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Curtis Cup
Curtis Cup preview: Recent history of the match
26 Aug 24
3 mins
The 43rd staging of the Curtis Cup will take place on the Old Course at Sunningdale, a venue Bobby Jones once wished he could take home with him.
Ahead of the three-day event, we look back on the last six contests between the United States of America and Great Britain and Ireland, which have included some all-time classics while introducing us to players who have since become some the biggest names in the game. 2012 – NairnGB&I 10½, USA 9½ There is nothing quite like a roaring match play comeback. that is exactly what happened in 2012 as Nairn played host to one of the greatest Curtis Cups in history. The USA, boasting familiar names such as Amy Anderson and Lindy Duncan, led 4-0 and then 6-3 in this contest as they went in search of an eighth successive Curtis Cup success. But Great Britain and Ireland, led by captain Tegwen Matthews, who played in four successive editions between 1974 and 1980, bounced straight back. Their team included players who would go on to enjoy considerable success as professionals, including Charley Hull, Bronte Law, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow. A strong Saturday afternoon in the four-balls flipped the match on its head as they took two-and-a-half of the three points on offer. That set up a super Sunday. USA led 6½ - 5½ but quickly saw that disappear as GB&I won the opening three matches through Kelly Tidy, Amy Boulden and Holly Clyburn. Lisa McCloskey, Tiffany Lua and Brooke Pancake put important points on the board for the USA, but Hull strolled to a 5&3 victory over Duncan before Meadow clinched the winning point to confirm GB&I’s first Curtis Cup success since 1996 – by a margin of 10½ to 9½. 2014 – St Louis
USA 13, GB&I 7 USA had two years to reflect on that disappointment – and plot revenge – which they carried out with ruthless efficiency in 2014. Back on home soil for the USA side, the Curtis Cup was held at St Louis Country Club and Matthews was again the GB&I captain. She picked a team with more familiar names, as Law and Meadow returned and were joined by the likes of Gemma Dryburgh and Georgia Hall who, four years later, went on to win the AIG Women’s Open. USA made a fast start, led by 2013 US Women’s Amateur champion Emma Talley, as they swept the first morning’s four-balls. Talley and playing partner Mariah Stackhouse edged Meadow and Hall 2&1 and from there the USA were in the groove. Two halved matches in the afternoon foursomes put GB&I on the board but they trailed 5-1 overnight, with Erynne Lee and Annie Park edging Eilidh Briggs and Gabriella Cowley 3&1. Law and Annabel Dimmock secured GB&I’s first win in Saturday’s four-balls but the relentless Americans continued to rack up the points. Allison Lee was at the heart of it, as she and Kyung Kim beat Meadow and Hall 4&2 in the four-balls, and then she and Ramsey saw off Thomas and Dryburgh 2&1 in the foursomes. USA, captained by Ellen Port, led by 9½ to 2½ heading into Sunday, meaning GB&I needed to win almost all of the eight points on offer to overhaul them. However, Talley – out first against Law – ensured that dream died before it even became a reality as she won 4&3 to secure the trophy. The winning moment coming with a three-foot par putt on the 15th. Hall, Dryburgh, Thomas and Meadow all won their singles but USA finished with a deserving 13-7 win.
Dún Laoghaire: GB&I 11½, USA 8½
Great Britain and Ireland's victory in Ireland in 2016 would be the last time they lifted the trophy, as Bronte Law became the first player from GB&I to win all five matches.
2016 – Dún Laoghaire
GB&I 11½, USA 8½ Some Curtis Cups are best remembered for individual moments – however 2016 is best remembered for an individual. Bronte Law made 2016’s Curtis Cup her own by becoming the first player from Great Britain and Ireland to win five matches – an achievement only previously matched by USA’s Stacy Lewis in 2008. Enniskerry’s DúnLaoghaire played host to another thriller, as GB&I won in Ireland for the first time in 20 years. USA picked a young team. Seven of their eight players were teenagers, of whom four were just 17. GB&I took a 2-0 lead, with Law winning her first point alongside Olivia Mehaffey 2&1 in the foursomes, while USA’s Bailey Tardy helped to win two points of her own to leave things perfectly poised at 3-3 overnight. GB&I, captained by Elaine Farquharson-Black, then fell behind as Bethany Wu and Hannah O’Sullivan beat Maguire and Thomas by one in the first day two foursome.However, they then turned it around spectacularly. Law and Mehaffey beat Tardy and Monica Vaughn 3&2, while Meghan MacLaren and Maria Dunne backed that up with a 3&2 win of their own against Sierra Brooks and Andrea Lee. Farquharson-Black kept the same three pairings for the afternoon four-balls and it paid off handsomely, as they brought back three points to take an 8-4 overnight lead. On Sunday, USA battled back and won three of the first five matches, but MacLaren sealed the winning putt on the 17thto beat Bethany Wu, while Law beat Mika Liu to complete a five-star week 11½ - 8½. 2018 – Quaker Ridge
USA 17, GB&I 3 GB&I have not won the Curtis Cup on American soil for 30 years and the 2018 event underlined just how strong USA are on their own patch. At Quaker Ridge, they produced three days for the ages to reclaim the Curtis Cup in style. Captain Virginia Derby Grimes picked six new faces for the event, including Lilia Vu – a future world number one and two-time major champion – and Lucy Li, who was just 15 and had already made history by being the youngest ever qualifier for the US Women’s Amateur and US Women’s Open when she was only 11. Heroes from 2016, Alice Hewson and Olivia Mehaffey, returned for GB&I and, on a tense first morning, two of the morning four-balls were halved, while Vu and Kristen Gillman – who matched Law and became the second American to win five points for her team – beat Hewson and Lily May Humphreys in the other. USA shaded the afternoon foursomes 2-1 to take a 4-2 lead into Saturday and there was no stopping them from there. They swept the four-balls 3-0, and then edged the foursomes 2-1 to take a 9-3 Sunday lead. On the final day, six of the eight singles matches were tight but USA came up trumps in all of them as they won all eight points on offer to complete a 17-3 victory – the biggest margin in Curtis Cup history.
GB&I 11½, USA 8½ Some Curtis Cups are best remembered for individual moments – however 2016 is best remembered for an individual. Bronte Law made 2016’s Curtis Cup her own by becoming the first player from Great Britain and Ireland to win five matches – an achievement only previously matched by USA’s Stacy Lewis in 2008. Enniskerry’s DúnLaoghaire played host to another thriller, as GB&I won in Ireland for the first time in 20 years. USA picked a young team. Seven of their eight players were teenagers, of whom four were just 17. GB&I took a 2-0 lead, with Law winning her first point alongside Olivia Mehaffey 2&1 in the foursomes, while USA’s Bailey Tardy helped to win two points of her own to leave things perfectly poised at 3-3 overnight. GB&I, captained by Elaine Farquharson-Black, then fell behind as Bethany Wu and Hannah O’Sullivan beat Maguire and Thomas by one in the first day two foursome.However, they then turned it around spectacularly. Law and Mehaffey beat Tardy and Monica Vaughn 3&2, while Meghan MacLaren and Maria Dunne backed that up with a 3&2 win of their own against Sierra Brooks and Andrea Lee. Farquharson-Black kept the same three pairings for the afternoon four-balls and it paid off handsomely, as they brought back three points to take an 8-4 overnight lead. On Sunday, USA battled back and won three of the first five matches, but MacLaren sealed the winning putt on the 17thto beat Bethany Wu, while Law beat Mika Liu to complete a five-star week 11½ - 8½. 2018 – Quaker Ridge
USA 17, GB&I 3 GB&I have not won the Curtis Cup on American soil for 30 years and the 2018 event underlined just how strong USA are on their own patch. At Quaker Ridge, they produced three days for the ages to reclaim the Curtis Cup in style. Captain Virginia Derby Grimes picked six new faces for the event, including Lilia Vu – a future world number one and two-time major champion – and Lucy Li, who was just 15 and had already made history by being the youngest ever qualifier for the US Women’s Amateur and US Women’s Open when she was only 11. Heroes from 2016, Alice Hewson and Olivia Mehaffey, returned for GB&I and, on a tense first morning, two of the morning four-balls were halved, while Vu and Kristen Gillman – who matched Law and became the second American to win five points for her team – beat Hewson and Lily May Humphreys in the other. USA shaded the afternoon foursomes 2-1 to take a 4-2 lead into Saturday and there was no stopping them from there. They swept the four-balls 3-0, and then edged the foursomes 2-1 to take a 9-3 Sunday lead. On the final day, six of the eight singles matches were tight but USA came up trumps in all of them as they won all eight points on offer to complete a 17-3 victory – the biggest margin in Curtis Cup history.
2022 – Merion: USA 15½, GB&I 4½
USA won seven of the eight single matches at Merion to wrap up a 15½ - 4½ win in style.
2021 – Conwy
GB&I 7½, USA12½ The Covid-19 pandemic forced a 12-month delay to the 2020 Curtis Cup, but the 41st staging was another edge-of-your-seat thriller. Held in Wales for the first time since 1980, GB&I headed to Conwy in Wales seeking a third straight home victory. USA had Sarah Ingram as Captain and she picked a team of debutants, including the 2020 and 2021 US Women Amateur champions in Rose Zhang and Jensen Castle. GB&I made a fast start and won four of the opening day’s six matches, including a 4&3 foursomes win for Annabell Fuller and Charlotte Heath against Rachel Kuehn and Emilia Migliaccio, to take a 4½ - 1½ lead. On the second day, USA started to creep back. Kuehn and Migliaccio rebounded with a 3&2 win, a score that was repeated three further times and all in USA’s favour – as Zhang won two matches, once with Rachel Heck in foursomes against Louise Duncan and Hannah Darling, and then again with Allisen Corpuz in four-balls against Caley McGinty and Emily Toy. That left it all-square at 6-6 ahead of the singles, but USA quickly ran away with it as they won six of the eight final-day matches. Kuehn secured the winning point, just as her mother Brenda had done in 1998, by beating Duncan 2 up as USA clinched a 12½ - 7½ win. 2022 – Merion
USA 15½, GB&I 4½ Captain Ingram and five of her players returned to defend USA’s title just a year later at Merion, as the Curtis Cup went back to its scheduled cycle. GB&I also had five returning players, making this a true re-match in Pennsylvania, and Kuehn was at the heart of USA’s charge again. She partnered with Heck and then Zhang to win two opening-day points as they surged out of the traps and took a 5-1 lead. Duncan and Heath won GB&I’s sole day-one match in fourballs, and when McGinty and Lauren Walsh won 5&4 against Kuehn and Castle on the second morning, the visitors were very much in it. However, USA kept their foot on the throttle and edged to an 8½ - 3½ overnight lead, with Migliaccio and Latanna Stone’s one-up victory against Heath and Duncan particularly crucial. In the singles, USA were again unstoppable as Zhang beat Duncan 7&5 to set the tone. They then won seven of the eight matches to wrap up a 15½ - 4½ win, with Emily Price the sole GB&I winner. She beat Amari Avery, denying her a perfect 5-0-0 week.
GB&I 7½, USA12½ The Covid-19 pandemic forced a 12-month delay to the 2020 Curtis Cup, but the 41st staging was another edge-of-your-seat thriller. Held in Wales for the first time since 1980, GB&I headed to Conwy in Wales seeking a third straight home victory. USA had Sarah Ingram as Captain and she picked a team of debutants, including the 2020 and 2021 US Women Amateur champions in Rose Zhang and Jensen Castle. GB&I made a fast start and won four of the opening day’s six matches, including a 4&3 foursomes win for Annabell Fuller and Charlotte Heath against Rachel Kuehn and Emilia Migliaccio, to take a 4½ - 1½ lead. On the second day, USA started to creep back. Kuehn and Migliaccio rebounded with a 3&2 win, a score that was repeated three further times and all in USA’s favour – as Zhang won two matches, once with Rachel Heck in foursomes against Louise Duncan and Hannah Darling, and then again with Allisen Corpuz in four-balls against Caley McGinty and Emily Toy. That left it all-square at 6-6 ahead of the singles, but USA quickly ran away with it as they won six of the eight final-day matches. Kuehn secured the winning point, just as her mother Brenda had done in 1998, by beating Duncan 2 up as USA clinched a 12½ - 7½ win. 2022 – Merion
USA 15½, GB&I 4½ Captain Ingram and five of her players returned to defend USA’s title just a year later at Merion, as the Curtis Cup went back to its scheduled cycle. GB&I also had five returning players, making this a true re-match in Pennsylvania, and Kuehn was at the heart of USA’s charge again. She partnered with Heck and then Zhang to win two opening-day points as they surged out of the traps and took a 5-1 lead. Duncan and Heath won GB&I’s sole day-one match in fourballs, and when McGinty and Lauren Walsh won 5&4 against Kuehn and Castle on the second morning, the visitors were very much in it. However, USA kept their foot on the throttle and edged to an 8½ - 3½ overnight lead, with Migliaccio and Latanna Stone’s one-up victory against Heath and Duncan particularly crucial. In the singles, USA were again unstoppable as Zhang beat Duncan 7&5 to set the tone. They then won seven of the eight matches to wrap up a 15½ - 4½ win, with Emily Price the sole GB&I winner. She beat Amari Avery, denying her a perfect 5-0-0 week.