First blood to GB&I

Richard Wallis and Gareth Wright got Great Britain & Ireland off to the perfect start as they registered the first point of a dramatic opening foursomes at the 26th PGA Cup Match at De Vere Slaley Hall.

The duo, in the first match out, defeated the experienced duo of Mark Sheftic and Chip Sullivan 3&2, to give the hosts first blood over the Hunting Course.

“To get the first point on the board was our goal,” said Wright.

“We were out there just trying to do our job. We’re both experienced players and have played big tournaments to know what to do.

“It was just a case of thinking through the process and that makes it a lot easier. Just do the simple things and that makes you hard to beat.”

Wallis, the PGA No1, opened proceedings for GB&I and admitted that after getting under way, it was much easier to focus after that.

“It was intense to be honest and it was about keeping calm. I got a decent swing and flashed it down the middle. We then got off to a good start winning the second and it was about putting them under pressure from then on.”

They remained one-up at the turn and remained dominant on the back nine, sealing the win with two holes to spare.

The Americans, who need 13 points to retain the Llandudno Trophy, turned the session around as Bob Sowards and Mike Small in match four despatched the Scottish duo of Greig Hutcheon and Scott Henderson 5&4, to draw the teams level.

JC Anderson and Kelly Mitchum then edged the US in front with a 4&3 success over Benn Barham and David Callaway.

The real drama of the morning was unfolding in the third match as Graham Fox and Jon Barnes recovered from two down after 11 holes to secure victory on the last against Rod Perry and Jeff Sorensen.

Fox and Barnes took charge as they won four holes in succession from the 12th to leave them dormie two. The Americans capitalised on the 17th after Fox put his tee shot into the trees, resulting in a dropped shot and a lost hole.

A large crowd assembled around the 18th green to witness the denouement. The pressure told, particularly on the Americans, who laboured to reach the green in four. Barnes played out of greenside bunker to get on the green in three and see GB&I close out the hole for a two hole victory.

A relieved Fox said: “You can’t relax for one minute until the games finished so you’ve got to keep your focus, especially finding the greens with the second shots. It was a case of grit and determination.

 “We didn’t play our best but we didn’t give up and you make them work for everything, never give them a putt or hand them a hole and we did that and took our chances. Foursomes is not always about playing the best golf it’s about getting a result and we gelled well together.

“It became apparent with six or seven to go that our match was crucial and we kicked on.”

Playing partner Barnes added: “The last time I played foursomes was county or England schools. We didn’t play our best this morning but still won, but we will get better from here.

“We could see the scoreboard and knew our game would be crucial because there is a big difference between 3-1 and 2-2 so it’s brilliant to have got the win.”