I always suspected the Curtis Cup week at Sunningdale would be memorable – and indeed, it was.  It opened with a roar as I was chatting to one of the security guards at the gate of the club, getting the directions to our parking for the week.

“Don’t drive off!  Don’t move!  My chihuahua’s under your car!”  Not words I’ve had shouted at me before, I must confess.

Patricia calmly slid the back window down and said,  “Oh, hello Queenie!  Patricia Davies, Mary McKenna and Maureen Madill.  How are you?!”

Michael King, former Ryder Cup player and longstanding member of Sunningdale, couldn’t have been more surprised if you’d landed him on the moon.  His expression was priceless as the thirty years, or however long it had been since we last saw him, disappeared into the ether.  Also priceless was the sight of this Sunningdale legend down on all fours coaxing the recalcitrant canine out from under my wheels.

Welcome to Curtis Cup week.

What a fabulous show put on by all involved.  From the governing bodies of the game, the R&A and the USGA, to the first class welcome afforded to us by all connected with Sunningdale golf club, it was a never-to-be-forgotten week.

For those of us who have been fortunate enough to play in the Curtis Cup there are two distinct and separate strands to the week, which, nevertheless, run alongside each other very comfortably indeed.  Front and centre, of course, are the two current teams, one from Great Britain and Ireland and one from the United States, and the biennial contest to win the Curtis Cup.

The other strand (equally important to us) is the reunion with pals from both sides of the pond and detailed catch-ups and exchanging of news.  New friendships are forged and it’s golf that cements them all even though some of us no longer play.  In the past players’ match I was on caddying duty for Gill Stewart as she partnered fellow Scot Mo Richmond against the lovely Mary Hafeman whom I first met when we were on opposing sides in the match 44 years ago.  Mary was playing with Noreen Mohler, a past player and captain whom I met for the first time.  It was lovely to see Noreen had her 2010 team bag with her from her year of captaincy at Essex Country Club.  And what a beautiful player she still is……a veritable joy to watch.

That same day our group was behind Carol Semple Thompson, twelve times a player in the Curtis Cup and twice a captain.  Once a competitor always a competitor, which Carol demonstrated by tutting at herself when she had a slightly wayward drive off the 10th tee.  Down went the club on the turf to check her alignment –  she absolutely was NOT going to make the same error again!

The years, of course, do change most of us – perhaps not in essence, but mostly in appearance.  Not everyone, however.

Fiona Champness, nee Brown, originally from Cheshire, must have a portrait in the attic.  She’s become a serious athlete, knocking off marathons for fun and looks as youthful now as she did a few decades ago.  Having celebrated a significant birthday this year she told me she’d decided “to do something for myself”.  Well, that “something” is the Haute Trail Hike Challenge, a 60-kilometre trek through the Alps with daily ascents and descents ranging from 2,500 to almost 8000 feet.  She sets off next week and is raising money for a project in Morocco:   “Rural Schools Rise From The Ground.”  If you’d like to know more and perhaps help by donating a few bob, please copy the link below and paste it into your browser.  I know Fi would appreciate it.

https://www.globalgiving.org/fundraisers/51912/

Meanwhile, at the sharp end of things on the golf course the two teams were producing scintillating figures and mesmerising golf for the record crowds to enjoy.  It was the first time since 2010 that every player contributed to her team’s points tally.  The stars, points-wise, were Sara Byrne for GB&I and Rachel Kuehn for the USA – both unbeaten and now launched on professional careers.

All of Ireland’s representatives, whom I met for the first time this week, contributed hugely.  Sara played every session, winning two matches and halving three.  Her pal Beth Coulter has a Portstewart connection in that she is coached by Neil Graham, the pro at my childhood club and Aine Donegan of Lahinch so impressed her captain Catriona Matthew she was slotted into the anchor role for the singles.

The Rhodes girls, Mimi and Patience, are coached by my great friend Lawrence Farmer and it was Mimi’s fifteen footer for a half on the 17th that won our gang’s award for the “shot de la semaine”.  It assured us of the half point we suspected we needed as Lorna McClymont was in the process of winning the final point on the 16 th.  There was something quite nice about our only GB&I player NOT at college in the US getting the clincher.

Catriona Matthew, another Stirling Uni graduate like McClymont, is making a habit of being a winning captain and leader of women.  That’s two winning Solheims she’s captained and now a Curtis Cup team.  She certainly has the Midas touch and each time has been ably assisted by her close friend and ally Kathryn Imrie.  Karen Stupples, who won the Women’s Open at Sunningdale in 2004, was a further inspired choice to add to her backroom team and between them this trio had it all covered.

I  always had a sneaking feeling that this particular event would be the highlight of my golfing year, regardless of the fact that I am fortunate enough to attend majors pretty much as and when I wish.  Well, I was right.  We topped it all off with an evening meal that Sunday for our own little travelling group when we chewed the fat and made plans to go our separate ways the following morning.

But……some of us had one further surprise in store.  Two of our number left for the airport just after 8.00am.  The rest of us were startled out of sleep by an ear-piercing and persistent noise.  The fire alarm was flexing its muscles and out we all had to go in an assortment of clothing and nightwear until, much later, we were informed it was only a test!

The week was full of surprises from beginning to end.

 

Why is this an historical year in golf?  Answers please on a postcard…….

It should be an easy question to answer for those of you who have clocked that there appears to be a great deal of team matchplay in the scheduling at the moment.  The sister and I are fresh from watching the Curtis Cup at Conwy Golf Club and as you read this we will be readying ourselves for the three day fest that is the Solheim Cup.  And, no sooner will we have finished biting our nails to the quick over the Solheim than we will be limbering up for the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.  And, one final clue – we also enjoyed watching the Walker Cup, played at Seminole in early May, even though it was largely a closed door event because of the pandemic.

And there you have it.  The answer to my opening question is that this is the first time ever that the four major team events in golf have been played in the same year.  The Walker Cup and the Ryder Cup always used to be in odd-numbered years but following the atrocities of 9/11 the Ryder Cup was postponed for a year and then assumed an even-numbered-year slot, usually in September.  This was awkward for the Solheim Cup already occupying that date in the calendar and, realising they couldn’t compete with the men for media attention (at that time), the women swiftly altered to the odd-numbered years.  And then last year the Ryder Cup had to be postponed twelve months because of  COVID-19, hence the logjam of top-class team matchplay that we are now enjoying.

So far this year the Americans have been dominant, edging the win in Seminole by two points and then last week in Wales their women came storming back from a poor opening day to stamp their authority on the Conwy links.  The Curtis Cup was a beautifully run event by the R&A and the small contingent of Americans who were able to make the trip were recipients of a very warm, Welsh welcome, as were we.

The course was stunning and only the merest of zephyrs teased the players during the three days of competition.  It was a particular treat to watch Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck at close quarters, the players ranked respectively No 1 and No 2 in the world.  Zhang was the class act of the week, winning four and a half points out of five but the home side’s Caley McGinty was very impressive in putting three and a half points on the board for GB and I, which included the only singles victory for her team.  At college at Oklahoma State, Caley has won three times stateside and she was certainly the best wedge player I saw throughout the week.  It’ll be fun to follow her progress.

Elaine Ratcliffe and Sarah Ingram, the two captains. were delighted to renew their friendly rivalry, having played in the 1996 match at Killarney, won by GB and I.  In fact, they played head to head in the singles with Ratcliffe coming out on top.  This time it was Sarah hoisting the trophy with her team and celebrating the fact that North Carolina’s Rachel Kuehn had scored the winning point – just as her mother, Brenda Corrie Kuehn had done in 1998 at Minikahda in Minnesota.  That’ll surely provide another special photo for the family album.

Many of the 16 players at Conwy will eventually try their hand on the professional scene and they will be adding the goal of making their respective Solheim Cup teams to their to-do lists.  This year there are four players from the home nations on Catriona Matthew’s European team and all of them played in the Curtis Cup in their amateur days.

Leona Maguire is the most recent player to bridge this gap having participated in the 2016 Curtis Cup match in Ireland, a gap of five years before graduating to the Solheim Cup.  Mel Reid played in the 2006 Curtis Cup encounter and then the 2011 Solheim Cup team, an identical five-year span between teams.  Georgia Hall was a little quicker off the mark taking only three years, 2014 to 2017 but none can better the rapid progress of Charley Hull who was part of the GB and I victory in the Curtis Cup at Nairn in 2012 and then on the winning European Solheim Cup team at Colorado in 2013.

Half of the US team are Curtis Cup graduates with Mina Harigae, one of this year’s rookies, having played the Curtis Cup back in 2008.  Compared to Hull she has had more of a slow burn of a career but nevertheless after thirteen years she gets to pull on the red, white and blue of America again.  In my experience it’s a rare player who would trade the opportunity to represent their country and their continent in these high profile, transatlantic clashes for individual successes, which is very refreshing in what is essentially a very self-centred sport.

So, two down and two more trophies to play for.  The featured picture at the top of the post is just to remind all of us on this side of the Atlantic what one of our own winning teams looks like.  We all know away victories are notoriously hard to come by but hope springs eternal that we can win the Solheim and the Ryder Cups, squaring the series, so to speak.  In any case, I’m looking forward to the next three days and the prospect of watching tremendous golf, gracious sportsmanship and a glorious, nail-biting finish.

Whatever the result, 2021 will go down as an historic year.