LPGA Tour players Charley Hull and Georgia Hall lost badly to Tom Shadbolt and Ben Evans in their last-16 match, which resulted in their elimination from the Sunningdale Foursomes.
Hull and Hall narrowly defeated Ella and Daniel Butteriss 1up on Tuesday to progress past the first round. In the morning, they defeated Ellie Gower and John Wilding 3&2 at Sunningdale’s New Course, and in the afternoon, they defeated Portmarnock’s Brandon St. John and Sunningdale member Chloe Ryan with ease on the Old Course. By the next day, they had taken off.
The 2024 European Solheim Cup team was eliminated after losing 4&3 at the Old Course, but it was not to be for them. That led to a last-16 matchup with pros Tom Shadbolt and Ben Evans.
“Playing 36 holes is actually not something we are used to anymore and it can take a lot out of you,” Hall said after making it to the round of 16, explaining that playing two rounds in a single day had taken a toll. Naturally, we play the Solheim Cup, but aside from that, we never play 36 [holes] in a day, especially not in the current cooler climate. It’s quite vicious!
Callum Shinkwin became the next well-known player eliminated at the round of 16, joining Charley Hull and Georgia Hall.
Whether that was a factor in the defeat of the pair, who have four LPGA Tour wins between them, is unclear, although if they are looking for a consolation, it will come in the knowledge that they aren’t the only high-profile players to bow out at the last-16 stage.
Former University of Minnesota golfers Angus Flanagan and Harry Walch upset Callum Shinkwin, a two-time DP World Tour winner, and Dan Brooks 2&1.
Harry Walch and Angus Flanagan, a former golfer for the University of Minnesota, have advanced to the semifinals.
The happiness Shadbolt and Evans felt after defeating Hall and Hull, however, was short-lived as they lost narrowly to the defending champions Harley Smith and Dylan Shaw-Radford in the quarterfinals. Smith was quoted as saying, “It feels great to get the win but that was our toughest match of the week. We just had to keep going.”
On Friday morning, Flanagan and Walch will play Monty Holcombe and Oscar Lent in the semi-finals, while Smith and Shaw-Radford will play David Corben and Harry Crocket.
