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LOS ANGELES — Even in the midst of one of the biggest moments of Farah O'Keefe's career, all she could think about was people other than herself.
Meghan Stasi, the USA Curtis Cup captain, approached her star in the tunnel connecting the 16th green and 17th tee box at Bel-Air Country Club. The captain told O'Keefe the Curtis Cup was won. O'Keefe was so excited, she hit arguably her best shot of the day and then strolled down the towering hill to her teammates draped in red, white and blue waiting to cheer her on below.
"I don't really know if there's anything I've ever wanted for seven other people more in my life," O'Keefe said. "This was -- to get this done, for them to be able to do what they did today is the coolest thing that's ever happened, I think in all of our careers because we don't just play for ourselves, we play for our team this week."
And play for the team O'Keefe did.
She became the fourth player in Curtis Cup history to go 5-0, her 2-and-1 victory capping a dominant Sunday Singles session to help the USA reclaim the Curtis Cup after a 13-7 victory against GB&I. The visitors won the first two singles matches before the USA closed strong, claiming the final six and a runaway victory in the rolling hills and canyons of Bel-Air.
And the biggest of those wins was O'Keefe's, who trailed by two shots at the turn to her future teammate at Texas. It wasn't an unfamiliar position, but it was one O'Keefe became comfortable with dealing with.
"I hit a lot of interesting shots on the front nine, we'll leave it at that," O'Keefe said. "I made the turn, and I kind of was like, 'this is fine. I've been 2-down going into the back nine all week. There's no problem here. That's fine.'
"I just kind of looked at myself and told myself, because Coach Laura (Ianello) at Texas tells us all the time to be your best friend. Kind of talk to yourself the way that you would talk to a teammate. We've had really good practice of that all week with Jasmine (Koo) and Avery (Weed) of course just kind of exuding positivity. When I made the turn and I came up the elevator, I was like, you know what, I can be really nice to myself right now. I don't have to be mean."
O'Keefe immediately won the 10th hole, a trend the USA relied on all week on the famous but difficult par-3 over a canyon, but dropped back to 2 down thru 11. The match turned on 13. Naughton made four consecutive bogeys, and O'Keefe played solid and steady, like she has in the calendar year, with four straight pars, to go from 2 down to 2 up. That's when she ducked into the tunnel heading to the 17th tee, and Stasi was waiting with good news.
Also waiting on the other side of the tunnel were O'Keefe's USA teammates. In the sixth match out, more than half of singles action was complete. Leading 2 up with two to play, O'Keefe had mathematically clinched the match for the hosts, but seeing her teammates made her want to sprint down the rolling hill on the par-4 17th and begin the celebration.
Early in the week at Bel-Air, Stasi gave all of her players bracelets that said "linked" on them. The team-building exercise was taken to heart by all, but O'Keefe was the link that the team rallied around.
"She's one heck of a leader, I think we all know that," Stasi said. "Her passion the last couple of years playing at Texas, and she's just been unbelievable playing for this team. She set a goal. She said, 'I'm going 5-0.' So she stuck with it. She's not going to let anyone beat her."
GB&I momentarily tied the match, winning the first two singles bouts with Patience Rhodes and Sophia Fullbrook moving to 4-1 on the week and giving the visitors thoughts of their first victory on foreign soil since 1986. In the third match, Nellie Ong led Koo 4 up with seven holes to play.
Koo had a 1-up lead by the 18th hole. When she buried a par putt underneath the famous swinging bridge above the green, the board had already began to flip.
"I always think to myself -- even in NCAAs I was 4 down in a couple of matches, and I always thought to myself, yeah, I'm going to make it happen, but it's never happened until today," Koo said of her comeback. "After the round, I looked at my caddie with my hand on my head, and I was like, 'I cannot believe I just did that. That just happened.'"
Koo, who played both four-ball sessions with O'Keefe, immediately credited the USA leader for her positivity and mindset that Koo channeled to flip her match. The first red point was officially on the board, and the rout was on.
Asterisk Talley, the 17-year-old stalwart, claimed her match, 2 and 1. World No. 1 amateur Kiara Romero birdied the 18th to win, 1 up. About the same time, O'Keefe won the 16th hole, giving her a guarantee of at least half a point.
Anna Davis didn't lose a hole in the anchor match, winning 4 and 3. Kary Hollenbaugh, the recent Ohio State graduate who was benched at the end of her college career in the midst of a slump, fought for a 1-up win that turned into the ultimate celebration on the 18th green.
The U.S. now leads the all-time Curtis Cup series, 32-9-3. Over the last three Curtis Cups in the U.S., the Americans have won 21 of 24 singles matches.
And on Sunday at Bel-Air, all of the players rallied around their leader, who etched her name in Curtis Cup lore with an undefeated week, only the third American player to do so, joining Stacy Lewis and Kristen Gillman.
"The fact that I was able to flip my match for them kind of meant everything to me," O'Keefe said. "I knew that, if I just didn't make any mistakes coming down the last hole 17 that it was over. So when I saw them, honestly I was like super excited obviously, but I also got pretty emotional because I was like this is one of the greatest team accomplishments that you can have in amateur golf and we were able to do that today."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Farah O'Keefe goes 5-0, leading USA to Curtis Cup victory at Bel-air
Continue reading...
Meghan Stasi, the USA Curtis Cup captain, approached her star in the tunnel connecting the 16th green and 17th tee box at Bel-Air Country Club. The captain told O'Keefe the Curtis Cup was won. O'Keefe was so excited, she hit arguably her best shot of the day and then strolled down the towering hill to her teammates draped in red, white and blue waiting to cheer her on below.
"I don't really know if there's anything I've ever wanted for seven other people more in my life," O'Keefe said. "This was -- to get this done, for them to be able to do what they did today is the coolest thing that's ever happened, I think in all of our careers because we don't just play for ourselves, we play for our team this week."
And play for the team O'Keefe did.
She became the fourth player in Curtis Cup history to go 5-0, her 2-and-1 victory capping a dominant Sunday Singles session to help the USA reclaim the Curtis Cup after a 13-7 victory against GB&I. The visitors won the first two singles matches before the USA closed strong, claiming the final six and a runaway victory in the rolling hills and canyons of Bel-Air.
And the biggest of those wins was O'Keefe's, who trailed by two shots at the turn to her future teammate at Texas. It wasn't an unfamiliar position, but it was one O'Keefe became comfortable with dealing with.
"I hit a lot of interesting shots on the front nine, we'll leave it at that," O'Keefe said. "I made the turn, and I kind of was like, 'this is fine. I've been 2-down going into the back nine all week. There's no problem here. That's fine.'
"I just kind of looked at myself and told myself, because Coach Laura (Ianello) at Texas tells us all the time to be your best friend. Kind of talk to yourself the way that you would talk to a teammate. We've had really good practice of that all week with Jasmine (Koo) and Avery (Weed) of course just kind of exuding positivity. When I made the turn and I came up the elevator, I was like, you know what, I can be really nice to myself right now. I don't have to be mean."
O'Keefe immediately won the 10th hole, a trend the USA relied on all week on the famous but difficult par-3 over a canyon, but dropped back to 2 down thru 11. The match turned on 13. Naughton made four consecutive bogeys, and O'Keefe played solid and steady, like she has in the calendar year, with four straight pars, to go from 2 down to 2 up. That's when she ducked into the tunnel heading to the 17th tee, and Stasi was waiting with good news.
Also waiting on the other side of the tunnel were O'Keefe's USA teammates. In the sixth match out, more than half of singles action was complete. Leading 2 up with two to play, O'Keefe had mathematically clinched the match for the hosts, but seeing her teammates made her want to sprint down the rolling hill on the par-4 17th and begin the celebration.
Early in the week at Bel-Air, Stasi gave all of her players bracelets that said "linked" on them. The team-building exercise was taken to heart by all, but O'Keefe was the link that the team rallied around.
"She's one heck of a leader, I think we all know that," Stasi said. "Her passion the last couple of years playing at Texas, and she's just been unbelievable playing for this team. She set a goal. She said, 'I'm going 5-0.' So she stuck with it. She's not going to let anyone beat her."
GB&I momentarily tied the match, winning the first two singles bouts with Patience Rhodes and Sophia Fullbrook moving to 4-1 on the week and giving the visitors thoughts of their first victory on foreign soil since 1986. In the third match, Nellie Ong led Koo 4 up with seven holes to play.
Koo had a 1-up lead by the 18th hole. When she buried a par putt underneath the famous swinging bridge above the green, the board had already began to flip.
"I always think to myself -- even in NCAAs I was 4 down in a couple of matches, and I always thought to myself, yeah, I'm going to make it happen, but it's never happened until today," Koo said of her comeback. "After the round, I looked at my caddie with my hand on my head, and I was like, 'I cannot believe I just did that. That just happened.'"
Koo, who played both four-ball sessions with O'Keefe, immediately credited the USA leader for her positivity and mindset that Koo channeled to flip her match. The first red point was officially on the board, and the rout was on.
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Asterisk Talley, the 17-year-old stalwart, claimed her match, 2 and 1. World No. 1 amateur Kiara Romero birdied the 18th to win, 1 up. About the same time, O'Keefe won the 16th hole, giving her a guarantee of at least half a point.
Anna Davis didn't lose a hole in the anchor match, winning 4 and 3. Kary Hollenbaugh, the recent Ohio State graduate who was benched at the end of her college career in the midst of a slump, fought for a 1-up win that turned into the ultimate celebration on the 18th green.
The U.S. now leads the all-time Curtis Cup series, 32-9-3. Over the last three Curtis Cups in the U.S., the Americans have won 21 of 24 singles matches.
And on Sunday at Bel-Air, all of the players rallied around their leader, who etched her name in Curtis Cup lore with an undefeated week, only the third American player to do so, joining Stacy Lewis and Kristen Gillman.
"The fact that I was able to flip my match for them kind of meant everything to me," O'Keefe said. "I knew that, if I just didn't make any mistakes coming down the last hole 17 that it was over. So when I saw them, honestly I was like super excited obviously, but I also got pretty emotional because I was like this is one of the greatest team accomplishments that you can have in amateur golf and we were able to do that today."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Farah O'Keefe goes 5-0, leading USA to Curtis Cup victory at Bel-air
Continue reading...
