ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (April 26, 2018) - The R&A today announced the Great Britain and Ireland team to face the United States in the 40th Curtis Cup match which will be played at Quaker Ridge, New York from 8-10 June.
GB&I will defend the historic trophy after securing an 11½-8½ win over the United States at Dun Laoghaire in Ireland two years ago.
Great Britain and Ireland team
An eight-player team and one non-travelling reserve have been selected for the 2018 match with five players from England featuring alongside two Irishwomen and one Scot.
The GB&I team includes 16-year-old Lily May Humphreys who won the 2018 Helen Holm Championship at Royal Troon last week to add to the Girls British Open Amateur Championship and English Women’s Amateur Championship titles she won last year.
Olivia Mehaffey and Alice Hewson will make their second appearances for GB&I in the Curtis Cup after featuring in the winning side at Dun Laoghaire in 2016.
The full team to face the United States:
India Clyburn (21, Woodhall Spa, England)
Lily May Humphreys (16, Stoke-by-Nayland, England)
Annabell Fuller (15, Roehampton, England)
Sophie Lamb (20, Clitheroe, England)
Paula Grant (24, Lisburn, Ireland)
Shannon McWilliam (18, Aboyne, Scotland)
Alice Hewson (20, Berkhamsted, England)
Olivia Mehaffey (20, Royal County Down Ladies, Ireland)
Non-travelling reserve:
Annabel Wilson (17, Lurgan, Ireland)
Difficult Decision
Elaine Farquharson-Black, who will captain GB&I in the Curtis Cup for the second time following the win at Dun Laoghaire, said, “There have been a number of players throughout Great Britain and Ireland who have been in impressive form recently and it was a difficult decision to select only eight.
“The players selected will now have a wonderful opportunity to perform on the international stage in one of the world’s most prestigious events and I’m sure that they will give their very best as we attempt to retain the trophy against a talented team from the United States.”
Ireland’s Leona Maguire, currently the number two golfer in the Women’s WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™, will turn professional next month and has ruled herself out of contention for selection, while England’s Isobel Wardle, who was also named in the provisional GB&I squad, has decided to focus on undertaking her school exams.
ABOUT THE Curtis Cup
Officially named "The Women's
International Cup," the first Curtis Cup
wasn't officially held until 1932. The
biennial competition features the best
female players from the United States of
America pitted against a similar squad
from Great Britain and Ireland. While it
was hoped that many nations would
eventually join the Match, the Curtis Cup
has remained a two-sided competition.
View Complete Tournament Information