CONWY, Wales — Annabell Fuller and Caley McGinty were part of two winning matches Thursday as Great Britain & Ireland jumped out to a 4½-1½ lead over the Americans after the first round of the Curtis Cup.
Hannah Darling teamed with Fuller in fourballs to beat Rachel Heck and Emilia Migliaccio, and Darling also partnered with Louise Duncan in halving the opening foursomes match against Heck and Rose Zhang, the top two women amateurs in the world.
Zhang, the No. 1 amateur in women’s golf, had to hole a 4-foot putt to win the 18th hole for a half-point. Zhang teamed with Allisen Corpuz for the only U.S. victory in fourballs.
GB&I already has more points than the last Curtis Cup, which the Americans won, 17-3, in 2018 at Quaker Ridge in New York.
“I’m just thrilled, thrilled with the result,” GB&I captain Elaine Ratcliffe said. “Thrilled that they have played the golf that I know they can play. I loved the fact that they have had such a great time doing it.”
Three more matches of foursomes and fourballs were scheduled for Friday, with eight singles matches Saturday.