Gurnee - Team United States (1-2-1) bounced back on Friday by picking up three very important points in Pool B. Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr dominated their match against Porani Chutichai and Ariya Jutanugarn of Team Thailand (1-1-2) with a 4&3 victory. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller halved their match against Moriya Jutanugarn and Pornanong Phatlum.
Chinese Taipei (3-1-0) still leads Pool A while England (2-1-1) still leads Pool B after Friday's matches at the Merit Club. Mel Reid had one of the more impressive performances of the day as she was forced to take on Mika Miyazato and Haru Nomura of Team Japan (1-1-2) by herself. Charley Hull was not feeling well and was unable to play.
Match Recaps
Australia (4) vs China (8)
Team Australia bounced back on day two after a shut out on the opening day of the 2016 UL International Crown. Minjee Lee and Su Oh paired up, having previously played with their teammates Karrie Webb and Rebecca Artis on day one, and found some chemistry. The pair took a brief 1-UP lead at the par 3, ninth hole before Team China’s Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin caught fire, making birdie on the next three holes to take a 2-UP lead on the Aussies. But Lee and Oh hung in, making birdie at the 13th, 15th and birdie putt by Lee at the final hole halved the match with Team China.
"Well, I think Su played really well today. I think she kept us in the match most times, and then I just holed the last putt," Lee said. "That's pretty much it. I think we did dodge a bullet, but yeah, it's nice to have the score."
Watch Feng's Post-Match Interview.
Australia’s Karrie Webb and Rebecca Artis found success on day two as well, defeating China’s Jing Yan and Simin Feng 2&1 to add to the three point total for Australia on Friday. Webb and Artis took the early lead at the par 5, third hole and never trailed during the course of the match and were able to close out Team China on the 17th green.
"Well, obviously we changed the pairings up," Webb said after the match. "We got no points yesterday, so we thought it wouldn't hurt. Getting three points out of four, I think we're pretty happy with that. Minjee birdied the last to get that half, which I think is huge."
Watch Webb and Artis Post-Match Interview.
Japan (3) vs England (7)
Japan’s Ai Suzuki and Ayaka Watanabe squared off against England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Holly Clyburn on day two. Suzuki gave the Japanese the early lead and never trailed during the match despite Team England fighting back to square the match on three occasions. The match ended with a halve.
"It just felt like the putts were harder to read, and they just weren't dropping," Ewart Shadoff told the media. "Yeah, birdies were not hard to come by today, and I think we both scrambled well, and I'm happy to get a point out of it at least."
Team England’s Mel Reid found herself in an unusual situation Friday morning with playing partner Charley Hull ill and unable to compete. Reid took on Japan’s Haru Nomura and Mika Miyazato on her own. While Reid was unable to take the lead during the day, she was able to fight back from a 2-Down deficit with an eagle and birdie at the 12th and 13th holes to square the match. But Nomura made birdie at the par four 17th to once again give Japan the lead and ultimately the win.
"I'm extremely proud of myself. You know, I've been struggling a little bit this year with a bit of game time," Reid said after the match. "To play the way I did today, I think we were 6-under or something like that, so my aim was to shoot 4-under. I thought, if I shot 4-under I've got a pretty good chance to not be embarrassed. For me, it's a huge positive. To get anywhere near the 18th was going to be a huge achievement, and I am just really, really pleased I gave the team a huge chance of even a point."
Statement from Charley Hull
"I am gutted that I was not able to play today. I woke up feeling poorly with my asthma and a fever early this morning and sought medical attention when I arrived at the course. I really wanted to join my partner Mel at some point during the match, but at the advice of the medical team, the best thing to do was to rest and get healthy for my team for tomorrow. Go #ENG!!"
Watch Reid's Post-Match Interview.
United States (2) vs Thailand (6)
After being shut out on day one by Team England, the Americans fought back on day two with Gerina Piller and Stacy Lewis taking as much as a 2-Up lead on Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn and Pornanong Phatlum during the match. But Thailand fought back, resulting in a halve for Team U.S.A.
"Yeah, I mean, I played great yesterday and didn't have my best stuff today, but found a way to kind of grind it out, especially there on the back nine, hit some good shots, and these putts just don't seem to want to go in," Lewis told the media. "I've hit some really good ones over the last two days. With the law of averages of it all, they have to start going in eventually."
Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson had the largest winning margin of the week so far on Friday, dominating Thailand’s Porani Chutichai and Ariya Jutanugarn to win 4&3 and secure the first points of the week for the Americans. Thompson drained a long putt from the fringe off the back of the green for birdie to win the match at the par 4, 15th hole.
"We just got it going early," Kerr said about the difference from day one. "We got up in the match early and just rode the momentum. We gave a couple holes back during the match, but we made so many birdies, it didn't matter."
Watch Kerr and Thompson's Post-Match interview.
Republic of Korea (1) vs Chinese Taipei (5)
Republic of Korea’s So Yeon Ryu and Sei Young Kim bounced back from a loss to China on day one to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Yani Tseng and Teresa Lu 4&2 on Friday. Ryu and Kim took the lead at the first hole and never relinquished during the match, closing out Team Chinese Taipei at the par 5, 16th hole to secure the only points of the day for Team Korea.
"Well, actually to be honest, yesterday's play was better than today's play from both of us, but I think today our teamwork was really nice, but maybe we couldn't make enough birdies, so I think we might have a chance to finish even earlier," Ryu told the media. "But I think today our teamwork was really nice. Like when Sei Young was a little hurried and Sei Young was a little upset, I was able to help her out, and as soon as I said something to her, she was able to play better."
Chinese Taipei’s Candie Kung and Ssu-Chia Cheng cruised to their second consecutive victory, winning 2&1 on Friday over Team Korea’s In Gee Chun and Amy Yang. Team Chinese Taipei trailed early, falling 1-Down at the third hole, but birdied the next two holes to take a 1-Up lead and never looked back, finishing out the match at the par 4, 17th hole. The pair also won 2-Up in their match on Thursday over Team Australia.
"I think we're very relaxed out there," Kung said about her playing partner. "We're having a lot of fun. I trusted her play. I know she was going to make her pars wherever she is, and I could be a little more aggressive with the par-5s and a couple of the par-4s, and I happened to make a couple putts coming in, too."
Watch Kung and Cheng's Post-Match Interview.
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