Ligue de Paris Leads MGA/WMGA 3.5 to 1.5 After Morning Foursomes
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (October 16, 2012) - In conditions generally associated with European links golf, the Ligue de Paris went out impressively on Tuesday morning and played their way to a 3 to 1.5 lead over the MGA/WMGA after the first five Foursome (alternate shot) matches of the 16th French-American Challenge at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.
In firm and fast conditions, with consistent 25 mph winds (and gusts reaching 40 mph), the French were led by their two lady pairings, who swept the two American groupings. Morgane Bazin de Jessey and Amandine Guignard defeated Phoebe Timpson and Ellen Oswald 5 and 4, while Cindy Ha and Annie Park fell to Louise Gateau Chovelon and Anyssia Herbaut 4 and 3.
RELATED: Live scoring for the afternoon Fourball matches can be found here
The only victorious MGA/WMGA pairing was Max Buckley and Joe Saladino, who made a miraculous 80-footer on 16 and then a slippery 10-footer on 17 to beat Arnaud Bonardi and Franck Daux 2 and 1. In the day's opening match, Mike Miller and Cameron Young halved Benjamin Morin and Antoine Schwartz to earn half a point.
Brian Komline and Niall Handley were 4 up thru 10 holes on Christophe Ravetto and Olivier Rozner, but lost 11, 12, 14, 15, and 18 to lose their match 1 down.
The 16th French-American Challenge is a biennial matchup of 10-person (6-man, 4-woman) teams representing the MGA/WMGA and the Ligue de Golf de Paris. Sebonack, a Tom Doak/Jack Nicklaus design and one of the Met Area’s premier clubs, is the site of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open.
The Americans need 10.5 points to win the French-American Trophy, something they have only done twice in the championship's history. Ligue de Paris needs only 10 points to retain the trophy.
