Pine Valley Golf Club, the top-ranked golf course in the US that first opened its doors to women members in 2021, has been selected to host the 2034 Curtis Cup.

“We are committed to bringing our championships to the finest golf courses in the country, and over the last several years, that commitment has only strengthened for our women’s championships,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “That is why, on the eve of a monumental first US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, this is a fitting and historic announcement for the Curtis Cup and the USGA.”

The biennial match that pits the top American female amateur golfers against the best from Great Britain and Ireland, will be just the third time the vaunted New Jersey club has hosted an elite competition, and the first involving women. Previously, Pine Valley hosted the 1936 and 1985 Walker Cup matches and also hosts the annual Crump Cup for elite mid-amateurs. With the exception of a Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf exhibition between Gene Littler and Byron Nelson in 1962, Pine Valley has never hosted an elite professional event.

Located 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia in the pine barrens of southwest New Jersey, the unique George Crump layout has been ranked the No. 1 course in Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses list since 2017 and has only seldomly surrendered the top spot in the ranking’s history. As Golf Digest architecture editor emeritus Ron Whitten has written, “Pine Valley blends all three schools of golf design—penal, heroic and strategic—oftentimes on a single hole.”

Playing the Curtis Cup at Pine Valley is particularly noteworthy given the club’s long history as a male-only club. The club went 108 years without allowing female members and waited nine years after Augusta National Golf Club opened its doors to women before following the same path. After voting to change its membership bylaws in 2021, Pine Valley admitted LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam, and accomplished amateur golfers Sarah Ingram and Meghan Stasi as its first female members.

The U.S. defeated GB&I, 15 1/2-4 1/2, last year at Merion Golf Club. The next match is scheduled for 2024 at Sunningdale Golf Club in England, followed by Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles hosting in 2026, National Golf Links of America on Long Island in 2030 and Bandon Dunes Golf Club in 2038.

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Signalling a new era for the GB&I side, the Scot will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role for the match taking place against the United States from August 30 to September 1, 2024 at the English club in Berkshire.

Matthew was a member of three GB&I Curtis Cup teams in a decorated amateur career. She has been through a full variety of experiences as a player in the losing side in 1990, the winning side in 1992 at Royal Liverpool and again in 1994 when GB&I retained the trophy.

The 1993 Women’s Amateur Champion, who is already involved in amateur golf through her mentoring role at Scottish Golf, is delighted to once again be a part of the Curtis Cup.

It’s over to you, @Beany25 ?

We’re pleased to announce that Catriona Matthew OBE will be the 2024 GB&I @CurtisCup Captain ????

More here ? https://t.co/flcigygMWl pic.twitter.com/ZtDHAQeNlL

— The R&A (@RandA) March 22, 2023

Matthew, 53, said: “Playing in the Curtis Cup is the pinnacle for young amateur golfers, I was thrilled to make the Great Britain & Ireland team three times as a player and I feel just as privileged to be the captain in 2024.

“As a player I remember the emotions of competing in the Curtis Cup — the excitement of being on a team rather than competing individually, as well as the desire to perform well for your team and pressure you put on yourself not to let them down. As a captain it is my job to navigate the players through these situations and to help them believe what is possible.

“Through the Solheim Cup I have gained experience in building a high performing and successful team, including bringing together individual athletes from different countries and recognising whose strengths will combine well to create successful pairings. My goal is to channel all my playing and captaining skills into this Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team to optimise their performance.”   

The appointment of Matthew as captain is an evolution of the GB&I team as it builds towards a first Curtis Cup victory since 2016 at Dun Laoghaire.

Matthew, who won the AIG Women’s Open in 2009, demonstrated strong leadership in captaining Europe to Solheim Cup successes in 2019 at Gleneagles and two years later in Ohio — just a second victory on US soil.

Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, said: “We are delighted that Catriona has accepted the captain’s role for the 2024 Curtis Cup. Her reputation for strong leadership and past experience as a player with winning pedigree make Catriona the perfect captain for the Great Britain & Ireland team.

“The Curtis Cup has long been a prominent event for women’s elite amateur golf and Great Britain & Ireland has enjoyed some fantastic wins. We are now seeing the amateur level of the sport evolve into a more competitive era and believe that Catriona is the best placed captain to guide the team in this period.

“Just like professional golfers, amateurs are now focused on a holistic approach to their game. Catriona will bring her years of professional experience to the Great Britain & Ireland team and help them combine all facets of their game to be in peak form for the Curtis Cup.”

Under the leadership of Matthew, the Great Britain and Ireland team will be looking to bounce back from the 15.5-4.5 mauling by the USA in the previous match, which was played last year at Merion.

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By John Huggan
It’s a theme followers of trans-Atlantic team contests have seen many times. It goes like this: More familiar with the intricacies of foursomes and four-ball strategies and rhythm, the Old World underdogs battle their way to parity—or close to it—before the final-day singles. It is then, however, that the (on-paper) greater depth of the American side really begins to tell. By close of play, the trophy either stays in the States, or heads west across the Atlantic.

Welcome to the 41st Curtis Cup at the Conwy Golf Club in northern Wales.

Tied 6-6 with eight points to play in head-to-head, the U.S. team eased to an eventually comfortable victory on Sunday. With the Americans taking the singles 6½-1½, the final score was 12½-7½. Which is not to say that it was all easy sailing for the visitors to this picturesque part of the Principality. Of the eight matches, six went as far as the penultimate green, a sure indication of an overall competitiveness that was a far cry from the previous Curtis Cup at Quaker Ridge, where the home side won by the embarrassing score of 17-3.

Two straight victories by the Americans gives them three wins out of the last five meets and 10 victories in the last 12 matches.

The traditional grittiness displayed by the U.S. team was personified by national champion Jensen Castle. Three-down with four to play in the top match against a seemingly rampant Hannah Darling, Castle eked out a half point that, at the time, seemed vital to the American cause.

“It was awesome,” said Castle, who, as 63rd seed, was an unlikely winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur. “It was such a battle. But I kept trying and was never out of it. I was playing well today but Hannah was playing so great. So, I just had to keep giving myself opportunities. I’m pretty excited. The crazy thing is I didn’t think I was any good at match play until the Am. My key this week was to focus on myself. Fairways and greens.”

Still, the overall star of the winning team was, predictably, World No. 1 Rose Zhang. The incoming freshman at Stanford was top-scorer with four-and-a-half points from her five games. Allisen Corpuz was the other unbeaten American, winning all of her three matches. Only the unfortunate Gina Kim did not contribute to the eventual 12½-point tally.

Matthew Lewis/R&A
Rachel Kuehn gets a hug and kiss from her mother, Brenda Kuehn.

For the losers—five of whom are at college in the U.S.—Oklahoma State student Casey McGinty was the biggest scorer with three-and-a-half points. Annabel Fuller—the only returning member of the team—notched three points from her five games, as did Darling with a 2-0-2 record.

Best story of the final day, however, was provided by Rachel Kuehn. Back in 1998, Rachel’s mom, Brenda Corrie Kuehn, holed the winning putt in the 1998 Curtis Cup at Minikahda, and 23 years on her daughter did the same at Conwy. The younger Kuehn’s last-green victory over Louise Duncan was enough to take the U.S. points total to 10½, guaranteeing victory.

“This is unbelievable, especially as we only scored a point-and-a-half on day one,” said Kuehn, when ended with a 3-0-1 record. “To make the comeback we did yesterday was pretty amazing. It was anybody’s game this morning. So this is really cool, really special for me to do what my mom did all those years ago. I’ve heard about it since I was 8 years old.”

Speaking of whom, mom was on hand to witness history being repeated.

“Words cannot explain what I’m feelings,” said the elder Kuehn with a smile. “Watching your daughter on this stage is incredible. I’m so proud of her and the whole team. I remember vividly what went on in 1998. I’ve mentioned it to Rachel many times. I had a four-foot downhill left-to-right putt I didn’t want to hit on the 17th green. But I didn’t want to play the 18th either. I’ve shared that with her since she was young. But she just won’t let me have any glory, I guess. She has to outdo me in everything she does.”

Another member of that 1998 U.S squad, American captain Sarah Ingram, was equally pleased.

“My girls are so talented, so sweet and such fighters on the course,” Ingram said. “I have to thank my team for finally getting me a victory. We played so well today and fought really hard. Jensen led the charge. Getting that half in the first game was huge. So was Brooke Matthews getting her first point. They played so tough today.”

Hey, it’s what they do. History tells us so.

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By Ryan Herrington
The fear heading into the 2021 Curtis Cup was that it would look all too similar to what took place in 2018, when the United States ran away with a 17-3 victory over Great Britain & Ireland at Quaker Ridge. And Day 1’s results do auger another potential blowout. It’s just that the underdogs are the ones with the surprising upper hand.

Victorious in four of six overall matches—after winning only two of 20 three years ago—GB&I holds a 4½-1½ lead on Thursday at Conwy Golf Club in North Wales.

Despite the rally from Americans Rose Zhang and Allisen Corpuz in the final afternoon fourball match for a crucial first win, the U.S. walked away with the fewest points it’s earned on Day 1 since the Curtis Cup moved to a three-day format in 2008.

“Oh, just amazed,” GB&I captain Elaine Ratcliffe said of her reaction to the day’s outcome. “Not amazed, because that sounds dreadful. I’m just thrilled, thrilled with the result. Thrilled that they have played the golf that I know they can play.

“I’m kind of, I’m not shell shocked because I know they can play golf, but to have the points on the board that we have at the moment is brilliant.”

Fueling the notion that the Americans would have their way this week was the collective amateur ranking of the eight women wearing red, white and blue. Five on the roster sit among the top 20 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, with three inside the top 10 (Zhang at No. 1, Rachel Heck at No. 2 and Corpuz at No. 9). In contrast, only one player on the GB&I team is inside the top 20 (Lauren Walsh at No. 14). The average American ranking is 31st (take out U.S. Women’s Amateur champ Jensen Castle’s 146th ranking and it’s 14.5). The average GB&I ranking is 44.125.

Matthew Lewis/R&A
GB&I’s Emily Toy, Captain Elaine Ratcliffe, and Annabel Wilson take part in a team huddle following Day 1 of the Curtis Cup.

That said, the Americans hadn’t won the Curtis Cup on the road since St. Andrews in 2008, and their attempt to get off to a quick start by pairing Zhang and Heck, World Nos. 1 and 2, together in the opening foursomes match was foiled when they could only pull out a halve against Louise Duncan (fresh off her low amateur performance at the AIG Women’s Open) and Hannah Darling, the British Girls’ Amateur champion.

GB&I then won its two other morning foursomes to head into lunch with a 2½-½ lead that doubled when it claimed the first two matches of the afternoon fourball session. (Annabell Fuller, the lone holdover from the 2018, and Caley McGinty won in both the morning and afternoon.) And when GB&I’s Annabel Wilson and Emily Toy were 2 up with four to play against Zhang and Corpuz, the Americans emotions were low. But birdies by Zhang on the 15th and 16th wrestled the lead back, and then after losing the 17th hole, a par on 18 was enough to pull out a 1-up win.

“It was a huge point,” said U.S. captain Sarah Ingram. “Actually we talked about it last night that [former Curtis Cup captain] Martha Lang’s letter to us discussed how important each half point and point is. So it was really helpful to be able to go into tomorrow with a point and a half.”

A three-point deficit isn’t insurmountable, but it eliminates the margin for error in the coming two days. Only once since 2008 has a team that’s trailed after the Day 1 sessions come back to win the Cup (The U.S. trailed 3½-2½ in 2010 but came back to sweep all six matches on Day 2 and cruise to a 12½-7½ victory.

“I just want them to really know that they all played very well today,” Ingram said. “Actually, I’m not really sure how the second match [in the afternoon] went, I’m pretty sure they were around par or under par, but I know that the first match was five under par and the third match was three under par. So they played really well, the other team just played a little bit better today. But we have a long way to go, a lot of points out there to be had and I know that they’re going to come back fighting really strong.”

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By Ryan Herrington
With her victory on Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Jensen Castle knew her plans for late August had changed in an instant. Rather than spend the end of the month settling in on campus for the start of her junior season at the University of Kentucky, the 20-year-old from West Columbia, S.C., had locked up a spot on the 2021 U.S. Curtis Cup team that would be competing against Great Britain & Ireland at Conwy Golf Club in Wales, Aug. 26-28.

On Monday, four other top American amateurs got word that they’ll be heading overseas as well to compete as the USGA announced the final members of the eight-player squad captained by Sarah Ingram. They include Duke senior Gina Kim, Wake Forest junior Rachel Kuehn, Arkansas senior Brooke Matthews and recent Wake Forest grad Emilia Migliaccio.

The fivesome join Rose Zhang (the top ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking), Rachel Heck and Allisen Corpuz, who were named to the team a few weeks ago.

“I couldn’t be more excited to finally have the team in place,” said Ingram, with seven of her eight players sitting inside the World Amateur Golf Ranking top 40. “Over the last two years, I’ve gotten to know many of these young ladies, and have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for them as golfers and people. We’re going to work hard over the next few weeks with the goal of bringing the trophy back to the United States.”

The Americans will be trying to win the Cup on foreign soil for the first time since 2008.

The USGA also named two alternates to the team: Auburn junior Megan Schofill and high school senior Megha Ganne. Both players will travel to Wales in the event they might be pressed into service due to on-going issues with COVID-19. This was the same policy that was in place at the Walker Cup in May, and which proved critical when both the U.S. and the Great Britain and Ireland teams had several players knocked out due to a stomach bug.

On Monday, the R&A announced the members of the GB&I team, captained by Elaine Ratcliffe, who will try to avenge its 17-3 loss to the Americans in 2018 at Quaker Ridge Golf Club.

Hannah Darling (18, Broomieknowe, Scotland)
Louise Duncan (21, West Kilbride, Scotland)
Annabell Fuller (19, Roehampton, England)
Charlotte Heath (19, Huddersfield, England)
Caley McGinty (20, Knowle, England)
Emily Toy (23, Carlyon Bay, England)
Lauren Walsh (20, Castlewarden, Ireland)
Annabel Wilson (20, Lurgan, Ireland)

Reserves:
Hazel MacGarvie (21, Royal Troon, Scotland)
Julie McCarthy (22, Forrest Little, Ireland)

“Home matches have been very successful for GB&I in recent times,” Ratcliffe said, “and this year we have selected a highly skilled and talented team, which is focused on winning back the trophy on home soil. I know that they will enjoy the opportunity to compete together and create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.”

With the teams now set, captains, players, and reserves have a little more than two weeks to prepare for the matches in Wales at the end of the month.

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By Brittany Romano
Going into the Sunday singles’ session of the 40th Curtis Cup with a seemingly insurmountable six-point lead didn’t dampen the competitive spirit of the United States squad at Quaker Ridge Golf Club. The Americans only needed 1½ points to win back the cup lost in 2016 but left with all eight to claim a historic 17-3 runaway victory.

The 17 points earned by captain Virginia Derby Grimes’ team is the most in Curtis Cup history since the biennial match against Great Britain & Ireland was extended to three days in 2008. The previous best from the U.S. of 13 came in 2008 and 2010.

The outcome of the three-day affair at the venerable A.W. Tillinghast layout outside New York City wasn’t unexpected but remained impressive, the U.S. improving its overall record in the match to 29-8-3. Every player on the U.S. roster was ranked inside top 22 on the Women’s World Amateur Rankings, compared to just one on GB&I captain Elaine Farquharson-Black’s squad, making the U.S. the clear favourite to win, particularly when playing at home.

With an average age of 20, the Americans acclimated well to team play in foursomes and four-balls before shining in singles. Despite a slow start on Friday morning—two matches were halved and the U.S. won the third—the home side ended the day with a 4-2 lead. If this was their day to struggle, the GB&I team was in for a long weekend.

Sadly, that was the case. On Saturday, the U.S. swept the three-morning four-ball matches and then went 2-1 in the afternoon foursomes to take a comfortable 9-3 lead that essentially decided the final outcome before Sunday even arrived.

Still, the U.S. dominated singles play, each woman competing as if the overall outcome hinged on the result of their individual match.

“We knew the other team was going to play aggressive because they had to, and that’s good and bad for them,” Sophia Schubert, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, said of the GB&I. “We as a team talked about, yeah we only need a point and a half, but we don’t want to give them any points really. If we can win it all, we want to.”

Schubert earned the first point for the U.S., playing out of the leadoff spot traditionally given the defending Amateur champion. The University of Texas standout made it count going, 2 and 1, against Curtis Cup veteran Olivia Mehaffey, the GB&I’s highest ranked player at No. 16.

“I was ready to come out here and play their best player and just show them what I can do,” Schubert, 22, said. “It was nerve-wracking being the first one off, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

Kristen Gillman ultimately clinched the winning point for the U.S. with her 5-and-4 victory over Annabell Fuller, and in the process made Curtis Cup history of her own. The University of Alabama All-American became just the second American and third player overall to go 5-0 in a single Curtis Cup, a result made possible with the format change in 2008. Gillman joined Stacy Lewis (2008) and Bronte Law (2016) in achieving the feat.

“She is very gritty,” Derby Grimes said of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. “It’s good to see, she’s going to fight until the bitter end.”

With the remaining matches left to play out, college stars Lilia Vu, Jennifer Kupcho, Andrea Lee and Lauren Stephenson and 15-year-old Lucy Li all won their individual matches. The lone excitement then came in the final match of the day, as U.S. Curtis Cup veteran Mariel Galdiano tried to close out the sweep.

However, when she hit her tee shot left into the trees en route to a bogey the 17th hole, it allowed Paula Grant to cut the lead to 1-up going into the final hole. Galdiano’s tee shot went wide again on 18, leaving the 19-year-old behind a tree with her second shot. But Grant struggled on the hole too, missing a 12-foot par putt that gave Galdiano the 1-up victory to let the U.S. sweep the singles session for the first time since 1990.

For the visitors, Mehaffey and Sophia Lamb proved the lone bright spot as they combined for 2½ of the team’s three-point finish. They were only the second pairing in Curtis Cup history to compete in all four sessions together. Stephanie Meadow and Georgia Hall did the same in 2014.

Given the lopsided finish, the question many were asking prior to the start of the match seemed moot: Would the notable absence on the GB&I side of Leona Maguire cost the team a chance at victory?

Maguire, a three-time Curtis Cup team member from Ireland who just closed out an impressive college golf career at Duke, decided to turn pro rather than wait and play in one final team competition. On Friday, Maguire was making her professional debut at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, where she finished T-15. Had she been at Quaker Ridge, it likely wouldn’t have been enough to stop the Americans.

Indeed, this dominating Curtis Cup win is part of a trend for American golfers in international team events recently, including a 12-point win at the Walker cup, eight-point win at the Presidents Cup, six-point win at the Ryder Cup and 5-point win at the Solheim Cup. This 14-point win is the most lopsided of U.S. team wins in the last year.

It’s a short celebration for a few players on the team as Americans Lee and Galdiano are in the midst of college finals. Lee has two finals due Monday and an exam Tuesday morning at Stanford while Galdiano has a paper due Monday and two more finals next week at UCLA. Galdiano had an exam proctored onsite Thursday, just before the flag raising ceremony.

If their dominance in the classroom is anything like their golf games, the two should have no problem.

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By Keely Levins
After the first matches, the Curtis Cup looked like it might be a tight competition. Two matches were halved and the U.S. won one, leaving Team USA up 2-1. But then on Friday afternoon, the momentum shifted and the Americans began to dominate. At the end of day one, it was 4-2 U.S.

At the end of day two, the U.S. had increased that lead to 9-3.

The dominance was predicted by many. Looking at the teams on paper, Team USA has the clear advantage, with six players in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Team Great Britain and Ireland have just one player in the top 20.

When looking at a team with so many dominant individual players, the only question was: Can they play as a team? Team USA has answered that question with a resounding yes.

Both teams have quickly acclimated to the group dynamic of the Curtis Cup. The positive energy is palpable. Getting to play with a partner on both of the first two days have only added to the encouraging, team-centric vibe. But on Sunday, the final day, things are going to be different.

The Curtis Cup requires an unusual level of agility from players. They have to shift between three formats: four-ball, foursomes and then individual — each of which challenge players in a different way. Being able to adjust from format to format to format is a challenge in and of itself. After two days of having a teammate, every player at the Curtis Cup will have to play her own ball.

Yet both sides say they are prepared.

“It’s going to be different tomorrow because you don’t have a teammate to rely on. You have a partner in case you mess up in better ball and then in foursomes you have someone there reading your putt,” said Alice Hewson of England. “It’s going to be really different, but it’s more what we’re used to.”

The players felt that the other formats, though fun because they involve teammates, have helped them build individual confidence as they shift back into an independent mindset.

“In alternate shot, you have to work so much with your partner, you have to strategize,” said Lauren Stephenson. “Sometimes it’s hard to rely so much on someone else, but then it’s also fun. You have to hit good shots in alternate shot and put yourself in the right places. If you can play alternate shot, you can play on your own.”

The Great Britain and Ireland team have a huge task tomorrow. If it were somehow able to keep the Americans from scoring the 1.5 points they need for a win and get to the 10 points it needs to retain the cup, it’d be an astounding and historic victory, one that looks doubtful at this point. But it is going to go out onto Quaker Ridge G.C. and do the only thing they can control.

“We just need to go out and carry on attacking,” said Hewson.

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By Ryan Herrington
U.S. captain Virginia Derby Grimes will have a confident, seasoned group to lead as the Americans aim to win back the Curtis Cup come June at Quaker Ridge Golf Club outside New York City.

The USGA announced on Tuesday the eight players who’ll compete for the U.S. against Great Britain & Ireland in the 40th biennial matches June 8-10. They include:

• Mariel Galdiano, 19, Pearl City, Hawaii
• Kristen Gillman, 20, Austin
• Jennifer Kupcho, 20, Westminster, Colo.
• Andrea Lee, 19, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
• Lucy Li, 15, Redwoods Shores, Calif.
• Sophia Schubert, 22, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
• Lauren Stephenson, 20, Lexington, S.C.
• Lilia Vu, 20, Fountain Valley, Calif.

While Li will be the first 15-year-old playing for the U.S. since Lexi Thompson made the 2010 Curtis Cup team, the remaining players are all collegians with five players age 20 and older, four more than the 2016 U.S. team.

And, as you’d expect, these Americans aren’t just any old college players, but a who’s who of the game. Vu (UCLA), Stephenson (Alabama), Lee (Stanford), Schubert (Texas), Gillman (Alabama) and Kupcho (Wake Forest) are Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9 in the most recent Golfstat individual player rankings, none of whom have an adjusted scoring average in the 2017-’18 season higher than 70.7.

USGA representatives gave the players a heads up in the last few days about their selections. Vu was just finishing a class when she got her call. “I missed [it] but was calling back super excited,” Vu said.

Vu, a UCLA junior, is No. 1 on the most recent Golfstat college player ranking and in the running for national player-of-the-year honours. (Courtesy of UCLA)

Two golfers—Galdiano and Lee—return from that 2016 squad that fell to the GB&I, 11½-8½, at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club in Ireland two years ago.

American fans hope Derby Grimes’ personal success in the Curtis Cup can rub off on her players. Not only was she a member of three winning teams, but her 4-0-1 foursomes record is second-best all-time for the U.S.

Two years ago, the American went 1-2 in foursomes in the morning session on Friday and Saturday, forcing them to come-from-behind each day.

“I think the big thing is to make sure you pair the players together with personalities that maybe are similar, and they get along,” Derby Grimes said via video during the announcement of the team.

All eight players attended the training session held at Shoal Creek in December.

The Americans have not lost the Curtis Cup on home soil since 1994 at The Honors Course in Tennessee, and they haven’t lost twice in a row since 1986-88.

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By Ryan Herrington
Bringing back Scotland’s Elaine Farquaharson-Black as the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup captain for next year’s match at Quaker Ridge G.C. outside New York City was the easy part. The two-time Curtis Cup player deserved to keep the job, a decision the R&A made official on Wednesday, after overseeing an impressive 11½-8½ GB&I victory over the U.S. in the 2016 matches at Dun Laoghaire.

Now for the hard part: Winning the Cup for a second straight.

Just once in the Curtis Cup’s 85-year history has a GB&I captain successfully led her side to two straight victories in the competition—Diane Bailey doing it in 1986 and 1988. Elizabeth Boatman led the winning GB&I team in 1992 and then saw her side retain the Cup in 1994 when the match ended in a tie.

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