Staff WriterThe Junior Ryder Cup is already living up to its reputation for drama, and we’re only halfway through. At Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, New York, the United States clawed their way to a slim 6 ½ to 5 ½ lead over Team Europe after a wild day of foursomes and mixed matches that swung harder than a dodgy pub door in the wind.
“Lock-In” was the phrase of the day according to U.S. Captain Suzy Whaley, and her young squad did just that—well, at least most of the time.
The tone was set early by Asterisk Talley, the U.S. girls’ top-ranked junior, and partner Amelie Zalsman. They jumped out to a 5-up lead through seven holes and polished things off with a 4 & 3 win, sealed by a birdie on the 15th.
“It’s great to get off to a good start (in match play) because you don’t want to have to battle back the whole time,” Talley said.
From there, the Americans came out swinging. Anna Fang and Lily Peng dismantled Europe’s Charlotte Naughton and Alice Kong 6 & 4, while Luke Colton and Giuseppe Puebla matched the margin against Callixte Alzas and Lev Grinberg. Colton credited Puebla’s cannon off the tee for their early eagle at the fourth.
“Giuseppe ripped a drive like 350 (yards) down there and I hit it where I was aiming and it ended up being eight feet away,” Colton said. “That felt really big because (Europe) hit it close for birdie. Giuseppe made just about every putt out there and I think that got the match going. We were on fire after that.”
But Europe, as ever, refused to roll over. French duo Hugo Le Goff and Oscar Couilleau steadied the ship with a 3 & 2 win over U.S. stars Miles Russell and Tyler Mawhinney.
“I’ve known Oscar since I was 7 years-old,” Le Goff said. “We used to play together quite a few times and we always play well together. It felt good to win the first point for Europe.”
Momentum shifted as Nagore Martinez and Louise Uma Landgraf beat Zoe Cusack and Rayee Feng 3 & 2, and John Doyle and Kris Kim edged Hamilton Coleman and Lunden Esterline 1-up on the 18th. By lunch, it was all square at 3-3.
The afternoon mixed foursomes were pure chaos. Russell and Talley stormed to 4-up through eight against Brentcheneff and Le Goff, only for the Frenchman to claw Europe back, holing clutch birdies on 17 and 18 to split the point.
“It just shows you that on this course, you can never count your chickens,” European Captain Steven Gallacher said. “We saw two 4-up matches (this afternoon) that didn’t win. You don’t normally see that. This course, you’ve got to be on it all the time. You’ve got to hit great shots.”
Coleman and Feng wrote their own comeback tale, overturning a 4-down deficit through seven. Feng’s approach on 18 left Hamilton with a 10-footer, which he buried for the 1-up win.
“That was about every emotion you could feel on the golf course, in one round,” Hamilton said. “It would have been easy to give up, but we stuck with it.”
“I grabbed my putter, but kept the cover on because I had faith in him,” Feng added. “Towards the end we really pulled it together. We’re pretty great as a team.”
Colton and Fang sealed another point for the U.S. on the 18th, while Cusack and Esterline cruised home 6 & 4. Europe’s response came via Martinez and Alzas (3 & 2) and Naughton and Kim (2 & 1).
By day’s end, the Americans had their noses in front, though Whaley knows the margin is slimmer than a blade of fescue.
“The phrase is actually Asterisk’s. That’s her phrase for when she really wants to play great golf,” Whaley said. “I think they all locked-in today. For me, locking in means every time you hit a shot, I want you focused. At the end of the day, we came out slightly ahead but I’m here to tell you we’re going to start over tomorrow. We’re going to lock-in.”
With one day left at the Junior Ryder Cup, both sides have shown they can win big and claw back when it matters. In other words—don’t blink.
