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Team USA won the PING Junior Solheim Cup for the fourth time in a row at Gleneagles, beating Europe 13-11 despite the hosts narrowly winning the singles. Picture by WME / IMG

EAM USA held off a spirited fightback by Europe to claim their fourth consecutive victory in the Ping Junior Solheim Cup with a 13-11 points triumph at Gleneagles.

The visitors took a 7½-4½ lead into Wednesday’s singles session after drawing the foursomes 3-3 and then convincingly winning the fourballs 4½-1½, and closed out the win when Brianna Navarrosa beat Somerset’s Mimi Rhodes (Burnham & Berrow GC) by one hole.

Earlier in the day, Scotland’s Hannah Darling (Broomieknowe GC) grabbed a half point when out first against Lucy Li, and wins for Surrey’s Annabell Fuller (Roehampton GC), Denmark’s Amalie Leth-Nissen and Slovakia’s Pia Babnik, who birdied four straight holes to win 2&1, narrowed the gap.

However, Rose Zhang stemmed the tide in match two, and triumphs for Amanda Sambach, Briana Chacon – who beat Essex’s Lily May Humphrey’s 6&4 – and then Navarrosa took the USA to the all-important 12 points needed to retain the trophy,

Christine Wang then made it 13 points when she beat Germany’s Paula Shulz-Hanssen in match 10.

American captain Mary Bea Porter-King said: “‘It was quite the victory, very close, it went up and down all day. They were ahead, then behind. I’m exhausted and I didn’t hit a shot.

“I’m very proud of my team, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do to help them – these young ladies are so talented, on both sides.

“I am so impressed to see the golf swings and how they play the game, which makes me feel good about the future of the game.”

Mickey Walker, who captained Europe in the first four Solheim Cups, and manged the continent’s girls team this week, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the European team.

“They’re very, very talented and we’ve had a wonderful time here. It’s been just amazing, one of the best experiences of my life,” added the former Essex club pro, who won six times on the Ladies European Tour and played in the 1972 Curtis Cup before turning pro.

“I think we were good enough to win, but we just missed out by virtue of a poor session in the afternoon yesterday.

“That’s what did for us. If you took the singles as a standalone competition, we won today,” Walker added.

“But we knew we needed to get eight-and-a-half points and we came up just short. It’s wrong to mention individuals because we really are a team.

“But Pia Babnik is the first-ever junior to play in this from Slovenia and beat Rachel Heck – an incredible scalp.

“Rachel’s one of the best American golfers and Pia is relatively inexperienced. The same for Lucie Malchirand beating Alexa Pano in the final match.

“So it augers very well for the future, and a lot of our team will still be young enough to play in two years’ time.”

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Europe’s Hannah Darling in practice for the Ping Junior Solheim Cup against the USA, which starts at Gleneagles on Tuesday. Picture by JAMIE SQUIRE / WME

SCOTLAND’S Hannah Darling sees no reason why Team Europe cannot beat the USA for the first time in 12 years in this week’s PING Junior Solheim Cup.

The Americans have won four of the last five editions – 2011 resulted in a 12-12 tie – but the 16-year-old Edinburgh golfer believes home advantage and strong team morale will stand her side in good stead.

“It’s going to be tough but we’re on home soil and we’re all playing well so there’s no reason why we can’t win,” said Darling, who won the Scottish Girls’ Amateur Championship in 2017 and 2018.

“Our expectations are to win because I believe we can, but we’re also here to have fun and make memories for life.

“The last few days have been amazing. We’ve bonded loads as a team and had so much fun,” Darling added. “Learning about everyone and seeing how everyone plays has been great.

“We’re making memories. It’s very cool. Suzann Pettersen, Catriona Matthew and a few of the other players were out on the course and came over to say hi. That was pretty cool.

“Just being with the team and knowing you all deserve to be here – it’s almost like a reward for playing well this season. It’s brilliant.”

The PING Junior Solheim Cup is very similar to the senior version with 12 players on each side, and the 10^th edition gets under way on Tuesday morning with six foursomes over Gleneagles’ King’s Course.

There will then be six fourball matches in the afternoon, before the contest concludes with 12 singles matches on Wednesday.

Rachel Heck is on Team USA for a second time after helping America to victory in Des Moines two years ago.

Last year the former World Amateur No. 1 also holed the winning putt for the Americans in the Junior Ryder Cup in Paris.

“Any opportunity like this is so much fun,” said Heck. “Being able to represent the United States with my best friends is awesome.

“The Junior Ryder Cup was an incredible experience and I’m sure this week will be, too.

“It’s such a different atmosphere playing on a team. Looking to the side of the green and seeing your team-mates supporting you is amazing,” said Heck.

“It’s a unique experience for us so I’m excited to see what this week has in store.

“Were such a tight group. We travel together all the time and always competing against each other, so it’s really cool to actually come together this week and play as a team.”

It is Heck’s first time in Scotland and she was effusive in her praise for both the country and the venue.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Rachel said. “It’s cold but it’s so gorgeous. When we’ve been playing the course I can’t help looking around at the views, it’s so stunning.

“The course is beautiful and in incredible shape. It’s so much fun to play. It’s very difficult – it’s perfect for matchplay because it’s so challenging. We’re all just grateful to be here.”

•To follow all the action at the 2019 Solheim Cup click here.

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THREE of England’s most talented young players will represent their country at the World Junior Girls’ Championship, to be played in Canada at the end of September.

Annabell Fuller, Lily May Humphreys and Mimi Rhodes will make the trip across the Atlantic after representing Europe in the 2019 PING Junior Solheim Cup match at Gleneagles, Scotland, on September 10-11

They will compete in the 72-hole team stroke play event against teams from 18 other countries, including two from Canada itself at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario, from September 24-27

The championship returns to Angus Glen for the first time since it was inaugurated back in 2014 when the USA took the gold medal ahead of Sweden and a Canada team including future LPGA star Brooke Henderson.

Fuller, from Surrey’s Roehampton GC, is based in the USA where to date this season she has won the girls’ title at the Major Champions Invitational, and finished second at the Bishops Gate Golf Academy and the Scott Robertson Memorial,

The 17-year old Curtis Cup player was also third at the Harder Hall Invitational, fourth at the Annika Invitational USA and reached the last-16 of the US Women’s Amateur Championship.

The former HSBC Wee Wonders star was also fifth at the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship.

Annabell represented Great Britain and Ireland at this summer’s Vagliano Trophy, having played for Europe in last year’s Junior Ryder Cup.

She was also a member of England’s side at the European Ladies’ Team Championship in July.

Essex’s Lily May Humphreys has played in a Curtis Cup and will appear for Europe in this month’s PING Junior Solheim Cup at Gleneagles before heading for Canada. Picture by VICKI HEAD

Essex’s Lily May Humphreys, has been in sparkling form this season winning the Welsh and Irish Strokeplay titles and the Annika Invitational Europe.

The 17-year-old from Stoke by Nayland GC was runner-up at the English Women’s Amateur Championship and the English Women’s Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship.

She played on the 2018 GB&I Curtis Cup team and has since represented the Home Nations in both the Vagliano and Astor Trophy – and was a team-mate of Fuller’s at the European Ladies’ Team Championship.

Lily was also a member of the victorious England team at this year’s Home Internationals at Downfield GC, in Scotland.

Somerset’s Mimi Rhodes is also 17 years old like her team-mates, and reached the semi-finals of the Girls’ British Open Amateur Championship at Panmure.

The West Country teenager also made the quarter-finals of the Women’s Amateur Championship, at Royal County Down, in June.

The Burnham and Berrow GC member was also eighth in the German Girls’ Open and ninth in the Annika Invitational Europe.

She represented England in this year’s European Girls’ Team Championship, where she was fourth in the individual competition, and was part of the victorious English team at the Women’s Home Internationals last month.

Rhodes was also part of the winning English team at last year’s Girls’ Home Internationals in Ireland.

The countries taking part also include Chinese Taipei, Columbia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and Wales

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