No Scots in Curtis Cup team but Shannon, Hazel 

and Lorna could change all that for 2018 match

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
The only Scottish aspect of the GB and I team announced today for the Curtis Cup match against the USA at Dun Laoghaire GC, near Dublin from June 10-12 is the non-playing captain - Aberdeen solicitor Elaine Farquharson-Black.

The team is made up five English (Bronte Law, Meghan MacLaren, Alice Hewson, Charlotte Thomas and Rochelle Morris) and three Irish players (Leona Maguire, Olivia Mehaffey and Maria Dunne), six of whom gained automatic selection through the World Rankings or the Ladies Golf Union Order of Merit table.
The remaining two players, Thomas and Morris, were chosen by the LGU Selection Panel.
Eight years ago, when the Curtis Cup match was played over the Old Course, St Andrews there were four Scots in the team - Michele Thomson, Carly Booth, Krystle Caithness and Sally Watson. All turned professional soon afterwards.

Young Scots who have the potential to make the 2018 GB and I team for the Curtis Cup match at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in the United States are spearheaded by teenagers Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne), pictured lower left, and Hazel MacGarvie (Troon Ladies) (Pictured top left).
And there is also Lorna McClymont (Milngavie), pictured on left in blue, who, this week, won the Dunbartonshire and Argyll county championship at the age of 15. Now if she can keep improving over the next two years ...

 

Steve Paulding, Scottish Golf Performance Director, commented on the lack of Scots in this year's Curtis Cup match.

“It’s disappointing we don’t have any Scottish players in the team, but golf can often work in cycles. In recent years we have had a strong contingent of players in the Curtis Cup and those players are now enjoying success on the Ladies European Tour.

“We are aware of the challenges within the women's and girls’ game just now and we are working hard to address them from the bottom up to create positive change. But we did have two players in the GB and I Junior Vagliano team last year.

"We have young players not quite ready to progress to that level and we have a good contingent of players at college in the US who just haven’t quite broken through.

“The men’s and boys’ game has been very cyclical. While there were no Scots in the 2013 Walker Cup team, we had three in it last year, which arguably could have been four if Bradley Neil hadn’t turned professional and we now have good strength in depth at the top. 

"The girls coming through our programme can be inspired by this and we have some great role models for them to follow in the likes of Sally Watson and Pamela Pretswell.”