Thrilling Opening Day at La Manga

La Manga, Murcia, Spain: Australians Harrison Crowe, Jack Buchanan and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard along with China’s Samspon Zheng Yunhe and Japan’s Yuta Sugiura were the star Asia-Pacific turns on a compelling opening day at the Bonallack and Patsy Hankins Trophies.

Crowe combined with close friend Buchanan to win two points as the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) were locked at 5-5 with their counterparts from the European Golf Association (EGA) in the men’s Bonallack Trophy.

Meanwhile, Hinson-Tolchard holed two crucial putts on the 18th green as the APGC’s women’s team ended the day behind 3½-6½ in the Patsy Hankins Trophy.

Recovering from a chastening 6&5 thrashing in the morning foursomes, Sugiura showed his class and composure by holing a 30-footer for eagle on 18 to give him and Japanese compatriot Taichiro Ideriha a one-up victory in the afternoon fourballs.

For Zheng, joy followed frustration as he partnered Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chuan-tai to a 3&2 win in the fourballs – despite having to play with a set of clubs he received less than an hour before taking to the first tee.

The contests, which parallel the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup formats, are taking place for the first time in five years after the previous edition was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.

In what is the 11th edition of the Bonallack Trophy, Asia-Pacific lost the morning foursomes 2-3 but reversed that score in the afternoon in boiling conditions that left players from both teams exhausted – mentally and physically.

In the third staging of the Patsy Hankins Trophy, the foursomes were squared 2½-2½. But Europe proved stronger in the afternoon fourballs, winning four of the five contests.

Had it not been for Hinson-Tolchard, the APGC’s bid to maintain their 100 per cent record in the event would have been even harder heading into day two.

In the morning, Hinson-Tolchard holed an eagle putt on 18 to secure a half for her and fellow-Australian Caitlin Peirce. And in the afternoon she sank a knee-trembling seven-footer on the same green to ensure a nerve-jangling one-up win for her and Japan's Nanako Inagaki ... and claim what might prove to be a crucial point.

For Zheng, his success alongside fellow-US college standout Lin went some way to making up for a difficult first few days in Spain, which has seen him without his golf clubs, his luggage and his contact lenses – all of which went missing en route here from Japan.

Without his clubs he was forced to watch the opening-day morning foursomes from the sidelines. A set specially made for him by Titleist arrived just in time for him to take his place in the fourballs.

“I managed to hit two balls with each club on the range before we went out there. The clubs were great – and we played well,” said Zheng, who originally hails from Tianjin, China, and came to California Golden Bears Athletics University by way of Nagoya.

By their own admission, Crowe and Buchanan limped over the line in their afternoon clash against Tiger Christensen and Nicola Gerhardsen, almost paying a high price for opting to be the only players to carry their bags.

“Maybe that was a mistake,” admitted Crowe, after a brilliant 60-foot putt to tap-in distance at the par-three 17th that was good enough for a half that completed a 2&1 win.

“This morning took a mental and physical toll on Jack and I and we hit a brick wall in the afternoon and just had to grind it out. We’re good friends and have great chemistry and we just tried to get the job done.

“After today, we’ll probably be pulling trolleys tomorrow,” added Crowe, winner of last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, who also made the winning putt at 17 in the morning.

BONALLACK TROPHY

Asia-Pacific 5 Europe 5

FOUR BALLS RESULTS

Asia-Pacific 3 Europe 2

Harrison Crowe and Jack Buchanan beat Tiger Christensen and Nicola Gerhardsen 2&1

Taichiro Ideriha and Yuta Sugiura beat John Gough and Alex Maguire 1-up

Lin Chuan-tai and Sampson Zheng Yunhe beat Luis Masaveu and Frederik Kjettrup 3&2

Joshua Bai and Nguyen Anh Minh lost to Albert Hansson and Tobias Jonsson 2&1

Cho Woo-young and Jang Yu-bin lost to Michael Mjaaseth and Herman Sekne 5&4

FOURSOMES RESULTS

Asia-Pacific 2 Europe 3

Harrison Crowe and Jack Buchanan beat John Gough and Barclay Brown 3&1

Joshua Bai and Mako Thompson lost to Michael Mjaaseth and Herman Sekne 5&3

Taichiro Ideriha and Yuta Sugiura lost to Albert Hansson and Tobias Jonsson 6&5

Lin Chuan-tai and Malcolm Ting lost to James Ashfield and Alex Maguire 5&4

Cho Woo-young and Jang Yu-bin beat Luis Masaveu Roncal and Frederik Kjettrup 3&2

PATSY HANKINS TROPHY

Asia-Pacific 3½ Europe 6½

FOUR BALLS RESULTS

Asia-Pacific 1 Europe 4

Shannon Tan and Caitlin Peirce lost to Kajsa Arwefjall and Patricie Mackova 1-down

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Nanako Inagaki beat Helen Briem and Savannah De Bock 1-up

Park Ye-ji and Mizuki Hashimoto lost to Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Francesca Fiorellini 4&3

Avani Prashanth and Fiona Xu lost to Rocio Tejedo and Meja Örtengren 5&4

Tiffany Huang Ting-hsuan and Kim Min-sol lost to Beth Coulter and Lottie Woad 1-down

FOURSOMES RESULTS

Asia-Pacific 2½ Europe 2½

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Caitlin Peirce halved with Kajsa Arwefjall and Meja Örtengren

Kim Min-sol and Park Ye-ji beat Helen Briem and Celina Rosa Sattelkau 1-up

Rina Tatematsu and Elaine Widjaja lost to Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Rocio Tejedo 3&2

Mizuki Hashimoto and Nanako Inagaki lost to Lottie Woad and Patience Rhodes 4&3

Fiona Xu and Tiffany Huang Ting-hsuan beat Beth Coulter and Francesca Fiorellini 3&1