Mimi Rhodes gave a subtle, but powerful fist pump, but her teammates reactions told the story.
The players from Great Britain & Ireland stood next to the 17th green, and they knew how good Rhodes’ par putt was to halve the hole. It was enough to secure, at worst, a half point. But that’s all Rhodes needed.
GB&I won its first Curtis Cup in eight years on Sunday, topping the Americans 10 ½ -9 ½ at Sunningdale in England. On a day when World No. 1 Lottie Woad and fellow stalwart Hannah Darling lost their singles matches for the hosts, it was the likes of Mimi Rhodes, her sister Patience, Sara Byrne and Lorna McClymont who carried GB&I to their ninth victory in the biennial competition.
Curtis Cup: Best photos from Sunningdale
Even with a young and inexperienced team, the Americans came into the Curtis Cup as favorites. Rachel Kuehn, playing in her third Curtis Cup, was in the anchor match Sunday and won 3 and 2 against Aine Donegan, but she was the lone player with experience in the international competition that mimics the Solheim Cup.
The young Americans, like 15-year-old Asterisk Talley and incoming USC freshman Jasmine Koo, played well. Talley knocked off Load 3 and 2 in singles while Koo topped Beth Coulter 4 and 3. However, a couple of the veterans, who waited to turn professional for a shot to play on the Curtis Cup team, were unable to win down the stretch.
The 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, Megan Schofill, lost 3 and 2 to Lorna McClymont. Earlier this summer, McClymont lost to Melanie Green in the final of the Women’s Amateur Championship. The win helped Green punch her ticket on the U.S. Curtis Cup team, but on Sunday, she halved her match against Mimi Rhodes in what turned out to be the clincher.
In the left trees with no second shot on the penultimate hole holding a 1-up lead, Rhodes had to punch out into the fairway for her third. She hit a brilliant shot beneath the hole to roughly 15 feet.
Green, about 40 yards further up the fairway, had a green light to try to tie the match. Her attempt sailed long and left but remained on the green.
Green’s birdie putt trickled close to the hole but didn’t fall. Rhodes responded, pouring hers in to clinch at least a half point and the ninth Curtis Cup win all-time for GB&I. Green won the closing 18th to in fact halve the match, but the U.S. fell half a point short of retaining the cup.
The Americans now own a 31-9-3 lead in the biennial competition.