The Continent of Europe has won the 2023 Jacques Léglise Trophy in France.
The home team secured the critical 13 points early in the afternoon session to guarantee a fourth-straight Jacques Léglise Trophy win for the first ever time against Great Britain & Ireland.
Heading into the final day with a three-point deficit, the visitors needed a fast start at Golf de Chantilly and they got one. The GB&I boys went up in all of the first three foursomes matches after two holes and looked like they might close the gap to their opponents ahead of the final singles session.
The last match of the session was the first to finish, and it went in favour of the Europeans.
Spanish duo, Marcel Fonseca Aguilar and Jorge Siyuan Hao were one-down after five against England’s Hugh Adams and Monty Holcombe, but three birdies in fives holes quickly turned the match, and the session, around.
A final birdie on the 14th secured a 5&4 win and the first point of the day for the Europeans.
A second point closely followed. Despite being down in the match until the 15th, Hugo Le Goff (FRA) and Lev Grinberg (UKR) won three holes in a row against Ireland’s Sean Keeling and Jack Murphy to claim a second point for Europe on the 17th green.
England’s Dylan Shaw-Radford and Kris Kim took the upper-hand in match number three, defeating Swedish duo, Simon Hovdal and Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson to secure the first point of the day for the visitors.
The session looked set for a 2-2 tie with Niall Sheils Donegan and Donnacha Cleary 2-up in the final contest with two to play.
But a missed opportunity on the 17th, and a costly mistake on the 18th enabled Tim Wiedemeyer (GER) and Peer Wernicke to halve the match (GER), a result that widened the gap between the two teams to four points going into the nine afternoon singles.
The Continent of Europe entered the last session needing only three points to secure the Jacques Léglise Trophy.
Sweden’s Simon Hovdal set the tone early in match number 2, beating England’s Hugh Adams, 5&4 with a birdie on the 14th.
It looked like the decisive winning point would come from one of the top contests, with many Europeans leading their matches.
Simon Hovdal’s win against GB&I captain, Dylan Shaw-Radford on the 17th came simultaneously with Marcel Fonseca’s success on the 15th green against Donnacha Cleary (IRL) guaranteeing the Jacques Léglise trophy stayed in the Continent of Europe’s possession for one more year.
The Continent of Europe’s win marks a record-extending fourth straight victory for the team, all conquered under the captaincy of France’s Joachim Fourquet.
“I am so proud, it is historical, so I am very proud of my team, very proud of the last four years I am just proud, that’s the word.” Said Fourquet after the win. The team spirit was perfect, I mean it is very natural for them. They talk to each other, they do contests around the practice green, they joke around. It is just a great team, with great players, great spirit, and that’s it, the result has come with it.”
“Yes, it is very emotional, winning here is something very special, as a member of Chantilly, I like this course, I like the people here also, so it’s very emotional, and I am very proud of winning here in Chantilly.”
Halved matches from Louis Anceaux (FRA) and Peer Wernicke (GER) and further wins from Jorge Siyuan Hao (ESP), Marcel Fonseca Aguilar (ESP) and Hugo Le Goff meant the Continent of Europe team won all four of the sessions at Golf de Chantilly, leaving the final score at 17-8.
Tim Wiedemeyer (GER) has become the first ever Continent of Europe player to win the Jacques Léglise Trophy three times scoring an impressive nine points out of 12 in his three appearances for the side.
Lev Grinberg officially became the first player from Ukraine to compete in the match on Friday, and with a perfect record from three matches this week, is also the first Ukrainian player to lift the trophy.
Simon Hovdal (SWE) finished the week tied with Grinberg for highest point scorer, also taking three points from his matches.
The Continent of Europe team will look for a fifth straight victory in the match next year, but will have to do so on British soil, with the 2024 Jacques Léglise Trophy set to take place at West Lancashire Golf Club.