KirkwoodGolf

Friday, September 11, 2015

England bounce back from defeat by Scotland to 

retain the Women's Home Internationals crown

England retained the Women's Home Internationals title by beating Ireland 5-4 on the third and final day at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, London.
Ireland, seeking to win the Miller Trophy for the first time since their back to back victories in 2003-2004, led 2-1 after the morning foursomes but England overhauled by taking the afternoon singles 4-2.
Scotland, the only team to beat England, lost 5-4 to Wales in their final match, sharing the singles 3-3 after losing the foursomes 2-1
Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) and Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey) were Scotland's most productive players with 3.5pt each out of a possible 5. 

SCROLL DOWN FOR A FULL SUMMARY OF THE FINAL DAY'S PLAY FROM THE LGU WEBSITE

WOMEN'S HOME INTERNATIONALS
Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, London.
Day 3 results

IRELAND 4, ENGLAND 5
Foursomes: 2-1
O Mehaffey and A Wilson lost to S Lamb and I Mehmet 3 and 2.
M Dunne and C Ryan bt S Keech and S Giles 4 and 1.
P Grant and J McCarthy bt H Muse and G Clews 2 and 1.
Singles: 2-4
Mehaffey lost to Muse 5 and 4.
McCarthy lost to Lamb 3 and 1.
N McSherry lost to Mehmet 1 hole.
Ryan lost to Clews 4 and 2.
S Helly bt B Popel 1 hole.
M Dunne bt Keech 3 and 2.

WALES 5, SCOTLAND 4

Foursomes: 2-1
K O'Connor and L Hillier bt S McWilliam and H McCook 3 and 2.
C Williams and S Birks lost to M Briggs and A Summers 2 and 1.
B Morris and E Griffiths bt G MacDonald and G Paton 2 and 1. 
Singles: 3-3
Williams lost to Briggs 2 and 1.
O'Connor bt Summers 5 and 4.
G Lewis lost to McWilliam 3 and 2.
Morris bt MacDonald 1 hole.
Birks lost to K McIntosh 1 hole.
Hillier bt C Goadby 4 and 3

HOW THEY FINISHED
1 England 2 wins, 1 defeat - 2pt
2 Ireland 1 win, 1 draw, 1 defeat - 1.5pt (more individual wins than Wales).
3 Wales 1 win, 1 draw, 1 defeat - 1.5pt
4 Scotland 1 win, 2 defeats - 1pt.

TOP PLAYERS
England 
H Muse 4 pts out of 6
S Lamb 4 pts out of 6
I Mehmet 4 pts out of 6
Ireland
J McCarthy 3.5pts out of 5
M Dunne 3.5pts out of 5
Wales
K O'Connor 5pts out of 6
L Hillier 5pts out of 6
Scotland
S McWilliam 3pts out of 5 
H McCook 3pts out of 5

FROM THE LADIES GOLF UNION WEBSITE

England have won the Miller Trophy at the Home Internationals for the fourth time in the past five years.

They did it by beating front-runners Ireland 5-4, overtaking them in the singles after losing the final day morning foursomes 2-1 at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, London.

Wales beat Scotland 5-4 in the other match today.

Ireland's hopes of winning the title for the first time since their back-to-back wins in 2003 and 2004 were dashed in the singles, won 4-2 by an England team who had lost five singles the previous day in going down to Scotland.

Hollie Muse set England on the victory path by beating Olivia Mehaffey comprehensively, 5 and 4 in the lead-off singles.

Muse was in the mood, forging a two-hole lead by the turn and going four up after 11.

Sophie Lamb put England ahead 3-2 by beating Julie McCarthy 2 and 1. McCarthy was one up at the turn but Lamb won the 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th in a match-winning revival.

Gemma Clews scored England's third singles point with a 4 and 2 win over Chloe Ryan. Clews was three up at the turn and four up after 10.

Inci Mehmet clinched victory for England by beating Niamh McSherry by one hole. Mehmet, despite losing the fourth, fifth and six, was one up at the turn and built on that with gains at the 11th and 12th. McSherry came back in the closing stages with wins at the 16th and 17th to be only one down on the 18th tee but the hole was halved, leaving Mehmet and England the winners.

Ireland's tail wagged but it was too little too late

Sarah Helly, two up after 10, beat Bethan Popel by one hole after the English player won the 12th and 14th to square the contest. Popel was one up after 16 but Helly won the 17th and 18th.

Maria Dunne beat Sophie Keech by 3 and 2 after being three up at the turn and four up after 10. Keech came on to her game on the inward half, winning the 12th, 14th and 15th but Dunne closed her out by winning the 16th for victory.

England's top players over the three days were Muse, Lamb and Mehmet, each with 4pt out of a possible six.
Ireland's most productive players were McCarthy and Dunne, each with 3 1/2pt, McCarthy from five matches, Dunne from six.
Ireland finished runners-up with 1.5pt to England's 2pt. Wales also had 1.5pt but
the Irish had a superior individual games
won tally compared with the Welsh.

Wales increased their 1pt lunchtime lead over Scotland with a 5 and 4 win by Katherine O'Connor over Ailsa Summers. Two up at the turn, O'Connor stretched her lead with further successes at the 11th, 13th and 14th.
Scotland then came back into the picture with wins by Megan Briggs (2 and 1 against Chloe Williams) and Shannon McWilliam (3 and 2 against Georgia Lewis).

Briggs was two up after five holes and one ahead at the turn. Williams squared matters by taking both the 11th and 12th but Briggs finished the stronger, winning the 15th and 16th for a two-hole lead.

McWilliam, rested from the Day 2 singles because of a sore back, was held to all square after 9 by Lewis but then the 16 year old Scot moved up a gear to win the 10th, 11th and 12th for a three-hole lead. Lewis rallied with gains at the 13th and 14th to be only one down but McWilliam got back in the driving seat by winning the 15th and 16th for the match.

Lauren Hillier put Wales ahead 4-3 with a 4 and 3 victory over Chloe Goadby. Hillier was one up at the turn and built on that by winning the 11th, 12th and 14th for a four-hole advantage. A half at the 15th was enough for a Welsh victory.

Bethan Morris gained the winning fifth point for Wales by beating Gabrielle MacDonald by one hole. MacDonald was one up at the turn but Morris squared the match at the 11th and went ahead at the 13th. The Scot levelled it by winning the 14th but Morris got her nose in front again by winning the 17th and a half at the last clinched her victory.

Scotland shared the singles 3-3 when Kate McIntosh beat Samantha Birks by one hole in the last match to finish.

Birks was one up at the turn, having won the sixth, eighth and ninth. The Welsh player went two up at the 10th but McIntosh put in a great winning effort over the closing holes.

The Scot won the 14th and 15th to square the match. The 16th was halved before McIntosh won the 17th for a one-hole lead. The last hole was halved.

Wales, with 1.5pt, finished third in the final table below Ireland who had the same number of points but a superior individual games won tally.
Scotland, despite their great win over champions-to-be England, finished last with 1pt. 
But it was one of the tightest WHI tournaments in recent years. So
close that Scotland, if they had managed to beat Wales 5-4, would have won the title with 2pt, and a countback of individual games won in comparison to England's.
Katherine O'Connor and Laurien Hillier of Wales were the tournament's most successful players, both winning five points out of a possible six.
  Scotland's best were Shannon McWilliam and Hannah McCook with 3pts each out of five matches.

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