The Continent of Europe has won the Jacques Léglise Trophy after inflicting a 17-8 defeat on GB&I to secure their fourth consecutive victory in the match.
Heading into the final day at Golf de Chantilly in France with a three-point deficit, the visitors needed a fast start and they got one. GB&I went up in all of the first three foursomes matches after two holes and looked like they might close the gap to their opponents ahead of the final singles session.
However, the Spanish duo of Marcel Fonseca Aguilar and Jorge Siyuan Hao were one-down after five against England’s Hugh Adams and Monty Holcombe, but three birdies in fives holes quickly turned the match, and the session, around. A final birdie on the 14th secured a 5&4 win and the first point of the day for the Europeans.
A second point closely followed. Despite being down in the match until the 15th, Hugo Le Goff and Lev Grinberg won three holes in a row against Ireland’s Sean Keeling and Jack Murphy to claim a second point for Europe on the 17th green.
England’s Dylan Shaw-Radford and Kris Kim took the upper-hand in match number three, defeating Swedish duo Simon Hovdal and Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson to secure the first point of the day for the visitors. The session looked set for a 2-2 tie with Niall Sheils Donegan of Scotland and Donnacha Cleary of Ireland two-up in the final contest with two to play. But a missed opportunity on the 17th and a costly mistake on the 18th enabled Germans Tim Wiedemeyer and Peer Wernicke to halve the match, a result that widened the gap between the two teams to four points going into the nine afternoon singles.
The Continent of Europe entered the last session needing only three points to secure the Jacques Léglise Trophy. Hovdal set the tone early in match number two beating Adams 5&4 with a birdie on the 14th. It looked like the decisive winning point would come from one of the top contests with many Europeans leading their matches.
Fahlberg-Johnsson’s win against GB&I captain Shaw-Radford on the 17th came simultaneously with Fonseca Aguilar’s success on the 15th green against Cleary guaranteeing the Jacques Léglise trophy stayed in the Continent of Europe’s possession for one more year. Halved matches from Louis Anceaux and Wernicke, as well as further wins from Hao, Wiedemeyer, Le Goff and Grinberg meant the Continent of Europe team won all four remaining sessions, leaving the final score at 17-8.
Continent of Europe captain Joachim Fourquet said: “I am very proud of my team. It is just a great team, with great players and great spirit. Winning here in Chantilly, where I am a member, is very special. I love this course, I love the people here, so it’s very emotional and I am very proud.”
Dylan Shaw-Radford, playing captain for Great Britain & Ireland said: “Quite a few matches came close and then coming down the stretch we have just let a few slip away which could have gone the other way. We were just a few shots shy.Every year we come pretty close, especially last year. I think when we get ahead we need to keep the momentum going. The golf course has been brilliant. Everything has been really nice. Thank you to Golf de Chantilly for hosting us and congratulations to the Continent of Europe on a great win.”
