'The Talent Has Been Unreal' - Europe Off To Winning Start With Junior Ryder Cup Glory

Team Europe has won the Junior Ryder Cup by 20½ points to 9½ at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club to end a run of six consecutive losses, with Spain’s Andrea Revuelta holing the winning putt in Rome.

It was an impressive performance from Stephen Gallacher’s’ side, who went into the final day’s singles with a six-point lead, which came courtesy of dominant display on the second day when they won all six fourball matches at Golf Nazionale.

“It’s been an amazing week, the kids have done fantastic,” beamed Gallacher, who was part of Europe’s winning team at Gleneagles in 2014.

The Scot admitted that his team suffered a bit of a dip on Tuesday afternoon, but he was still optimistic that his group of young stars would put an end to America’s dominance in the contest.

“I sensed Tuesday night on the bus home, they were playing their music, and I thought that’s them back into it,” he added, as Europe closed in on a famous victory. The game plan was just to win the two sessions.”

The Junior Ryder Cup features the best male and female junior amateurs from Europe and the United States in a head-to-head mixed event.

This year’s contest saw a change in the format, with the competition being played over three days instead of two. The final day’s singles, which were broadcast live on television, were contested on Marco Simone, the same venue for the Ryder Cup itself, which gets underway on Friday.

The wait for the 2023 Ryder Cup between Zach Johnson’s American side and Luke Donald’s European team is almost over, but golf fans have been able to watch some potential stars of the future this week.

And Gallacher has been hugely impressed by what he’s seen.

“I’ve been blessed to have a front row seat in watching these kids. History says that some of these players will be number one in the world – they’ll go onto play Ryder Cups, Solheim Cups, so for me it’s been an honor just to watch them play.

“The scoring and the talent has been unreal.”

Gallacher’s side were ruthless on the final day, winning eight-and-half of the 12 points available in the singles.

The writing had been on the way fairly on for the Americans, and the pressure had lifted by the time Revuelta faced a six-footer to win the Cup. Her 8&6 victory summed up Europe’s superiority, and sparked the start of the celebrations.

In the final match to finish on the course, Italy’s Francesca Fiorellini provided a moment of magic on the 18th green, holing a putt from 25 feet to tie the match in front of a raucous home crowd.