Griffin wins Kennedy/Walsh snatch half as Internationals lead Palmer Cup

Irish Golfer
|
|

Max Kennedy by Carson Racich

Irish Golfer

Feature Interviews

Latest Stories

Ryan Griffin enjoyed a winning debut while Max Kennedy and Lauren Walsh eagled the 18th to earn a share of the spoils to give the Internationals a one point advantage over USA on day one of the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup.

Team International leads Team USA 6.5-5.5 after the first 12 matches at Laurel Valley Golf Club.

Rosapenna’s Griffin combined with Lottie Woad for a 3&2 win in the mixed four balls while Royal Dublin’s Kennedy and Castlewarden’s Walsh came from 2 down with 5 to play to snatch a dramatic half in the final match with a closing eagle.

play-sharp-fill

“That was special,” Kennedy said. “We were under the gun coming down to the last (hole), and I hit a good (approach) shot. Lauren’s been keeping me in it all day, so it was my time to give a little back.”

“We thought we’d have to make an eagle coming down to the last, and he’s been hitting that 7-wood great all day,” said Walsh. “I was walking up hoping that it was a 7-wood number for him.”

In the tournament’s opening match, Team USA’s Derek Hitchner and Emilia Migliaccio led 1UP heading into the turn, but it was Team International’s Mateo Fernández de Oliveira and Julia Lopez Ramirez who used four back-nine birdies to claim victory, 1UP.

“We had a rough start, but got warmed up, knew how to change our bags, and got more comfortable with each other on the back nine,” said Lopez Ramirez, who was 2-0 playing with Fernández de Oliveira in the 2022 Palmer Cup. “The good golf came and we were having a really good time out there.”

Megan Schofill and Caleb Surratt grabbed Team USA’s first point in Match 4 with their 4&3 win over Team International’s Herman Sekne and Mirabel Ting.

“We played really solid golf and had a lot of fun on the course today,” Schofill said. “Par is a good score on a lot of these holes, and whenever I felt like I was in a little bit of trouble, he (Surratt) made a lot of great putts and played phenomenal.”

After early-afternoon wins by Tyran Snyders/Chiara Tamburlini (4&3), Christo Lamprecht/Caley McGinty (4&3), and Griffin/Woad, Team International led 6-3 into the last three matches of the day. Team USA’s Gordon Sargent and Amari Avery, who were 2-0 when playing together in the 2022 Palmer Cup, defeated Team International’s Charlotte Heath and Frederik Kjettrup 3&2, and Arizona State Sun Devils Ashley Menne and Preston Summerhays used their 3&2 victory over Team International’s Lorna McClymont and Josele Ballester to grab Team USA’s fifth point.

 

Stay ahead of the game. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest Irish Golfer news straight to your inbox!

More News

Leave a comment


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy & Terms of Service apply.