39th Curtis Cup match tees off at Dun Laoghaire on Friday

Elaine looking for a fast start from GB and I

Great Britain and Ireland will be looking for a fast start when the 39^th Curtis Cup gets underway at Dun Laoghaire south of Dublin tomorrow (Friday).

Home captain Elaine Farquharson-Black has named World No. 4 Bronte Law and World No.  8 Olivia Mehaffey in her first foursomes pairing where they will face a tough match against World No. 1 Hannah O’Sullivan and World No. 6 Mariel Galdiano.

The first foursomes series promises to provide an electric start to a match in which the visiting team is defending the trophy and the home squad is battling to replicate their victory the last time the Curtis Cup was staged on home soil, at Nairn four years ago.

The next two foursomes also provide Irish interest for the large crowds that are expected to flock to Dun Laoghaire. 

The second match which starts 12 minutes after the first at 8.12 am pitches Irish World No. 2 Leona Maguire and English World No. 41 Charlotte Thomas against Andrea Lee and Mika Liu while in the last match of the morning Ireland’s Maria Dunne and England’s Meghan MacLaren face Bailey Tardy and Monica Vaughn.

The two English players not being used in the first of five sessions of play are Alice Hewson (Berkhamsted) and Rochelle Morris (Woodsome Hall).

The three foursomes will be followed by three four-ball matches in the afternoon. 

“We’re relaxed and ready to go,” said Farquharson-Black who was part of the winning 1992 GB and I Curtis Cup team at Royal Liverpool and captained GB and I in the 2015 Astor Salver tournament in Australia and Vagliano Trophy matches at Malone GC, Belfast.

 “We’ve had ten great days both here and at Castle (Golf Club) and I think we’ve done all the preparation we need. It’s time to get started.

“I’ve been aiming for a happy team because a happy team is a relaxed team and when you’re relaxed that’s when you tend to play well. We’ve done a lot of work but the emphasis has been on keeping it nice and relaxed and I think we’ve managed that very well.

“I’ve said all along I want everyone to enjoy the experience. That’s the key because it will all go very quickly.”

Both Farquharson-Black and her US counterpart Robin Burke agreed that the Dun Laoghaire course is in excellent condition and will provide an excellent test for best teams.

“You’ve got to hit it straight. You’ve got to hit it long and you’ve got to putt well,” said the GB and I captain and Deeside Golf Club honorary member.

“You need the whole package on this golf course. You can’t get away with bad shots. It’s not the sort of course you can say it came down to luck,” she added. 

“It’s the golfer who hits the best shots and putt well who will do well round here.”

“It’s a beautiful course,” said US Captain Burke who was on the winning US Curtis Cup team in Minneapolis in 1998 and who is married to two-time major champion, Jack Burke Jr.

 “It’s absolutely breathtaking out here. The members and everyone are excited about the event. We know it’s going to bring in a lot of people and it will be exciting for the girls to play in front of a big crowd.

“It’s going to be a great match,” she added. “Like a wise man (her husband) once said ‘the trophy is given away on the putting green and not in the fairway’”. That’s what happens at a lot of these matches and it’s likely it will happen here as well. The team that putts best will probably win.”
United States lead by 28 victories to seven by GB and I with three matches tied.