Championships - Seniors' Home International Matches 2009
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29.09.2009
Title holders Wales defeated by England on day in Newport
Defending champions Wales need some help from Scotland or Ireland if they are to retain the Senior Ladies’ Home Internationals championship at Newport Golf Club.In heatwave condtions for the opening day, Wales lost 6-2 to England , the only other country to have won the Sue Johnsom Trophy since the over-50s tournament was inaugurated six years ago.
Last year, Wales beat England 5-3 but a repeat was never really on the cards after England won the foursomes 2-1.
In the other match, Scotland , who meet England on Day 2, beat Ireland 5 ½-2 ½.
Senior British Ladies open amateur champion Vicki Thomas finished up the opening day without a point. Having lost in the foursomes with Jean O’Connor, Vicki was well beaten, 7 and 6 by England ’s Christine Quinn in the top singles tie.
Thomas never won a single hole. Quinn won the second, third, sixth, eighth and ninth before the 10th was halved in the only birdies of the round. Five up at that point, Quinn quickly finished the one-sided contest by winning the 11th and 12th
Janet Melville claimed England ’s fourth point of the day with a 5 anhd 3 win over Jane Rees. Melville started brilliantly by winning the first three holes, including a birdie at the third. Rees responded with a birdie of her own to win back the fourth but Melville birdied the seventh to regain a three-hole lead and then won the ninth to be four up at the turn.
Rees won the 13th but that did not shake Melville out of her stride. She won the 14th and 15th for victory.
Susan Dye got the win-clinching fifth point with a 6 and 4 win over Janet Doleman. Dye was five up after seven holes, having won the first, third, fourth, the sixth with a birdie and the seventh. Doleman did win the eighth to stop the rot but off Dye went again on a winning run by taking the ninth, 10th and 11th to be seven up after the 11th.
Doleman pluckily won the 12th and 13th to be five down but Dye took the 14th for victory.
Ann Lewis doubled Wales ’ points total by beating Rozalyn Adams 2 and 1 in a tie which saw Lewis two up after three holes but all square at the turn.
Level with three holes to play, Lewis won the 16th and 17th for victory.
England won the last tie to finish, a very close affair which saw Lucy Newton, two down win four to play against Wales’ Pamela Valentine, win the 15th, 17th and 18th for victory.
One of the features of this tie was the halving of eight holes in successesion from the seventh to the 14th.
Scotland beat Ireland 5 ½-2 ½ - exactly the same scoreline as 12 months ago – after taking the foursomes 2-1 and the singles 3 ½-1 ½.
The top singles between Scotland’s Heather Anderson and Ireland’s Helen Jones ended all square after the Irish player, two down with four to play, won both the 15th and 18th to salvage half a point.
Anderson had lost the first but won three holes in a row from the third, to take a lead she did not relinquish until the last green. The Scot had been two up after five, two up after 10 and two up after 14 – but could never shake off her dogged opponent.
Kathleen Sutherland, called into the Scotland team last week as a replacement for Lorna Bennett, celebrated with a 7 and 5 win over Marilyn Henderson. Neither player had been used in the morning foursomes.
Sutherland lost only one hole, the eighth, and was four up after seven holes, having won the third, the fourth, the sixth and the seventh with a birdie. She continued to dominate the proceedings by winning the ninth, 10th, 12th and 13th.
Fiona De Vries was a 3 and 2 winner for Scotland over Phil O’Gorman after winning the first three holes. After O’Gorman had stopped the slide by winning the fourth, De Vries went four up by winning the sixth and eighth.
O’Gorman got a winning run going by taking the ninth, 12th and 13th to be only one down on the 14th tee. But De Vries won the 14th with a birdie and then the 15th with a par to regain a three-hole lead.
Mary Smith clinched victory for Scotland with a 2 and 1 win over Pat Doran. Smith, who had birdied the first hole and halved the fifth in birdies, was four up after nine holes. In a quality match, the 10th hole was halved in birdies. Doran won the 11th and 12th to clash her deficit to two holes and then won the 15th to be one down with three to play.
Smith won the 16th to go back to two up and a half at the 17th ended the match in her favour.
Ireland’s only victory in the singles came from Sheena McElroy who finished one up on Moira Thomson.
Thomson won the second but McElroy had the better of the remainder of the outward half. The Irish player won the foufrth, the fifth with a birdie, the seventh and the ninth to be three up at the turn. Thomson won back the 14th and the 17th to be one down on the 18th tee but a half at the last was good enough for McElroy to win by one hole.
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