LPGA.com counts down to the end of 2014 with the LPGA Tour's top 14 stories of the year. Join us as we look back at the year's most memorable milestones. Read about Spain being Crowned in in the inaugural International Crown in Story No. 8.
Spain Crowned
Vamos Espana! Their pride and competitive spirit were visible the entire week in Owings Mills, Md., but it was a weekend sweep during the inaugural International Crown that led to the pure joy and excitement for Team Spain and earned them the honor of the best golfing nation in the world.
The team consisting of Carlota Ciganda, Belen Mozo, Azahara Munoz, and Beatriz Recari, who grew up playing on the junior circuits in Spain together, were by no means an underdog to start the week. Mozo declared on a television interview early in the week that her and her teammates would be the ones wearing the crowns on Sunday.
After a win and a halve on Day 1 against Thailand, the Spaniards found themselves in some trouble when they lost both matches to the Americans on Day 2 and knew that had some work to do on the weekend. And that’s exactly what they did. The quartet earned all eight possible points on Saturday and Sunday, sweeping both four-ball matches on Day 3 and all four singles matches on Day 4.
The clinching putt came on the 16th hole where Belen Mozo sank a 15-foot birdie putt to defeat Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand.
“And I sacrificed and I hit my third shot, and you can't see where the ball lands because you cannot see the pin,” said Mozo. “But as soon as I saw Carlota, that she was like she gave me a fist pump and I fist pumped and I'm like, That's all I need. I'm going to make that putt for sure.”
Recari and Ciganda sat greenside to watch the putt drop and had a celebration of their own while Munoz finished up her match with Ai Miyazato in the final group of the day. Munoz would halve the 17th hole to win her match 2&1 and joined her teammates in an emotional embrace.
“I can’t event tell you how I feel right now. It’s been such an amazing week for us,” Munoz said. “We have had such a good time. When we knew we won on the 15th green, I almost lost it. I don’t know how I could keep playing because I was going to get a heart attack. So it’s just super exciting that we won the first ever International Crown and I’m so proud to be from where I am and it’s just awesome.”
The passion for the game and representing their country in LPGA’s first ever country-versus-country event was overwhelming and created just the environment the event needed.
“It means so much to us for our country, we feel the flag, I said in the press conference, our blood boils when we hear the anthem and when we see the flag,” Recari said. “ That’s for you to have an idea of what it means for us. We’re just so stoked that we did it and that we can take this trophy back home.”
The second staging of the UL International Crown will move to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. in 2016. This one-of-a-kind event expects to bring the excitement and thrill of countries battling it out once again, but for now, Team Spain can relish in their well-earned victory.
)
)
)
)
