COMMONWEALTH CHAMPIONS BRITAIN
BEATEN BY SPRINGBOKS

ON FINAL DAY

Great Britain, having already clinched the Commonwealth Tournament title on Thursday, lost their 100 per cent record in their final match at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
After beating Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the British team lost 5 ½-1/2 to South Africa.
Australia beat New Zealand 5-2 in the other Friday match.
Britain topped the table with 3pt out of four.
Australia, South Africa and New Zealand each had 2pt. Australia, winners of the competition, played every four years, in 1995, 1999 and 2003, were the official runners-up to Britain.
The Aussies’ individual games-won tally of 16 ½ put them ahead of South Africa (14 ½) and Canada (10 ½).
New Zealand came bottom of the table with one point.
Ladies Golf Union chief executive Lesley Burn said from her St Andrews headquarters:
“Whoopee, what a fantastic win and what a stgart to the LGU’s most ex citing year yet! It is 16 years since we last won the Commonwealth Tournament and this victory underlines the talent that now exists in the British Isles.
“I am a great believer that success breeds success, so we can no look forward with confidence to the Vagliano Trophy later this year.”

Image above, by courtesy of Jeremy Campion, shows the tournament winners (left to right): Melissa Reid, Breanne Loucks, skipper Sue Turner, Naomi Edwards, Krystle Caithness and Kerry Smith.
It was almost inevitable that the British team, on a high when Thursday’s events conspired to make them champions even on their rest day, would suffer some sort of reaction on the final day.
South Africa had a much bigger incentive to finish with a victory and they at last found the form that had made them one of the favourites following their triumph in the women’s world amateur team championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy, also on home turf, earlier in the year.
The South Africans shared the foursomes with Britain and then cut the champions down to size in the singles by winning four of the five ties.
Krystle Caithness, the only Scot in the British squad, lost by 1 hole to Gina Switala.
The only British player not to lose in the final set of singles was Kerry Smith from the Waterlooville club, Hampshire. Kerry halved with Kelli Shean.
That meant that Miss Smith topped the individual British table with seven wins and a halved match – 7 1/2pt out of eight.
The other GB tallies were:
Naomi Edwards (six wins, two losses) 6pt.
Melissa Reid (four wins, one halved match, three losses): 4 1/2pt.
Breanne Loucks (four wins, one halved match, three losses) 4 1/2pt
Krystle Caithness (two wins, two losses) 2pt.

Friday results:
GREAT BRITAIN 1 ½, SOUTH AFRICA 5 ½
Foursomes: K Smith & N Edwards bt K Shean & I Verwey 1 hole; B Loucks & M Reid lost to G Switala & A Simon 1 hole (1-1).
Singles: Loucks lost to B Strauss 3 and 2, K Caithness lost to Switala 1 hole, Edwards lost to Verwey 2 and 1, Smith halved with Shean;l Reid lost to Simon 2 and 1 ( 1/2 -4 ½).
NEW ZEALAND 2, AUSTRALIA 5
Foursomes: T Clelland & P Smith lost to F Bondad & H Oh 6 and 4; Da Som Lee & Yeon Song Kim bt E Bennett & S Na 1 hole (1-1).
Singles – L Eruera lost to S Park 3 and 2, Smith lost to Na 4 and 2, Kim bt Oh 5 and 3, Lee lost to Bondad 1 hole, Clelland lost to Bennett 5 and 3 (1-4).
FINAL TABLE
1 Great Britain 3 pt (19)
2 Australia 2pt (16 ½).
3 South Africa 2pt (14 ½).
4 Canada 2pt (10 ½).
5 New Zealand 1pt (9 ½).
+Figures in brackets are individual games won.