The England women’s team of Charley Hull and Georgia Hall and the European women’s team of Carlota Ciganda and Mel Reid were knocked out by Ireland and Australia respectively in the quarter finals of the GolfSixes, although their superb effort proved a hit with the fans, who were out in large numbers to support them on Sunday.
Both matches were tied for the first three holes, but the men had the measure of the long fourth and ultimately closed out the matches on the short fifth.
Irishmen Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan made birdie from five feet on the fourth in their match against Hall and Hull and their birdie putt on the fifth was conceded.
“I thought I had that chip on the last, but they birdied the hole before. It was good match and a fun week. The crowds were great,” said Hull.
Hall said: “We didn’t really do that much wrong. Ireland were three-under after five holes, so they played really well. We birdied one hole and were fairly steady but that was about it and it went by very quickly.
“On the fourth, we both hit our drives on the fairway but took Charley’s drive because it was a slightly better line. I had to hit a hard five-iron and I hit it good, but it rolled down the slope to about 20 feet and they had a five-footer and they holed the putt.
“It was a great event and I really enjoyed myself and it was great to see young boys and girls around. I’d love to come back. It has been the highlight of the year so far. I loved the music and the six-hole format was fun.”
In the match featuring Ciganda and Reid, the Australian pair of Sam Brazel and Wade Ormsby won the fourth and then hit their approach close on the fifth. Ciganda’s birdie putt from 25 feet was close but horseshoed out of the hole.
Ciganda said: “We are happy with the way we played and we gave it everything we had. That’s just golf.”
Reid said: “I think it’s a huge success for women’s golf. I think it’s a bit unlucky that we didn’t win today.
“I’m so gutted that we lost today because I felt like we had a really big opportunity. something very, very special here today. We did play our absolute hearts out, but the guys played a little bit better than us today. You know, I really felt we could have done something very, very special here.”
In the first quarter-finals match, South Korean pair Jeunghun Wang and Soomin Lee beat Thai duo Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee and the Koreans advanced to play Ireland in the semi-finals.
In the fourth quarter-finals match, Frenchmen Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Romain Wattel beat Englishmen Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace and France faced Australia in the semi-finals.
Ireland defeated South Korea in a play-off, after Moynihan chipped in for birdie and they then faced France in the final.
The Irishmen won with a score of 2-0 after Paul Dunne made a solid birdie putt on the fifth hole.
