Last week I had a dream…., not one quite as seismic as Martin Luther King’s but seismic enough that it was a relief to me to wake up and realise it WAS only a dream.  I dreamt that Catriona Matthew gave me one of her wild card picks for the European Solheim Cup team.  I was incredulous and asked one of my friends why on earth had Catriona selected me when she knew that I had the yips on the greens?  I decided I’d just have to do my best.

There was one other matter that concerned me more than my own selection and that was that Catriona had also given Patricia the nod!  How was Patricia going to cope with playing in front of thousands and thousands of people with what Enid Wilson, erstwhile women’s golf correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, had once described as a non-event of a backswing?  I put this question to Patricia who nonchalantly assured me that she would be absolutely fine and to concentrate on my own worries!

There were no such nightmares for Anna Nordqvist last week at Carnoustie as she tucked away the third major of her career, winning the AIG Women’s Open by a single shot from an intimidating trio of players waiting in the clubhouse:  2018 champion Georgia Hall, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom and America’s Lizette Salas.  The 34-year old winner has won each of her three majors in a different decade but this was, she says, “the most special” one of all.

Anna had failed to grace the winner’s circle since her 2017 win at the Evian Championship, due in no small measure to battling a protracted bout of glandular fever which left her feeling debilitated and lacking in physical and mental strength.  It was a long road back for the tall Swede and she admits she had doubts as to whether she would do it or not but with a newly acquired Scottish husband, not to mention a Scottish caddy on the bag, she felt buoyed by the support from the locals who were claiming her as one of their own.  With this triumph Nordqvist follows in Georgia Hall’s footsteps of having won the British Girls’ Championship, the Women’s Amateur, the Smyth Salver for the low amateur at the Women’s Open, and then, of course, the ultimate prize of the Women’s Open itself.  It’s a formidable list of accomplishments.

Scotland had even more to cheer with the refreshing sight of 21-year old Women’s Amateur champion, Louise Duncan, holding her own with the best in the world and claiming tenth spot in her major championship debut.  The Stirling University student was undoubtedly well served by the calming influence of her coach, Dean Robertson, former Italian Open champion, on the bag and she thrilled the home crowds from her opening tee shot to her final putt.

Louise has deflected any question of turning pro by saying she wants to complete her sports studies degree at uni and she definitely wants to play in next April’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, so the paid ranks are not at the forefront of her mind.  I’m sure, however, that when the dust settles she may realise there are now a few more options open to her than the physiotherapy courses she was beginning to investigate.  Right now, however, the Curtis Cup at lovely Conwy is on her agenda as GB&I, under the captaincy of Elaine Ratcliffe, try to win the trophy back from the Americans.  Fingers crossed she doesn’t suffer a bit of a reaction to her tremendous efforts at Carnoustie.

Two other busy people last week were Catriona Matthew and Pat Hurst, the two Solheim Cup captains who were at last able to finalise their teams.  Europe’s rules allowed them six picks while the Americans had three.  Pat Hurst has put her trust in Brittany Altomare, who played in 2019, and two in-form Solheim rookies, Mina Harigae and Yealimi Noh.  They round out the US side and all together they will be a formidable unit to overcome.

Meanwhile, history is being made on the European team with both Ireland and Finland being represented for the first time in the match.  Leona Maguire from Co Cavan had been hotly tipped to make her debut this year and a solid tied 13th finish last week cemented her place.  She may be a rookie but she brings oodles of international experience going all the way back to Junior Ryder and Solheim Cup sides.  A two-time Olympian, she’s unlikely to be over-fazed by the occasion – she has the maturity to take it all in her stride.  She was also excited to be playing for Matthew.  She said, “Catriona is a legend in her own right – a winning Solheim Cup captain and a major winner.  For her to think I’m good enough to be on her team is quite humbling and an honour.”

She added,  “I’m really excited, it is something that I have looked forward to.  I have played the PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2009 and 2011.  It was an incredible thing to be part of the Junior side so to be on the ‘big’ team is something really special and no Irish person has ever done it before.”

Matilda Castren of Finland is blazing a similar trail in her own country and, until Nordqvist’s win last Sunday, was the only European to notch up a victory this season on the LPGA.  Her excitement was infectious,

“It has been one of my goals and dreams since I was a little girl. It is just so cool to see it happen. I can’t describe it, I’m super happy. It’s hard to contain my excitement. To be the first Finn is such a huge honour and I’m super proud to represent my country.”

It must be a relief to the two captains finally to have their teams – and an even bigger relief to Catriona knowing that she doesn’t have to play either of the Madill sisters.  There won’t be a non-event of a backswing nor a dodgy putting stroke in sight!

 

Well, we’ve had to wait for more than a year because of the pesky virus (nothing like a bit of understatement to start with) but at last the Curtis Cup returns to Wales.  The United States team have bounced in to Conwy keen to retain the trophy they won in crushing style at Quaker Ridge three yeas ago but the beauty of team matchplay is that nothing’s ever won on paper.  The game, remember, is played on grass.

Maureen and I got up at 0500 yesterday (well, she did, I was a little bit later being lighter on the ablutions) because we wanted to be there for the off at 0745.  It was the first day after all and we knew how important it was to a lot of our friends, how long-awaited and there is something special about the start of a big match, be it Curtis Cup, Walker Cup, Solheim, Ryder, whatever.

There isn’t a Welsh player on the GB and I team but as Gerald Micklem once said of a Walker Cup team, rebuking someone moaning about a lack of one nationality or another:  “There are no English, no Irish, no Welsh, no Scots…”  It’s like the Lions really:  one for all, all for one.  If you haven’t heard of Micklem – and the people who knew him well are now few and far between and pretty long in the tooth – look him up.  He may seem like ancient history but there’s far, far too much to Gerald, a real golfing visionary and benefactor, to squeeze into a few words.

For several hundred of us, maybe more, in a little corner of north Wales it was a lovely day, catching up with any number of old friends (well, I suppose, if truth be told, most of our friends are old now…), watching some very good young golfers battling their hearts out on a lovely golf course in benign conditions.  They’ve become part of something special and will probably only really appreciate just how special years from now.  There’s probably nothing better than attending a Curtis Cup as a “past player”.  Much more relaxing than being a current player!

There were enough spectators to justify the presence of numerous white-jacketed marshals, mustered from clubs from all over Wales and possibly beyond, to keep us in some sort of order.

Quite a few people who would never miss a Curtis Cup have had to stay away for a variety of reasons, not least the current restrictions, so Mo and I took as many snaps as we could, to give a flavour of the day.  Also, modern technology means that not only can you watch the action on Sky and the Golf Channel but on the R&A’s digital platforms, live streamed (I think that just means live, as it happens) through YouTube and Facebook as well as randa.org.

A picture is worth a thousand words, allegedly and if we were to recount all the tales told yesterday, this blog would never end!  It’s a miracle we got back home at all.

GB and I, confounding the odds and the perennial pessimists, had the best of the opening day, so their captain, ever affable, didn’t have the worry of scrabbling around to put a positive spin on things.  She just had to smile and look at the scoreboard, well aware that today is another day entirely.

Sarah Ingram, captain of the USA, had a less comfortable day – being 4 1/2  – 1 1/2 down is not the start you dream of – but she probably had no need of a team talk last night, the scoreboard said it all.

The choice of an action photo is completely random – Mo just happened to be there at the time, trusty phone in hand and we both liked the image and the colour.  No Irish bias here of course….

Finally, as a homage to the incomparable Mary McKenna, who is at home in Ireland, we include a water shot, of Conwy Marina.  No birds in flight in sight admittedly but our photography is a work in progress…Stationary boats are hard enough.

 

I noticed that the old codgers, sorry, seniors, sorry, sorry, legends (probably with a capital ‘L’) were playing in Ireland last week, in Donegal – if you’ve never been, don’t delay, GO – and Thomas Bjorn won the Irish Legends presented by the McGinley Foundation at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort.  It was the Dane’s first win on the Legends Tour and he beat Phillip Price of Wales at the second hole of a play-off after a final round of 65, six under par.  They finished a whopping six shots ahead of Peter Baker, Peter Wilson and Mauricio Molina.

“It was nice,” Bjorn said.  “As a sportsman there’s no greater feeling than Sunday afternoon.  It doesn’t really matter where it is, I really got into it…I recognised myself and I haven’t seen that person for quite a while, which is nice.  It’s pretty special winning any golf tournament….I’m really glad I came.  It’s a wonderful part of Ireland and a wonderful part of the world.”

And I thought the trophy, which was what really caught my eye, was worth winning.  It was handmade in county Offaly, from old Irish native beech.  There’s no way that’ll be ending up in the back of a cupboard!