Spain has won the Amateur, Ladies' and Girls' Team titles in a dramatic final day of the 2023 European Team Championships.
The wins mark the first time in 15 years that a country has won three European team titles on the same day.
European Amateur Team Championship - Royal Waterloo GC, Belgium
At Royal Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium, the number-one and number-two seeds faced off in the championship match.
Denmark and Spain, winners of the title in 2021 and 2022 respectively, were the two winning teams from Friday's semi-finals.
Reigning European Amateur champion, José Luis Ballester put the first point on the board with a 4&3 with for Spain alongside Jaime Montojo in the opening foursomes match.
The second alternate shot match went as far as the fourth extra hole, but was ultimately claimed in favour of the defending champions as well.
Trailing by two points with just five points available in the afternoon, the Danish team had a mammoth task of overturning the Spanish.
They made a valiant atttempt at it nonetheless, claiming all of the first three singles matches after lunch.
Frederik Kjettrup, Gustav Frimodt and Jacob Skov Oleson all won their matches before the 17th hole. They defeated Javier Barcos, Luis Masaveu and Josele Ballester respectively, the three Spanish players that lifted the trophy at Royal St. George's last year.
The wins put the Danes ahead in the tie 3-2, although the two remaining matches on the course were up in favour of the Spaniards. Jaime Montojo and Angel Ayora were both able to close out their matches within short succession of eachother, bringing Spain to the decisive four points and a second consecutive title.
The match for third place was an all-GB&I affair. Ireland put in a dominant performance against England, not losing a single match to claim the bronze medals.
European Ladies' Team Championship - Tawast Golf, Finland
The Spanish ladies' team defeated 2021 and 2022 champions, England in the final at Tawast Golf in Finland.
England drew first blood in the championship final, with a comfortable 3&2 win from Jess Baker and Charlotte Heath in the opening foursomes match.
The Spaniards were up in the second foursomes match, but England drew level on the 13th.
It was on the 16th that the Spanish were able to make the difference. After Lottie Woad put England on the par-5 green in two, Cayetana Fernandez responded with the shot of the tournament, holing out for albatross to go 1up.
After a tight approach from Carla Bernat on the following hole, a birdie would seal Spain's first point of the day and draw the match level at 1-1.
In the afternoon, Lottie Woad quickly went more than three holes up in her match with Julia Lopez Ramirez in favour of England. Although the three following matches tilted in favour of the Spaniards.
Woad closed out her match 5&4 to take the score to 2-1 for the defending champions.
Although Carla Bernat responded moments later with a dominant 6&5 win against Patience Rhodes to draw the tie back level.
Cayetana Fernandez closed out her match with Caley McGinty by a score of 4&3 to take the Spanish within just one point of the title.
Moments later, Carolina Lopez-Chacarra secured the winning point by defeating Charlotte Heath on the 16th green. The win is Spain's first in the event for 10 years, and the first time since 2015 that a country other than England or Sweden has claimed the title.
In the match for third place, Switzerland, who upset the number-one seeds, Sweden in the quarter-finals, took on Germany.
The Germans were clearly the better team on the day, not dropping a single match against the Swiss to take home the bronze medals.
European Girls' Team Championship - Golf d'Hossegor, France
At Golf d'Hossegor in France, Spain looked like the team to beat all week. The Spaniards won the stroke play qualifying and advanced to the final without losing a single match.
Spain is the 2023 European Girls’ Team Champion. The Spaniards beat Italy on Saturday in a closely disputed final, completing a campaign where they clearly appeared as the dominant force.
Spain made a first big break at the end of the morning’s foursomes, winning both matches. Yet, they had to regain the advantage after a solid start by Italy, who held the outright lead after six holes.
Playing in the top group, Paula Martin and Anna Cañado squared the match at the turn, and took the lead at the beginning of the back-nine. Natalia Aparicio and Paris Appendino showed the same resistance as in the previous days. But an ultimate bogey on the par-3 17th resulted in Spain scoring their first point, 2&1.
Ginevra Coppa and Francesca Fiorellini showed a good piece of grinding of their own in the second foursome. They managed to extend the match to the 18th despite a two-hole deficit with three holes left to play. But on the final par-4, a solid par was enough for Andrea Revuelta and Rocio Tejedo to end the session and take a 2-0 lead.
Like they did the two previous days, Italy showed all their resilience and fighting spirit on the opening holes of the five singles. Francesca Pompa quickly took the lead against Cloe Amion, and held firm to bring the first point to the Italians, 3&2. Playing in the third match, Francesca Fiorellini also played solid golf against Anna Cañado, closing the match on the 12th green, 7&6 to square the match 2-2.
But Paula Martin built a solid lead in the second single against Matilde Partele, which resulted in a victory for Spain on the par-3 14th.
The Spaniards were only missing one point to win the championship, with Rocio Tejedo only needing a halved hole to seal the deal. Yet, she missed an opportunity on the 15th, as Ginevra Coppa extended the match with a brilliant birdie putt.
The decisive point was eventually brought by Andrea Revuelta in the penultimate match. After turning a three-hole trail on the front-nine into a two-hole lead through 16, she made a solid par on the 17th, where Natalia Aparicio couldn’t make the putt that would have extended the championship.
The battle was also tight in the match between the Netherlands and Sweden for the bronze medal. The Dutch eventually grabbed 3rd place, with Fleur Van Beek winning the decisive point after 19 holes.
The European Girls’ Team Championship will head north next year, as Sweden will welcome the best U18 teams in Göteborgs Golf Klubb.
