The Curtis Cup was first played in 1932 and is a biennial match between the lady amateurs of Great Britain & Ireland and the U.S. This year’s contest will be played from 29-30 July over the Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Resort on America’s Oregon coast.

“It is essential that we get as much practice as possible on courses that are similar in layout to Pacific Dunes, the venue for the match in July,” said Ada O’Sullivan.

“Kingsbarns perfectly fits that requirement and over the three days there, we will be trying out different pairings and concentrating particularly on our foursomes play and short game skills.”

“In the match, it is essential that we get off to a good start in the morning foursomes and since most of the team members will have limited experience in that form of team play, we will have to consider how we tackle that opening session.”

“Matches often hinge on a player’s short game and round Pacific Dunes a lot of shot visualisation will be needed. We are therefore lucky to have Alison Nicholas coming to Kingsbarns, not only for a ‘pep talk’, but also to give the team an insight to how top professionals ‘roll two shots into one.”

Before flying to Vancouver on Wednesday 19 July, the team have been invited to a Tuesday reception in Buckingham Palace. On the Saturday, they have a training session against a Canadian select in Vancouver and on the following day travel to the Bandon Dunes complex in Oregon.

Pam Chugg, Chairman of the Ladies Golf Union said, “We have some very talented and exciting players from which to select our team. In addition, we are fortunate to have such a strong and experienced management team led by Captain Ada O Sullivan with assistance from Fiona Norris as manager and Coach Lawrence Farmer. Ada has left no stone unturned in her preparation for this match and if commitment, dedication and desire count for anything, Ada will surely be bringing the Curtis Cup back to our shores this summer.”

Ada added, “I’m certain we will have a strong team for the July match and both Fiona and I fully expect to have additional luggage – the Curtis Cup – when we return to the UK.”

The team will be selected after the Ladies British Amateur Championship to be played at Royal County Down, Newcastle from 13-17 June.