SUNNINGDALE, England — Two captains, two different moods. Armed with a two-point advantage, 7-5, going into the eight Sunday singles that will provide the climax to the 43rd playing of the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale, Great Britain & Ireland captain Catriona Matthew, in her patented quiet way, was exuding an air of confidence laced with caution. On the other side, U.S. skipper Meghan Stasi was looking and sounding more defiant, knowing that her side needs to come up with at least five more points in order to keep the trophy in the States for a fourth time in succession.

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Indeed, it is an intriguing position overall. GB&I needs to get to 10½ points to win the trophy; the Americans only require 10 to clinch a tie and retain.

Right from the start, the singles draw has thrown up some fascinating ties, not least the top game. Leading the way for the home side is World no. 1 Lottie Woad, who will take on the youngest member of the visiting team, 15-year-old Asterisk Talley. Which begs an obvious question: is this American squad the first ever to come with an asterisk?

“We’re in a fantastic position,” claimed Matthew. “This afternoon [on Saturday, when GB&I created its two-point edge by taking the afternoon four-balls 2½-1/2] was amazing. To do what we did was better than we could have hoped for or dreamt of. We’ve given ourselves a great chance at the end of a day when both sides played some great golf. We just hit more of the right shots at the right times towards the end. That has allowed us to edge ahead.”

As ever, though, the Scot—who shepherded Europe to two successive Solheim Cup victories—was taking nothing for granted.

“The message tonight from me started when the team went back to the hotel on the bus by themselves,” said Matthew. “I wanted them to have a bit of a celebration. But the message after that will be that this is far from over. There are eight points to play for and the Americans will come out fighting. They hate to get beaten. And they will all be out to win their point. But so will we to get us over the line.

“We had to go strong at the top of the order,” she continued. “Lottie wanted to lead the team. She is the World no. 1. She wanted to go first, which is a great attitude to have. I’m happy that my top player feels that way.”

As for Stasi, the four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion was equally optimistic about her young charge’s ability to take down the top-ranked player on the planet. And no, she didn’t think her singles order would have changed had they been two points ahead rather than behind. She clearly feels there is no need for panic in a contest between two teams so evenly matched.

“There is still a ton to play for,” said Stasi. “We just need 5½ tomorrow to win. Every point matters and the girls know that. Asterisk is ready to go. She’s up for the task and excited to get going. She’s feisty. But no, she didn’t ask to go first. She and I had a conversation. But it’ll be a great way to get things going tomorrow. The golf so far has been unbelievable. We’ve been solid but we need to make more putts. There really hasn’t been much between the teams at all.”

Just the two points. So far at least.

Sunday singles matchups

Asterisk Talley (US) vs. Lottie Woad

Catherine Park (US) vs. Sara Byrne

Anna Davis (US) vs. Hannah Darling

Zoe Camps (US) vs. Patience Rhodes

Melanie Green (US) vs. Mimi Rhodes

Jasmine Koo (US) vs. Beth Coulter

Megan Schofill (US) vs. Lorna McClymont

Rachel Kuehn (US) vs. Aine Donegan

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com