WEST POINT — By their reckoning, Beth Daniel and Nancy Scranton aced the test Saturday at Old Waverly on the opening day of the 2014 ISPS Handa Cup.
Unlike some of the 24 players in this Ryder Cup-style competition that pits the best senior U.S. players against their international counterparts, Daniel and Scranton play competitive golf infrequently.
“This is sort of like cramming for a test when you were in school,” Daniel confessed Saturday, moments after rolling in a 15-foot-birdie putt that sealed a one-stroke U.S. victory over Lori Kane and Mieko Nomura. “When you don’t play anything resembling a regular schedule and you have an event coming up, about two weeks before you start hitting balls and practicing, trying to get sharp. You’re not completely confident. You just hope you’re ready.”
The Daniel/Scranton duo were sharp enough to deliver three points for the U.S. team, which is tied 12-12 entering today’s singles matches. Teams are awarded two points for a win, one point for a halved match.
Rusty though they may have been, Daniel and Scranton proved to be a formidable team. The matches were divided into two nine-hole events. The morning matches featured better-ball play, followed by a modified alternate-shot format in the afternoon.
In the morning session, Daniel and Scranton shot a 2-under-par 34 to halve their match against Nomura and Liselotte Neumann in the opening match of the competition.
The World team took a 7-5 lead into the afternoon, but Daniel and Scranton were among three U.S. teams to post wins in the alternate-shot matches to even the competition in what proved to be a see-saw day.
“I thought we played together really well,” Scranton said. “Beth drove the ball and putted well, and I hit my iron shots pretty well.”
Daniel agreed.
“She gave me a lot of good opportunities, hitting some really good iron shots into the greens today,” Daniel said. “And, really, Nancy turned the match around when she chipped in for eagle on 15. We were two shots down going into that hole and all the sudden, we’re all square. That was huge, especially since we had three-putted for bogey on 14.”
Scranton’s wedge shot from 76 yards bounced once and rolled into the hole for the eagle on the par 5 15th.
The pair didn’t look back with birdies on the final three holes to finish 5-under. Even with that 5-under finish on the last four holes, the matter wasn’t decided until the competition reached the 18th green.
When Kane rolled in an 18-footer for birdie on the final hole, Daniel needed to drain her 15-foot birdie putt to salvage the one-stroke victory.
“Covering a birdie with one of your own, that never gets old,” Daniel said.
The Daniel-Scranton victory, the third in a row for the U.S., gave the Americans an 11-8 lead.
The World team didn’t fade, halving the next match and winning the final two to square the competition.
To no one’s surprise, the most dominating player in the competition was Britain’s Laurie Davies, who turned in a pair of 5-under-par wins with partner Trish Johnson.
Both Johnson, who plays regular on the European LPGA Tour, and Davies, who plays regularly on the LPGA tour, were sharp.
“I’m coming off a really good six-week stretch on the tour, and I do believe the players who play a full schedule or close to it have an advantage,” Davies said. “What you don’t lose is your competitive drive, though, so I expect it will be a great finish tomorrow.”
Although tied with 12 points each, the U.S. team really faces a one-point deficit since the World team, as the reigning champion, can retain the title with a tie.
U.S. captain Nancy Lopez still likes her team’s chances.
“Everybody is playing well,” she said. “The thing I liked about what I saw today is how hard they competed. There were a lot of times out there we were down in matches and we kept fighting back. That’s what I expect tomorrow, too. I think it’s going to be a great finish.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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