play as the match swung in GB&I's favour after the turn.

“We both played some good golf," said Darling. "Very clutch when we needed to be and didn't hole as many putts as we would have liked but we didn't really need to in the end. 

“It's just so great being here and I really think that this whole tournament brings out the best in us, so it's nice.

“We know we need to go out tomorrow and perform well and win. That's, I guess, the only option tomorrow, we need to win. I have full confidence in the team. We're all playing well, we just need to go out there tomorrow and just believe that we can do it.”

Curtis Cup 2021 R2

In the final match of the day the USA's Allisen Corpuz carded four birdies in five holes from the 3rd to take control of her and Zhang's match against Toy and McGinty. The GB&I pairing battled to stay in the match but ultimately Corpuz sealed victory with a lengthy putt from off the green on the 16th.

“I think today we ham and egged it really well," said Corpuz. "I think it really gave us the confidence to just take a good run at it and, we made a lot more than we did yesterday, which definitely helped a lot.

“I don't know if I've ever made a putt that clutch [on the 16th] before, so as soon as I made it like my heart just went crazy. But it was great to get the win with Rose today.”

The match continues with the final day singles getting underway from 10am tomorrow.

Curtis Cup 2021 R2