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Curtis Cup

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Carol Semple Thompson - 2006 Curtis Cup

U.S. captain Carol Semple Thompson cradles the trophy after the Americans' 2006 victory. Thompson played on a record 12 teams.

Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images

About the Curtis Cup:

The Curtis Cup Match is contested every two years by teams of female amateurs representing the United States and Great Britain & Ireland (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland). The sanctioning bodies are the United States Golf Association and Ladies Golf Union, and those organizations select the respective teams. Each team consists of eight golfers.

The Curtis Cup was first played in 1932, and is named after sisters Harriott and Margaret Curtis, who combined for four victories in the U.S. Women's Amateur. The Curtis sisters donated the trophy for the competition.

The U.S. leads the series, 25-6-3.

2008 Curtis Cup
• Final Score: U.S. 13, Great Britain & Ireland 7
• Where: The Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland
• Captains: GB&I - Mary McKenna; U.S. - Carol Semple Thompson.
• U.S. team: Tiffany Joh, Meghan Bolger, Kimberley Kim, Mina Harigae, Amanda Blumenherst, Stacy Lewis, Jennie Lee, Alison Walshe
• GB&I team: Elizabeth Bennett, Carly Booth, Krystle Caithness, Jodi Ewart, Breanne Loucks, Florentyna Parker, Michele Thomson, Sally Watson.
Official Curtis Cup Web site

Curtis Cup Format:


Beginning in 2008, the Curtis Cup assumes a Ryder Cup-style format, with foursomes, four-balls and singles play. Day 1 and Day 2 will feature three foursomes and three four-balls each day, with eight singles matches concluding play on Day 3. One point is awarded the side of the winning golfer in each match; if matches are tied at the conclusion of 18 holes, each golfer earns a half-point for her team. If the Curtis Cup Match itself concludes in a tie, the team that held the cup entering the competition retains it.

Curtis Cup Records:


Overall Match Standings
U.S. leads Great Britain & Ireland, 25-6-3

Most Curtis Cups Played
• GB&I - 9, Mary McKenna (1970-72-74-76-78-80-82-84-86)
• U.S. - 12, Carol Semple Thompson (1974-76-80-82-88-90-92-94-96-98-2000-02)

Largest Winning Margin, 18-Hole Match
• Singles - 9 and 8, Margaret Smith, U.S., def. Philomena Garvey, GB&I, 1956
• Foursomes - 8 and 6, Carol Sorenson/Barbara Fay White Boddie, U.S., def. Bridget Jackson/Susan Armitage, GB&I, 1964

Undefeated and Untied in Curtis Cup Play
(Minimum 4 matches)
Debbie Massey, U.S., 5-0-0
Barbara Fay White Boddie, 4-0-0
Claire Doran, U.S., 4-0-0
Juli Inkster, U.S., 4-0-0
Trish Johnson, GB&I, 4-0-0
Dorothy Kielty, U.S., 4-0-0
Stacy Lewis, U.S., 5-0-0
Alison Walshe, U.S., 4-0-0

Most Overall Match Wins in Curtis Cup
18 - Carol Semple Thompson, U.S.
11 - Anna Quast Sander, U.S.
10 - Mary McKenna, GB&I
10 - Phyllis Preuss, U.S.

Curtis Cup Trivia and Match Notes:

  • Several false starts at a Curtis Cup-style competition were made, dating to 1905, before Glenna Collett Vare started championing the idea in 1930. The USGA and LGU agreed in 1931 to regular matches, and the first was played in 1932.

  • The Curtis Cup Match was originally envisioned to include nations from around the world, but financial issues limited the competition to the American and GB&I teams in the early going, and it has remained just those two teams ever since.
  • The U.S. won that first match in 1932, 5.5 to 3.5. But the highlight was a victory for the GB&I side. Joyce Wethered and American Glenna Collett Vare - the greatest female golfers of their time - met only three times in competitive match play. The first Curtis Cup was one of them, and Wethered won easily, 6-and-4.

  • The GB&I team's first win in the series was in 1952, the seventh Curtis Cup Match played.
  • One mother-and-daughter pair has competed in Curtis Cup play: Jane Bastanchury Booth and her daughter Kellee Booth. Jane played in 1970, 1972 and 1974, and Kellee in 1996 and 1998. And both are among the 10 players who have posted 4-0-0 records in a single Curtis Cup.

  • Others who have posted 4-0-0 marks in a single Curtis Cup include Trish Johnson for GB&I in 1986; Juli Inkster for the U.S. in 1982; Patty Sheehan for the U.S. in 1980; and Beth Daniel for the U.S. in 1976.
  • The largest winning margin for the U.S. is 11 points (14.5 to 3.5) in 1982, an American team that boasted Juli Inkster, Kathy Baker and Amy Benz. The largest winning margin for GB&I is 8 points (13 to 5) in 1986, a team led by Trish Johnson's 4-0-0 performance.

  • The 2008 match was the first one to feature five sessions of play, and Stacy Lewis was the first player to earn five points in one Cup, going 5-0-0 for the U.S.

  • The official name of the trophy awarded to the winning team is "The Women's International Cup."

    • Curtis Cup Results:


    2008 - U.S. 13, GB&I 7
    2006 - U.S. 11.5, GB&I 6.5
    2004 - U.S. 10, GB&I 8
    2002 - U.S. 11, GB&I 7
    2000 - U.S. 10, GB&I 8
    1998 - U.S. 10, GB&I 8
    View All Curtis Cup Results

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