The home team
The seventh Ryder Cup Challenge saw a new day one format, with the Foursomes being held in the morning followed by the Fourballs in the afternoon on St Mellion’s Kernow course. The plan was to avoid the frantic lunchtime turn-around which had become a familiar aspect of previous matches. It certainly worked with players not only able to enjoy a leisurely lunch but even to indulge in a swim and sauna before the gruelling afternoon match-ups.
In what was to develop in to the greatest first day ever, the South struck first with Moyle and Cole delivering a point against Callaghan and Kaye 4 & 3. Incredibly, it was to be the only game of the first 10 matches not to go down the 18th hole.
Interesting 10th on Kernow
At the top of the order a stellar match up between Thorngate and Ulla and Tattersfield and rookie Fearnsides would go the way of the northern pair 2 Up. In another hugely competitive affair, Burke and skipper Whitworth replied for the South with a 1 Up victory over Oakes (his first defeat) and rookie Fleming.
In Match 3 Mountain and Lister led Ephremsen and Johnstone by 2 with 3 to play but a fantastic finish from the southern pair saw them return a point, 1 Up. It would be a similar tale in Match 4 with Wallis and Rich defeating Wallis and Hardwick 1 up to take the southerners into a shock 4-1 lead. However, in the anchor foursomes clash the Curleys held their nerve against Bell and Holliday to win 2 up and end a breathless morning with the South 4-2 ahead.
Moyle a study in disbelief at South’s morning lead
Suitably refreshed and in the case of the North, chastened, after losing the Foursomes for the first time ever, the Fourballs would be equally dramatic. Eyebrows had been raised when North captain Lister chose to break up his own long term partnership with Hardwick in the morning pairings but order was restored in the afternoon with the North’s equivalent of Montgomery and Westwood beating Bell and Burke by 2 holes in another titanic clash.
Titanic clash?
Fearnsides, relishing his first appearance, teamed up with all time leading points scorer Mountain to restore parity in the overall match score with a 2 Up victory over Thorngate and Holliday. Meanwhile, Ephremsen and Johnstone looked to have a point in the bag on the 18th before the irrepressible Callaghan holed a 10 footer to halve the match – although his prolific social media output would soon have readers believing the putt was at least 26ft and quite possibly from another postcode!
In another epic encounter Wallis and Rich halved with Fleming and Curley. Cole and Moyle in match 11 were always struggling to match the consistent Wallis and Curley Jr and succumbed 3 & 1 soon after Cole was forced to leave the course on the 17th tee with a severe stomach bug that had hampered him all afternoon. However, in the final match of the day, a chip in from Ulla on 15 followed by a monster putt from Whitworth on 16 saw them defeat Oakes and Kaye 3 & 2 to leave the overall match score at 6-6, with an incredible 9 of the day’s 12 matches having gone to the final hole. Even for this great competition it was a day of unrelenting excitement.
Halfway scores