St Andrews Trophy match at Prince's comes to dramatic end

Craig Watson's GB  and I team rally from 4pt 

down to earn a 12.5-12.5 draw

    Skipper Craig Watson (that's him at the right end of the back row) with his happy warriors.

                         Picture by courtesy of the R and A.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Skipper Craig Watson's Great Britain and Ireland team responded to their captain's call for a supreme effort and came back from 4pt in arrrears to draw 12.5-12.5 with the Continent of Europe at Prince's Golf Club, Kent today.
As holders of the trophy in the biennial competition, it remains within GB and I's grasp for another two years.
Trailing 4-8 at the start of the second day, GB and I won the foursomes 3.5-0.5 with Grant Forrest and Connor Syme scoring a 4 and 3 win.
The singles produced a dramatic finish.
Forrest was beaten 2 and 1 but Robert MacIntyre from Oban and Syme gained vital half-points to provide the platform for  Welshman David Boote's one-hole win - he had been four up after 13 - to give the home team a hard-earned share of the honours.
The GB and I team is selected by the R and A. The Continent of Europe team by the European Golf Association.

ST ANDREWS TROPHY
Prince's Golf Club, Kent
Day 1 score: GB and I 4, Continent of Europe 8.
Day 2 score: GB and I 8.5, Continent of Europe 4.5
Final score: GB and I 12.5, Continent of Europe 12.5
Day 2 Foursomes (3.5-0.5)
S Grehan (Ire) and S Gregory (Eng) bt L Cianchetti and S Mazzoli (Ita) 5 and 4.
J Hume (Ire) and D Boote (Wal) bt V Veyret (Fra) and R Petersson (Swe) 1 hole.
G Forrest and C Syme (Sco) bt M Schwab (Aut) and G Migliozzi (Ita) 4 and 3.
J Bower (Eng) and A Plant (Eng) halved with I Cantero Gutierre3x and M Galiano (Spa).
Day 2 Singles (5-4)
Gregory bt J Krietemeijer 2 holes.
Hume lost to Mazzioli 1 hole.
Grehan bt Cianchetti 4 and 3.
Forrest lost to Petersson 2 and 1.
Syme halved with Schwab.
Bower lost to Veyret 3 and 2.
R MacIntyre halved with Migliozzi.
Boot bt Gutierrez 1 hole.
Plant bt Galiano 4 and 3.

"The boys were brilliant," says captain Craig

R and A NEWS RELEASE

Sandwich, England: Great Britain and Ireland retained the St Andrews Trophy after finishing level at 12 ½-12 ½ with the Continent of Europe at Prince’s in Kent today.

Trailing their opponents 8-4 at the start of the second day, Craig Watson’s side won three of the morning foursomes matches and halved the other to reduce the Continent of Europe’s lead to a single point at 8½ -7½ going into the afternoon’s singles.

Ireland’s Stuart Grehan led from the first hole against Luca Cianchetti and was comfortable against the Italian for the entire duration, closing out the match with a birdie on the 15^th hole for a 4 and 3 win to put GB and I back on level terms at 8½ -8½.

The 2016 Amateur Champion Scott Gregory edged GB and I in front for the first time after beating Jereon Krietemeijer by two holes to make it 9½ -8½, only for the visitors to take the lead again after a 2 and 1 win for Sweden’s Robin Petersson over Grant Forrest, followed by Stefano Mazzoli’s victory by one hole against Irishman Jack Hume.

The Continent of Europe’s lead was stretched to two points shortly after when Frenchman Victor Veyret picked up three holes in a row from the 14^th to seal a 3 and 2 success against Jamie Bower.

Connor Syme and Matthias Schwab halved their match for a share of the spoils to leave the Continent of Europe needing only one point to win the match outright.

However, Alfie Plant pulled a point back for GB&I with a 4 and 3 win over Mario Galiano and, after Robert MacIntyre and Guido Migliozzi halved their match, the destination of the trophy came down to the result between David Boote and Ivan Cantero Guiterrez.

The Welshman retained his composure and secured a par on the 18^th to beat the Spaniard by one hole, gaining the crucial point to secure a 12 ½-12 ½ final score and ensure that GB and I retained the St Andrews Trophy as holders following their victory at Barsebäck in 2014.

In the morning’s foursomes, Grehan and Gregory convincingly beat Italians Cianchetti and Mazzoli 5 and 4 to gain a vital point in the first foursome, before Scottish duo Forrest and Syme notched up an additional point for the home side shortly after, defeating Schwab and Migliozzi 4 and 3.

GB and I were victorious in the third match this morning after Hume and Boote won by one hole versus Veyret and Petersson. The final foursome, featuring English pair Plant and Bower against Spain’s Galiano and Cantero Guiterrez, was halved.

Key quote:

Craig Watson, Captain, Great Britain and Ireland:

“I’m absolutely delighted with the result, especially after yesterday’s 4-0 result in the first session. It was always going to be difficult and the boys were disappointed to only draw 4-4 in yesterday afternoon’s singles matches.

“We got off to a good start today and the boys dug in well with a tremendous performance after being four down and knowing we had to take something into this afternoon. We continued where we left off (on Wednesday) and the boys were brilliant.”