If statistics are your thing, chew on these numbers. The sum total of the world rankings for Team GBI equals 344. Team USA checks in at 164, including the 1st and 4th-ranked players in Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck. On the surface, that looks fairly lopsided.

If you believe that statistics have much, if anything to do with golf, you’re probably incorrect. Team golf is all about cooperation, cohesion, and collaboration. No shot is more important than any other, although they seem that way to the casual fan. There are no quitters on either team, so even as a pairing is losing holes, they are grinding hard. Keep that in mind when you watch them go at it on Sunday morning.

Morning Session

Day two of the 2022 Curtis Cup matches began with cloudy skies and the occasional sunburst. Sitting out the morning fourballs for Team USA were the Stanford teammates Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck. Taking the wee hours off for Team GBI were Amelia Williamson and Emily Price. The par-four, seventh and tenth holes were pushed up to inside 300 yards, tempting golfers to have a go at the green in one. Around 11:30, a drizzle began and the tone of the morning golf changed just slightly. It might have coincided with the arrival of the matches at the grueling final five. Away went the myth that golfers from the British Isles thrive in weathery conditions, and away went an opportunity to close the five-point deficit accrued on day one.

Lauren Walsh of Team GBI rips an approach into the fifth green during Saturday morning fourball play.

No partnership has played better thus far, than did Lauren Walsh and Caley McGinty of Team GBI. The pair opened with a win at the first, snatched four consecutive holes from six through nine, then closed with three consecutive wins at 12 through 14. Their margin of victory was 5 & 4, the largest winning gap so far. Their shared recipe was precisely what has been missing from GBI golf so far: birdies. The duo won six of their eight holes with birdie. Walsh and McGinty will team up again in the afternoon, and will need to reprise their magic to bring the visiting side back into the match.

Amari Avery of Team USA lets fly with her driver on the fifth tee during Saturday morning play.

It would be impossible to say which of the two later matches gutted the side from across the Atlantic more. Hannah Darling and Annabel Fuller won but two holes on the morning, againsf four by their opponents. A member of the volunteer brigade was heard to later exclaim Great Britain and Ireland played so well. I really have no idea how they lost. Well, how they lost was on the putting surfaces, and due to a dearth of birdies. Just four shots were saved by the team, and short putts were missed at the least opportune times. In hindsight, one always notes that the victors came through when needed. Darling and Fuller were unable to lean on each other to pull this one out. They’ll get a second chance in the afternoon’s foursomes play.

Latanna Stone of Team USA follows her approach into the par-four eighth hole during Saturday morning matches.

Imagine having a two-up lead with three holes to play. If you can, then you know how Charlotte Heath and Louise Duncan felt as they reached the 16th tee on Saturday morning. Imagine being down by those two holes, but having the faith that you and your partner could come back. That’s the state in which Emilia Migliaccio and Latanna Stone found themselves. Over the course of the first 15 holes, the GBI pair had just enough of an edge to stay out front. When they made a wonderful birdie at the demanding 15th, that three seemed like a dagger to the sould of the American side. Except that it wasn’t.

Over the next three holes, the pair from Great Britain and Ireland would forget how to play their game. They would close with two pars and four bogeys, and lose each of the remaining holes. The hosts made a must-have birdie at the quarry 16th, followed it with a par that seemed like a birdie at the daunting 17th, then made one last par at the last of the quarry holes, to seize the match in unpredicatable and unimaginable fashion.

With those two victories, Team USA expanded its advantage from four to five points, with three afternoon foursomes matches still to come.

Afternoon Session

Sitting out the afternoon foursomes for the visiting team from Great Britain and Ireland were Charlotte Heath and Louise Duncan. Emilia Migliaccio and Megha Ganne took a breather for Team USA. Out first for GBI were the winning team from the morning, Lauren Walsh and Caley McGinty. Their task was to take down the Stanford duo of Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck. Next up would be Amelia Williamson and Emily Price from across the Atlantic, while the home squad offered up Amari Avery and Rachel Kuehn. The final clash would see visitors Hannah Darling and Annabell Fuller pitted against Latanna Stone and Jensen Castle. On the line were three important points, in advance of eight matches on a stormy Sunday morning.

Rachel Heck snuggles a wedge close on the 13th. The birdie would begin the duo’s resurgence.

If you take a careful look at the scorecard from this match, examine the first seven holes for Team GBI and the final seven for Team USA. They are nearly mirror images. GBI won four of the first seven holes, while USA won four of the last seven. The middle segment of five fairways saw each side win two holes. Beyond that, there isn’t much to report. Four of the most talented female amateurs met in competition, and ended up dead even in the end. No lead is ever safe, and no deficit, insurmountable. Team golf, especially foursomes (aka alternate shot) is the polar opposite of individual play, and what it requires is foreign to most of us.

Rachel Kuehn approaches the 16th green. Partner Amari Avery would bury the birdie putt for Team USA.

Amari Avery may be a Curtis Cup rookie, but she doesn’t play like one. She is a singles win away from going five and oh in her match debut. Don’t worry, it isn’t a jinx if she brought it up, and she did just that, in the interview room. Avery deflected the significance of her individual performance, insisting that it’s all about the team; nothing more, nothing less. Avery paired with Rachel Kuehn for the second consecutive day. In each match, the pair saved its best golf for the closing stretch. On Friday, they won three of their final five holes, for a 3 & 2 victory. On Saturday, the won three of the closing four, coming out on top by 2 holes.

Hannah Darling unloads a bomb from the 15th tee for Team GBI.

The team of Darling and Fuller was a curious selection. Rumors abounded that Darling was not slated to play in the afternoon match, but that something had happened to a teammate, that necessitated her subbing in. This turned out to be a great move. Darling’s length often set teammate Fuller up for an easier approach. Late in the game, Darling buried a ten-feet putt on the 17th green for par, clinching a very necessary, full point for her side. It was the first time in four sessions that the visitors had halved the three points, and it was the first points for both Darling and Fuller.

Sunday’s weather forecast is yucky, with moments of ick. Thunderstorms are forecast throughout the day. If it were just rain, the golfers would play on. With electricity in the air, everything changes. To have a chance at completing the singles matches, organizers have moved the first tee time up from mid afternoon to 7:30 am. Keep your fingers crossed and do your weather dance. Merion will need it.