Great Britain and Ireland regained the St Andrews Trophy with a dominant 16½-8½ victory over the Continent of Europe at Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro in Madrid, Spain.
The visitors powered into an early lead by winning the Thursday morning session of foursomes, 3½-½, and they never remotely looked like losing their early advantage which they extended to four points by also winning the Thursday afternoon singles.
Another 3½-½ foursomes win early on Friday put them within touching distance of the winning target before they completed a clean sweep of all four sessions with further success in the final afternoon singles.
Star of the show was Scotland’s Cameron Adam, who won all four of his matches, but the English trio of Tyler Weaver, Elliott Baker and Luke Poulter were all unbeaten (each winning three and halving one match).
Poulter further hinted that he has his father Ian’s flair for team golf with the manner of victory in his final-day singles match. After seeing his opponent chip in for an eagle 3 at the 18th, Poulter emulated him for a half which secured a 1-up victory.
All nine GB&I players contributed at least a point to the cause, and the depth and quality of the all-round effort backed up the selections made by captain Dean Robertson, whose next project is to regain the Walker Cup at Cypress Point in California in September.
“The team produced phenomenal golf,” Robertson said. “To win all four sessions was beyond my expectations. The teamwork was magical and I couldn’t be more proud of them all.
“We’ll enjoy this, reflect, and then we’ll build on this for our trip across the Atlantic.”
RESULTS
Spain’s Paula Martín Sampedro birdied four of her last five holes to win the 2025 European Ladies’ Amateur Championship at Frankfurter Golf Club in Frankfurt, Germany.
The result was the latest in a series of summer triumphs for the Madrid native who plays for Stanford University.
In mid-June the 19-year-old defeated the American Farah O’Keefe in the final of the Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn, Scotland.
Four weeks later she helped Spain win the European Ladies Team Championship at Golf de Chantilly in Paris.
Her latest win not only completed a hat trick, she also became the first golfer to complete the Women’s Amateur/European Amateur double since her compatriot Belén Mozo in 2006.
The victory was also on-trend because while England’s Sophia Fulbrook set the first-round pace with an 8-under-par 65, once the cut was made the Spaniards, so dominant in the European Team Championship, resumed control.
Martín Sampedro and Balma Dávalos Guaita both carded third-round course record-setting scores of 10-under-par 63 to leap clear of the field in first and second place on 19-under and 17-under, respectively.
Dávalos Guaita was bogey-free in her final round of 70 but, crucially, she failed to birdie either the 17th or 18th holes, both of them par-5s.
In contrast, Martín Sampedro birdied 14, 16, 17 and 18 to complete a final-round 67. Her 23-under total of 269 left her one stroke clear of Dávalos Guaita. Another Spaniard, Andrea Revuelta, claimed third a further shot in arrears.
Anne-Sterre Den Dunnen of the Netherlands was the highest-finishing non-Spaniard in solo fourth on 18-under.
Martín Sampedro was already qualified to play in the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl this week where she will seek to extend her run of success by winning the Smyth Salver that is awarded to the low amateur.
Matt Cooper