O’Sullivan confident of Vagliano retention
THE GB and Ireland captain Ada O'Sullivan is targeting a second successive Vagliano Trophy success for her charges when they take on the European team at Chantilly outside Paris tomorrow and Saturday.
They beat the Europeans 12.5 to 11.5 at Baltray in 2003 and now the Cork woman is looking for a repeat.
Despite the fact that only two of her Curtis Cup team are on the side this week, O'Sullivan is nevertheless confident of their abilities.
"Claire Coughlan and Anne Laing are the only two left from the Curtis Cup team, but they and Clare Queen played in the last Vagliano and I have nine very strong players available. My main difficulty is I cannot differentiate between one and nine, because they are all bang in form and playing well.
"They have gelled well together there's no prima donnas and they all have the same sense of purpose ahead of this game. It's not something I've had to instil in them."
O'Sullivan maintains the players have benefited greatly from their experiences at the recent European team championships in England, particularly those who suffered losses to Spain and Sweden.
"The English girls know that Spain did not beat them, they lost it themselves, and similarly the Irish girls know they should have beaten the Swedes, but they lost it. They are looking at this weekend as payback time and they can't wait to get out there."
O'Sullivan brought her team out to Chantilly a month ago for a few days' practice on the course. That trip, and this week's preparations, have put O'Sullivan in a confident frame of mind.
"When they were here last month, it was extremely hot, while this week has been much cooler and very windy, so they have experienced pretty much everything the weather can throw at them here and that will stand to them," O'Sullivan says.
The course is long, with narrow fairways and rough which is either knee- or hip-high.
"Course management is going to be a big, big criteria this weekend," the captain reckons.
"There aren't any water hazards, but the fairways and greens are well protected by bunkers and there are a lot of trees to contend with. It is a beautiful course, but it's not easy.
"The last six holes are very hilly and long, so fitness is going to play a big part. The players will not get around hitting the ball badly, and being accurate and hitting the fairways is going to be key to how you get on."
Of the opposition, O'Sullivan points to the likes of the experienced Spaniards Emma Cabrera and Maria Hernandez, the Swiss girl Sheila Lee and the Swede Pernilla Lindberg as being among the big dangers, but also points out that the Europeans will be missing Louise Stahle, the Swede who beat Claire Coughlan in the British Amateur Championship earlier this summer, which is a "bonus" from the GB and I point of view.
"Another to watch out for is Alexandra Vilatte from France, who will be playing in front of her home crowd. But while there is a lot of quality among the European team, we have a lot of quality players too.
"We have the likes of Sophie Walker, who beat Stahle in the Europeans. We've got Felicity Johnson, the
English champion, Kerry Smith, who has played Curtis Cup and Vagliano before and is coming back to the game after a break away, and other girls like Anne Laing, who's been around the block and played a lot of international golf.
"The thing is that it is not as if we have five strong players with four makeweights. They are all strong players, who know how to fight as well. They are all hitting the ball really well and it is going to be really difficult to pick the team."
The format of the Vagliano means there are four foursomes tomorrow and Saturday morning and eight singles each afternoon, and the
GB and I captain rates her team's chances very highly.
"On paper the continental team is much stronger than ours, but they play more strokeplay than matchplay, so that's in our favour. Some people are saying it's a 50/50 game, but right now I'd give us a 60/40 chance of winning it.
"We need to get off to a good start and we're looking to do that in the foursomes on Friday morning. It's nice coming to try to retain the trophy rather than win it and the thing is that the team want to do that.
"They are not just happy to be here, they are all up for it and the determination is there."
GB and I Team: Claire Coughlan (Cork), Martina Gillen (Beaverstown), Felicity Johnson (Harborne), Anne Laing (Vale of Leven), Heather McRae (Dunblane New), Tricia Mangan (Ennis), Kerry Smith (Waterlooville), Clare Queen (Drumpellier), Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park).
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