From Curtis Cup to major glory

The biennial Curtis Cup match between Great Britain & Ireland and the USA has been the stepping stone for many amateurs who have gone on to major success in women’s golf. In the last 30 years, 14 former Curtis Cup players have won one or more major championships since playing in the famed team event, including this year’s GB&I non-playing captain, Catriona Matthew, who won the AIG Women’s Open in 2009 after representing GB&I on three separate occasions.  Other GB&I representatives who boast a major championship after competing in the Curtis Cup are Karen Stupples and Georgia Hall, who like this week’s non-playing captain, went on to win the AIG Women’s Open. The 11 Americans to have done likewise include Lexi Thompson, Jennifer Kupcho, Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu.  We highlight some of the notable major successes from former Curtis Cup stars:

Catriona Matthew

This year’s GB&I captain featured in the Curtis Cup as a player in 1990, 1992, and 1994.  The 1993 Women’s Amateur champion has an impressive Curtis Cup record of 7-4-1, having been a part of GB&I’s losing side in 1990 at Somerset Hills in New Jersey, their win in 1992 at Royal Liverpool, and the team that retained the trophy in 1994 following a tied match at The Honors Course in Tennessee. Leading GB&I to a victory this week would only add to Matthew’s outstanding legacy in team golf. Since turning professional in 1994, she’s represented Europe an incredible nine times at the Solheim Cup and led her continent to consecutive victories in 2019 and 2021 as the team’s captain.

Allisen Corpuz

Allisen Corpuz is the most recent Curtis Cup player to win a major championship. After representing the US team at Conwy, Wales in August 2021, she went on to claim her maiden major victory at the US Women’s Open less than two years later. Corpuz carded scores of 69, 70, 71 and 69 at Pebble Beach in July 2023 to finish nine-under-par and win by three strokes. She was the only player in the field to shoot four under-par rounds. At the 2021 Curtis Cup, she helped her side to a 12.5-7.5 victory, amassing a 3-0 record over singles and four-ball.  Corpuz has since represented the USA at the 2023 Solheim Cup and will make her second appearance in that event at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia next month.

Lilia Vu

After representing USA in the 2018 Curtis Cup at Quaker Ridge in New York, Lilia Vu had a breakout season in 2023, becoming the first American to win two majors in the same year since Juli Inkster in 1999.  She won her first major at the Chevron Championship at The Club in Carlton Woods and added a second major scalp at the AIG Women’s Open just over three months later. Her Chevron Championship victory came in extra holes as she defeated Angel Yin after the pair could not be separated in regulation play, both finishing on 10-under-par. While her first major victory came the hard way, she ultimately cruised to a six-shot victory at the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath – carding back-to-back 67s over the weekend to finish on 14-under.  Vu will make her second Solheim Cup appearance in a couple of weeks’ time.

Jennifer Kupcho

Like Vu, Jennifer Kupcho also represented USA at the 2018 Curtis Cup and has since gone on to enjoy major success.  The former Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion won the 2022 Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club. Although that was her first LPGA title, it kick-started an impressive run of victories that also included triumphs at the Meijer LPGA Classic and Dow Great Lakes Invitational within the next three months. In her lone Curtis Cup appearance, Kupcho recorded three wins, a loss, and a half (3-1-1), helping USA to a dominant 17-3 victory.  She has two previous Solheim Cup caps in 2021 and 2023 and has been selected as a captains pick for this year’s event.

Georgia Hall

Georgia Hall is GB&I’s most recent Curtis Cup representative to win a major.  Four years after playing in the 2014 Solheim Cup at St Louis Country Club, she won the 2018 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes. Hall has since gone on to win two titles on the LPGA Tour, as well as finishing tied-second at the AIG Women’s Open in 2021. She will make her fifth Solheim Cup appearance next month after representing Europe in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Lexi Thompson

Lexi Thompson won the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship (now Chevron Championship), four years after representing USA in the Curtis Cup at Essex Country Club. She won her first and only major by three strokes from Michelle Wie, a second-round 64 the pick of Thompson’s rounds as she finished on 14-under-par at Mission Hills. She also played a key role in the USA’s 2010 Curtis Cup victory, winning four matches to help her team to a 12.5-7.5 success Thompson is set to make her seventh and final Solheim Cup appearance next month after announcing her retirement from the LPGA Tour earlier this year. Other Curtis Cup Players who went on to win major a championship in the last 30 years:

• Karen Stupples (1996, 1998 GB&I – 2004 AIG Women’s Open)
• Cristie Kerr (1996 USA – 2007 US Women’s Open, 2010 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship)
• Hilary Lunke (2000 USA – 2003 US Women’s Open)
• Angela Stanford (2000 USA – 2018 Amundi Evian Championship)
• Paula Creamer (2004 USA – 2010 US Women’s Open)
• Brittany Lang (2004 USA – 2016 US Women’s Open)
• Michelle Wie West (2004 USA – 2014 US Women’s Open)
• Stacy Lewis (2008 USA – 2011 Chevron Championship, 2013 AIG Women’s Open).