In golf’s various transatlantic team tussles, it’s advantage USA. The Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup and the Walker Cup are all plonked in a variety of trophy cabinets across the water.
The PGA Cup, however, remains in GB&I clutches and the amateur girls of these islands will be aiming to keep their grip on the Curtis Cup when they face their American hosts at Quaker Ridge this weekend.
Victory in the biennial bout at Dun Laoghaire in 2016 got the captaincy of Aberdeen’s Elaine Farquharson-Black off to a triumphant start. Winning in America, though, can be as tricky as The Herald’s cryptic crossword.
GB&I have managed that just once in the long history of this cherished old event and that was back in 1986. Funnily enough, that was also the year Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner parts of the solar system. It was a season of rare occurrences.
The three-day contest near New York will showcase the youthful vibrancy of women’s golf. At 24, Ireland’s Paula Grant, the oldest player on either team, must feel like Methuselah’s mother.
The average age of the 16 players in action is under 20 while both teams have 15-year-old’s in the shape of Lucy Li and Annabell Fuller. In fact, the American Li is quite the experienced campaigner. She played in the US Open at the age of 11.
“I think playing golf gives you a bit of maturity,” said Farquharson-Black as she mulled over this young generation which also includes Aboyne’s teenage debutant Shannon McWilliam.
With all of their players in the top 22 of the world amateur rankings, the US look a daunting foe but Farquharson-Black has plenty of in-form weapons in her armoury. She also brought in the short-game expertise of leading Scottish coach, Steven Orr, to bolster the title defence.
There may be only two members of the 2016 winning team competing this weekend for the visitors but Farquharson-Black is still feeding off the feelgood factor of that rousing win in Ireland.
“Somebody commented to me that it was the best golf they had ever seen in a Curtis Cup,” she said. “I think we made 70-odd birdies over the three days. It was very good golf and we are going about things in the same way in terms of our prep here.
“We have a very good chance because we have eight exciting players playing well. We will be prepared and ready when the whistle blows.”
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