Scotland make history at Senior Home Internationals

Scotland’s seniors made history as they became the first winners of the inaugural R&A Women’s and Men’s Senior Home Internationals.

For the first time a mixed competition was run concurrently with the men’s and women’s events, with the Scots team coming out on top at Pyle & Kenfig.

They scooped the top prize after beating Ireland 11½-6½, taking the maximum three points from their three fixtures.

Having entered the final day in second behind Ireland, who topped the table courtesy of having won more matches, Scotland turned it round with a 5-1 foursomes victory.

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“It feels amazing,” said overall captain Fiona de Vries.

“It’s been a fantastic team effort from start to finish. It’s been an amazing experience. We’ve all got on really well together, we’ve had fun and we’ve played great golf.

“To win the morning foursomes against a strong Irish side was phenomenal.

“If you’ve asked me if we’d have been 5-1 up I’d have bitten your arm off. It gave us the momentum we needed going into the singles. I had faith we’d come through.”

There was more Scottish glory in the men’s standalone competition.

An opening 3-0 victory over Ireland in the final-day foursomes meant they needed just two points from the singles to take home the Past President’s Cup for the fourth time.

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“It’s great to win both trophies, because we’ve gelled well with the women this week,” said Scottish men’s captain Ronnie Clark.

“I’ve been on a winning Home Internationals team before and I’ve had European success, but to get this win as captain is special.

“The team was evenly balanced and there was no obvious player to leave out each day, so that was the hardest part of my job. It was a battle this week and I’m just so thankful to come out on top.”