Team USA leads after day one of Curtis Cup, but GB&I doesn't intend to make it easy

SCARSDALE, N.Y. -- A heavily-favored Team USA took an early lead, 4-2, over Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) after the first day of the competition. Although GB&I won in its last matchup in 2016, the U.S. lineup is now significantly stronger on paper for these Curtis Cup matches and, for one day at least, it showed.

Kristen Gillman led the charge for the USA at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, winning both her matches. In the morning, she and World Amateur Golf's No. 1-ranked Lilia Vu won their four-ball match with Alice Hewson and Lily May Humphreys. Gillman and Vu posted eight birdies and no bogeys in their 4 and 3 victory. Gillman sealed the match on No. 15 with a flawless 15-foot downhill birdie putt.

Vu and Gillman’s strategy was for the first player to putt to go for par and the second for birdie.

“It allowed us to hit our putts fearless[ly],” Gillman said. “I think that really helped us today.”

During the afternoon foursome matches, Gillman and fellow Alabama teammate Lauren Stephenson were victorious in the anchor match against Paula Grant and Humphreys. The match was all square through 10 holes, after which Gillman and Stephenson ran away with it, winning four of the final six holes, ending the match 4-up on the 16th hole.

USA’s captain, Virginia Derby Grimes, admitted she even yelled “Roll Tide” to Stephenson and Gillman before they teed off, despite her deep Auburn roots.

Stephenson, Gillman and the rest of the ‘Bama squad are coming off a runner-up finish to Arizona in the NCAA Championships a few weeks ago.

Gillman will have an opportunity to redeem her Crimson Tide pride Saturday as she and Jennifer Kupcho face off in the first weekend four-ball match against ASU’s Olivia Mehaffey and partner Sophie Lamb.

It isn't likely to be an easy match for Kupcho and Gillman, ranked No. 2 and 8 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, respectively. GB&I’s Mehaffey and Lamb proved a dynamic duo playing together in both the morning and afternoon matches on Friday. The two came back from a 3-down deficit through 12 to halve the match. Recognizing the strength of the pairing, GB&I captain Elaine Farquharson-Black kept them together for the first foursome match of the afternoon. Mehaffey, a Curtis Cup veteran, and Lamb won the match 3 and 2 against the USA’s Mariel Galdiano and Andrea Lee.

Mehaffey of Northern Ireland, the highest-ranked player on the GB&I team at No. 16, showed momentum can outweigh rankings when it comes to match play. Rankings-wise, USA has the upper hand, with all eight players within the top 22 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking while GB&I all are ranked No. 33 or higher— with the exception of Mehaffey, who isn’t concerned with how the teams match up on paper.

“Two years ago USA had every single player in the top-20 in the world, and we managed to win then,” Mehaffey said. “If you get fired up and you really thrive off match play, I don’t really feel like ranking plays a part.”

Mehaffey is one of the five players from both teams coming off playing at the U.S. Women’s Open. Mehaffey missed the cut, along with USA’s Lee and Sophia Shubert, while Gillman finished T-27 and 15-year-old Lucy Li finished T-55.

Grimes gave them the option to fly in anytime Monday, but they chose the first flight in to meet the team at an outing in Manhattan. The two transitioned nicely into match play with Gillman’s 2-0 and Li securing a half point in her morning four-ball match with Kupcho.

Saturday four-ball matches are set to start at 9:25 a.m (EDT), television coverage begins at 11:30 a.m on FS1. The foursome matches will also be broadcasted on FS1 from 5 to 8 p.m.

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