ROLAND, Arkansas – Ana Belac and Alex Smalley continued their representation of Duke University and their respective countries Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Cup, both earning at least half a point for their teams in the Ryder Cup-style event. 

 

Falling into an 8-4 hole deficit heading into Saturday’s play, Team International returned the favour by winning eight of the 12 mixed foursomes to climb into a 12.5-11.5 advantage heading into the third day at The Alotian Club in Roland, Arkansas.

 

Despite the successes of Team International, Slovenian native Belac and Luis Gagne (LSU) were not able to conjure up the same dominance that led them to a rare victory for the international side on Friday. Tied through the back nine, the duo ran into opponents who took advantage of the turn on the front nine in Will Gordon (Vanderbilt) and Dylan Kim (Arkansas) in a 3&2 defeat.

 

One of few bright spots for the morning on Team USA, Smalley and Kaylee Benton (Arkansas) navigated the 18 almost the entire way, picking up a lead on the 14th hole before stretching the lead to as many as 4UP on the turn to the front nine. The duo clinched their victory on the eighth hole with a birdie putt and a 3 and 1 win.

 

Continuing their strong morning, Team International took the momentum into the afternoon foursomes. The international squad racked up 7-3-1 record and holds a 20 ½ to 15 ½ lead heading into single play Sunday. 

 

Belac joined forces with Julie McCarthy (Auburn) in the afternoon as the pair worked to fight off three straight bogeys to start the afternoon, losing all three holes. The pairing chipped away at the deficit on the turn to the front nine. Belac and McCarthy cruised back to even by the fourth hole. Neither team were able to break the deadlock as both teams shared the next five holes, earning each side half a point.

 

Faced with a similar situation, Smalley and teammate Chandler Phillips (Texas and M) trailed by four after the front nine. Despite a valiant effort, the two were unable to share the spoils after heading into the final hole down one. Both sides grabbed par, giving Team International even more breathing room headed into the final day.

 

Sunday will feature the final round in the form of singles matches.  Live online scoring available at https://www.arnoldpalmercup.com. 

 

#GoDuke

 

Arnold Palmer Cup

The Alotian Club

June 8, 2019

International 12.5, USA 11.5

After Round 2

 

Morning Mixed Foursomes Results:

McCarthy/Scott, International def. Galdiano/Phillips, United States 6 and 5

Kinhnult/Nyfjall, International def. Augenstein/Migliaccio, United States 3 and 2

Kanaya/Naveed, International def. Grimmer/Harford, United States 1 hole

Garcia/Ramirez, International def. Scott/Carlson, United States 1 hole

del Rey/Harm, International def. Martin/Parmerter, United States 2 holes

Go/Pichaikool, International def. Cooper/Hammer, United States 2 and 1

Laisne/Yu, International def. Kuest/Lau, United States 4 and 3

Gordon/Kim, United States def. Belac/Gagne, International 3 and 2

Jeon/Nakajima, International def. Cummins/Papp, United States 3 and 1

Smalley/Benton, United States def. Aoshima/Ruffels, International 3 and 1

Schmid/Stormo, International halved with Eckroat/Nam, United States

Wu/Chang, United States bt  Greville/McClymont 7 and 5

 

Arnold Palmer Cup

The Alotian Club

June 8, 2019

International 20.5, USA 15.5

After Round 3

 

Afternoon Foursome Matches:

Carlson/Migliaccio, United States def. Kinhult/Laisne, International 3 and 1

Greville/Aoshima, International def. Augenstein/Kuest, United States 1 hole

Jeon/Stormo, International def. Papp/Parmerter, United States 2 holes

Schmid/Pichaikool, International def. Phillips/Smalley, United States 1 hole

Harm/Ruffels, International def. Chang/Galdiano, United States 2 and 1

Gordon/Wu, United States def. Nyfjall/Scott, International 4 and 2

del Rey/Ramirez, International def. Cummins/Eckroat, United States 3 and 2

Harford/Lau, United States def. Go/McClymont 2 and 1

Nakajima/Kanaya, International def. Grimmer/Scott, United States 5 and 3

Kim/Benton, United States halved with McCarthy/Belac, International

Gagne/Yu, International def. Hammer/Martin, United States 4 and 3

Cooper/Nam, United States halved with Garcia/Naveed, International