The Junior Vagliano Trophy and Jacques Leglise Trophy matches produced two pieces of history when the competitions ended in West Lancashire.
However, an unprecedented fifth consecutive win for the best junior men from the Continent of Europe in Jacques Leglise had to go back to Great Britain and Ireland's victory in the Junior Vagliano Trophy.
After seven consecutive times watching the top girls of the Continent of Europe win the cup, the home team finally took the silver medal.
Not long after Continental Europe ran out 12-10 winners of the Jacques Leglise Trophy, GB&I secured an 8-7 victory in the Junior Vagliano Trophy.
Ireland's non-playing captain Deirdre Walsh and her six girls have ended 13 years of frustration since the first tournament in 2011. Last year's 9-9 draw at Royal Dornoch was the closest GB&I had come.
“This is unbelievable,” said Walsh. “I am very happy for the girls. They believe in themselves, they really do, and they go out to earn their points. They didn't run away from them, or start them. They focus on their own games. They went out to do the work and did it.
“We were very close last year, and to perform this year is exciting. It is a great achievement for these girls.”
FOUR LEADS
GB&I built a 5-4 lead after foursomes in the morning, splitting the session at 1½ points each. It meant that Walsh's team needed three singles wins out of six to make history. They did not start well as the Continent of Europe won the first three games. However, Ireland's Olivia Costello and English players Lauren Crump and Charlotte McNaughton stepped in to put the home side over the line.
Walsh put one game away to propel her side to victory, pointing to the half point McNaughton and Costello earned in their foursomes match against French pair Louise Uma Landgraf and Alice Kong. The GB&I girls were down after six holes but battled back for a crucial point that gave them a chance to advance to singles play.
“That part was important this morning, very important,” Walsh said. “It was a turning point in the game because it gave us momentum in the afternoon. We went into lunch confident, knowing we could win the cup for the first time. It makes a difference.
“It is such an achievement to beat the best from the Continent of Europe. These girls can be proud of themselves.”
GOOD GAS
European captain Myrte Eikenaar also chose the foursomes match as the difference in the two days.
“It was a good finish this week but that point in the morning foursomes was very important for GB&I,” admitted Eikenaar. “It made them go ahead and we had to fight hard. We gave it our all, but GB&I just had that edge and deserved to win. It's good that they finally won the game because they kept getting closer but we will be looking for revenge on the African continent next year.”
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
So did Chris King's GB&I Jacques Leglise team. As in the Junior Vagliano Trophy, the foursomes proved to be important. The Continent of Europe won all four morning matches, meaning it needed 2½ points from nine singles to retain the trophy. They went on to win 3½.
“Traditionally foursomes may not be seen as our strength,” said Continent of Europe captain Pierre Relecom. But we had natural couples from the same ethnicities which made it easy for me to choose my couples. There was good golf this morning on both sides, but my team played better.
“It's a big thing to win the cup five times in a row. It proves that the associations are doing a good job of raising quality golfers. We should not underestimate the abilities of these players. There is a lot of talent which makes it easy for me to be the captain of such a team.”
The King's team also produced a lot of talents. It's just not enough to turn around a four-point inefficiency.
“You must take your hat off to Pierre and Continent of Europe,” said the King. “They played some explosive golf and it was a big ask this afternoon that we expected to win seven singles.
“These guys can take a lot of good things out of this. There were many good games. We have a lot of future stars this week.”
For all Jacques Leglise Trophy points, click here.
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