Van Horn Cup

With the score tied 3-3, the International squad won the last four matches and won the Van Horn Cup for the second year in a row. 

2014 Van Horn Cup Recap

Behind the strength of six Van Horn Cup veterans, the International squad retained the Cup and defeated its Western European counterparts, 7-3, at Luffness New Golf Club on Friday, May 30. The day's lowest score, 6-under-par 66, was recorded by two teams: Daniel List and Garrick Douglas Higgo (International) and Max Faulkner and Max Shirvell (Western Europe). For their efforts, the teams earned the Garth and Gill Morrison Medal, an award honoring the late Sir Garth Morrison.

Following the conclusion of the European Championship, top players from Western Europe faced off against the top International players in a team event. Two players from each of the following age groups represented their respective teams: Boys 10, Boys 11, Boys 12, Boys 13, Boys 14, Boys 15-18, Girls 11, Girls 12, Girls 13-14 and Girls 15-18. In all, 10 games of stroke-play four-ball were played, and each game was worth one point. With the win, the International squad improves its Van Horn Cup record to 2-5.

Six players from last year's victorious International team returned in 2014: Rina Tatematsu (Thailand), Phoebe Beber-Frankel (United States), Kaiyuree Moodley (South Africa), Frantisek Jan Pavek (Czech Republic), Joseph Pagdin (United States), and Daniel List (Australia). This group capitalized on its experience, as all six players were part of winning pairings, resulting in five of the team's seven points.

Tatematsu and Beber-Frankel were paired together for the second straight year, and they claimed the Internationals' first point of the day after winning the Girls 12 pairing with a 1-under-par 71. The International Girls 13-14 duo of Moodley and Elina Saksa (Finland) made the score 2-2 after they carded a 69. The International team then took its first lead, as Jan Pavek and Liam Van Deventer (South Africa) birdied two of their last three holes en route to a 5-under-par 67 and a two-stroke victory in Boys 11.

A birdie on the closing hole gave Western Europe's Molly Barker (United Kingdom) and Agnese Zenobi (Italy) a two-stroke win in Girls 15-18, knotting the score at 3-3 with four matches remaining.

The momentum swung in favor of the Internationals in the seventh game, as Pagdin and Tristan Galant (South Africa) birdied the 18th hole and won the Boys 12 match by one stroke. Three back-nine birdies helped Filip Kowalski (Poland) and Martin Gutierrez (United States) win Boys 13 with a 2-under-par 70, which gave the International team a 5-3 lead.

The Cup-clinching point came in the ninth match, but not without a fight from Western Europe. Frederik Sejr (Denmark), a second-year Van Horn Cup player in his own right, and Luke Harries (United Kingdom) birdied No. 17 and cut their deficit to just one stroke with one hole to play. But after both teams birdied the final hole, Jay Kirchdorfer (United States) and Haydn Driver (South Africa) claimed the International team's sixth point with a 4-under-par 68.

Morrison Medal Winners

Daniel List and Garrick Douglas Higgo (South Africa) added style points to the International victory in the final match (Boys 15-18), as their 6-under-par 66 was the day's best score. The Western Europe Boys 10 pairing of Max Faulkner (United Kingdom) and Max Shirvell (United Kingdom) also posted a 66, and both teams were recognized for the day's best rounds (pictured inset right with Lady Gill Morrison, widow of Sir Garth). All four players were presented the Garth and Gill Morrison Medal, an award honoring the late Sir Garth Morrison, who was Lord Lieutenant for East Lothian from 2001 until he died on May 24, 2013.

Van Horn Cup Results

May 30, 2014  |  Luffness New

Western Europe: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.
International: All other countries not part of Western Europe.

* The day's lowest round of 66 was recorded by two teams: Daniel List / Garrick Douglas Higgo (International) and Max Faulkner / Max Shirvell (Western Europe). For their efforts, the teams earned the Garth and Gill Morrison Medal, an award honoring the late Sir Garth Morrison, who was Lord Lieutenant for East Lothian from 2001 until he died on May 24, 2013.