BANDON, Ore. --Jennie Lee beat Melissa Reid 3 and 2 on Sunday to clinch the United States' fifth straight Curtis Cup victory, an 11 1/2-6 1/2 decision over Britain and Ireland in the biennial amateur women's competition. Lee, who just finished her freshman year at Duke, halved the 16th hole with her opponent from Derbyshire, England, to give the United States 9 1/2 points and the overall win at Bandon Dunes resort. Paige Mackenzie, from Yakima, Wash., defeated Tricia Mangan of Ennis, Ireland, 1-up, and Jane Park, who played at UCLA last season as a freshman, downed Tara Delaney of Ireland 3 and 2 for the final point total. "I heard on the (18th) fairway that Jennie won," said Mackenzie, who was followed by a large gallery wearing "Team Mackenzie" T-shirts. "The most important thing is coming home with the win and giving our team a point, even if it didn't matter." Britain and Ireland was down 7-2 after the first day, but charged back with 2 1/2 points in the three alternate-shot matches Sunday morning. Taylor Leon, who plays for Georgia, defeated Naomi Edwards of Yorkshire, England, 5 and 4 in the afternoon to move the Americans closer, but then Martina Gillen of Dublin downed Virginia Derby Grimes, the oldest player on the U.S. team at 42, 3 and 2, and Breanne Loucks of Wales beat Amanda McCurdy of El Dorado, Ariz., 3 and 2. "Definitely, we had to be aggressive," Loucks said. The wind picked up considerably in the afternoon on the par-71 Pacific Dunes course, carved into sand dunes on the Southern Oregon coast, about a five-hour drive from Portland. The U.S. team needed just two more points Sunday to retain the Curtis Cup, but Britain and Ireland came out strong in the morning's alternate-shot foursome matches. Loucks, the only player from Wales on her team, was paired with pal Reid. Despite the pressure on their team, Loucks and Reid were loose and relaxed in their 7-and-5 win over Lee and Jenny Suh, 7 and 5. Loucks mugged for a television crew, waving "Hiya!" Park and Leon halved their match against Mangan and Delaney. Gillen and Edwards edged Mackenzie, who played for Washington, and Duke's Amanda Blumenherst 1-up. The morning session narrowed the American lead to 7 1/2-4 1/2. On Saturday, Mackenzie helped her team to a three-point lead in foursomes play, then won her individual match with a bogey-free round to help the United States take a 7-2 advantage. The Americans lead the series 25-6-3. ©The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. |
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