The Curtis Cup was won by Britain and Ireland for the first time since 2016, following an exciting victory over their American competitors at Sunningdale. Sara Byrne, an Irish player who maintained a flawless record all week, Patience Rhodes, and Lorna McClymont led the team to the brink of a well-deserved win. Then, due to Mimi Rhodes making par at the 17th, they secured the crucial half point against Melanie Green.
Despite losing the 18th round after a misjudged second shot, Rhodes was warmly celebrated by her teammates upon the green as the team revelled in their success. Rachael Kuehn’s victory over Aine Donegan of Ireland resulted in Catriona Matthew’s team, which includes Sara Byrne, whose singles victory attributed greatly to the win, earned a concluding score of 10.5 to 9.5.
Matthew remarked to Sky Sports that the victory was absolutely brilliant and commended her team for the resilience they showed throughout the competition. Despite the unexpected turn of events, the team persevered and she was honoured to have gotten to know them during this remarkable experience.
Matthew also acknowledged the American team’s efforts and praised the impressive performances displayed over the three-day competition. She believes that women’s golf has a promising future based on the performance of both teams and she is happy that her team came out on top in such a tightly contested event.
Being a part of a team and representing your nation is an utmost matter of pride; it stands toe-to-toe with achievements like winning the Solheim Cup as a captain or even playing in it. Despite Irish player, Beth Coulter’s defeat to American Jasmine Koo by 4&3 on the recent Sunday, the Irish contingent provided a significant contribution over the week. Byrne was the lead contributor, bagging three points. Equally noteworthy was Donegan’s totalling of two-and-a-half points. Her decisive 18-hole winning putt on Friday’s afternoon fourballs match significantly impacted the concluding result. Coulter, too, notwithstanding her defeat, added one-and-a-half points during the week’s play.