Sara Byrne had a fairytale end to her amateur career, going unbeaten in five sessions and helping GB&I to win the Curtis Cup for the first time since 2016.

The Douglas golfer may have missed out on her club’s AIG Senior Cup win, but she made a lifetime of memories in Sunningdale.  Byrne played in all five sessions and she was the only player to undefeated over the three days.  She had a win and three halves in the opening two days alongside Lottie Woad, and closed out her final round as an amateur with a decisive win.

Team captain Catriona Matthew kept her faith in Byrne and Woad on the final day, putting them out first and second in a bid to close out the match.  Although Sara needed to concentrate on her own match, she was aware that the momentum was starting to move towards the Americans.

“I was very aware of it” said Byrne.  “I was one of the starters; I was second out but by the time I had reached 13, there just seemed to be a bit too much red on that board.  I think that’s when I kind of locked in and was like, okay, we definitely need my point out here. I knew I backed my team this whole way. I knew we were going to flip it around come the end, and that’s exactly what happened.”

The 23 year old was also happy to go through the week undefeated, especially with a crucial win on the final day.  “Honestly, I don’t think that has settled in yet, it kind of hit me on 15 when I went 3up.  I kind of had in my head for a split second, I was like, oh, I think I’ve just gone undefeated here no matter what.  I knew I needed that crucial point, not half point, so I was really able to lock back in and make a stress-free par on 16, which was really, really nice.”

“But honestly, coming into this week, if I was told I was going to go undefeated, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, to be honest.  It’s a really special feeling to end my amateur career just like that. So yeah, it was pretty special.  This is a week of dreams. This is why we practice and why we want to play golf.  Nine-year-old me wouldn’t be able to believe this moment, that’s for sure.”

It was an incredible way to finish an impressive amateur career, and Byrne can move to the professional ranks with confidence that she can compete and win at the highest levels.  She is back in action this week at the Rose Series in Brocket Hall.

 

There was also delight in Douglas last week when they banished the memories of their 2022  Senior Cup Final defeat when they beat holders Royal Portrush to win the title.  Douglas came through their quarter final with ease, but only booked their place in the final after a heroic semi-final performance.  Clodagh Coughlan was the first to tee off for Douglas and having come in with a point to prove after suffering defeat the previous day, Coughlan landed an early win on the 16^th.

Shannon Burke had been in fantastic form both days, taking three points from three matches.  Once again, Burke took her win comfortably, defeating Judith Allen 6&5 to see Douglas two in front early in the tie.

Royal Portrush picked up a vital point in match five before Lucy Simpson and Aoife Ní Thuama were set to play their first play-off hole after finishing all square through 18.

In the end the extra holes were not required, with match four deciding the destination of the famous pennant. Like Coughlan, Karen O’Neill came into the final having lost her semi-final match but she took the 1up result and the title for Douglas.

Team Captain Davey Barry was delighted with the performance of his team.  “This is just such an honour to be accepting these things for such a great team, we have been through a bit of heartache in the last couple of years, we had a few close calls, a few non-starts but to be here now it feels brilliant and to be going back to Douglas with the trophy it’s an awesome, awesome feeling”