The partner portion of the Curtis Cup is over, as four sessions have been played, and we have a tight 7-5 score heading into Sunday. Here are some of the takeaways from session four:
- GB&I had exactly the session they needed, going 2-1 to get back into striking range of the United States. Anything else would’ve felt like a death sentence, but now, it feels like they have a legitimate chance
- On the flip side, The United States got job No. 1 done, by avoiding a sweep and getting one full point on the board. This is a solid lead heading into a singles round where the team should have an advantage.
- Davina Xanh and Charlotte Naughton performed brilliantly against two experienced Curtis Cup players in Asterisk Talley and Anna Davis for the US. They went up early and maintained the lead in the end. Davis and Talley are intimidating players to face, this was a great win.
- Sophia Fullbrook and Patience Rhodes are an absolute dream team, keep this in mind four years from now at the Solheim Cup. These two have gone 3-1 together and have certainly had their issues, but come out with wins in the end. Yes, this match almost blew up in their faces, but they closed well on 18 and got a clutch extra half point for GB&I.
- What else can anyone say about Farah O’Keefe? Already a superstar thanks to her Chevron Championship performance, National Championship and Annika Award win, she is now 4-0 for team USA and doing so much heavy lifting. This is one of the most impressive individual performances I have ever witnessed in a team event.
- Catriona Matthew deserves a ton of credit for how she has managed her team and put pairings together. Arguably every grouping of European players has outperformed what would be expected of them. It has been a brilliant captaincy job.
- Because of rules, Europe now needs 5/8 points to retain the Cup, while USA needs 3.5/8 to win the Cup. Considering overall rankings, this should feel like a relatively easy win for the States, but do not sleep on the depth coming from this GB&I squad that is performing exceptionally well. This is anyone’s ballgame.
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