One of the less ominous driving holes at Essex County Club is at the par-5 third, which has a generous fairway that narrows as it gets closer to the green. But if might have been the toughest drive that Holly Clyburn of Great Britain & Ireland ever faced.
That's because her opening drive in Saturday afternoon's second foursomes match was cold-topped off the left side of the teeing ground. The ball was struck so poorly that it checked up short of shrubs and bushes just 70 yards out. Partner Hanny Barwood's second wasn't much better as she barely advanced the ball short of the fairway. Eventually the 19-year-old Englishwomen conceded the hole to USA without hitting a putt.
The GB&I duo came back to win the second hole when Jennifer Song and Stephanie Kono made their own sloppy bogey from the fairway. That brought the group to the third hole and the mini-drama of what Clyburn might produce with her tee shot. But she hit a good one, long and straight. So pleased was Barwood that she playfully tweaked Clyburn's bicep after the blow.
--Dave Shedloski