Europe left with slender lead over Americans in Ireland

The Americans showed their fighting spirit throughout both the morning foursomes and Friday fourballs despite their hosts closing with a lead of 4.5 – 3.5.

The teams had been locked at 2-2 after the foursomes session in the morning but Europe began the afternoon strongly, with Caroline Hedwall and Sophie Gustafson edging them in front with a 5&4 win against Brittany Lincicome and Vicky Hurst.

“I think we have a good team, and I think Sophie and I make a good pair. I’m not surprised we won,” said Hedwall.

Crucial, though, was Suzann Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist winning one up on the last against Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie to end the day on a high for Alison Nicholas’s Europe.

Paula Creamer, unbeaten in her two outings, had helped make it such a close-run thing for Rosie Jones’s United States when she and Morgan Pressel came from behind to beat Melissa Reid and Laura Davies on the final hole.

Davies admitted: “We were great tee to green, just didn’t make the putts. There’s nothing you can do when they start making theirs and they go right in the middle.”

The other tie, between Catriona Matthew and Sandra Gal and America’s Ryan O’Toole and Christina Kim, ended all square.

In the earlier foursomes the hosts had been expected to ultimately build a lead but the United States showed spirit to claim an even share.

The first point went to the United States as Kerr and Wie produced a 2&1 win over Maria Hjorth and Nordqvist. However, Matthew and Azahara Munoz won 3&2 against Angela Stanford and Stacy Lewis to draw level.

Again the Americans edged ahead as Creamer and Lincicome overcame Karen Stupples and Reid one up but Pettersen and Gustafson showed grit to take a vital win in the final clash for a one-up win of their own against Juli Inkster and Brittany Lang.

It was level going into the 18th but Pettersen rolled in the vital winner to ensure it was honours even for the session.

n England’s Robert Coles carded a seven-under-par 65 to find himself among four men sharing the halfway lead at the Austrian Open in Atzenbrugg.

The 39-year-old followed up Thursday’s opening round of level-par 72 with a flawless second day in which he picked up seven birdies at Diamond Country Club.

At that point he was sitting pretty alongside Dutchman Joost Luiten in the clubhouse but by the end of play that lead was shared with two more competitors on seven under overall. Dane Thomas Norret and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar were the gatecrashers to snatch a portion of the lead.

“I made quite a few long putts so I probably turned a 68 into a 65,” Coles told europeantour.com. “I’m not going to complain about that.

“You have got to hit the fairways here if you want to make a score.”