Tag: Curtis Cup 2022

Five things to know from historic Merion, where Team USA dominated the 42nd Curtis Cup

The only drama on Sunday at the 42nd Curtis Cup centered around which player would clinch it for Team USA.

ARDMORE, Pennsylvania – It was never really close. The only drama on Sunday at the 42nd Curtis Cup centered around which player would clinch it for Team USA.

That turned out to be Rachel Kuehn, who enjoyed the same honor last year in Wales. The U.S. won every session of every day, trouncing Great Britain and Ireland, 15.5 to 4.5.

“It’s just an incredible moment,” said Kuehn, whose mom Brenda Corrie Kuehn was waiting off the side of the green with a hug.

Rookie Megha Ganne, who went 3-0, called the week the highlight of her amateur career. She’ll be a freshman at Stanford in the fall, joining stars Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang.

“This has been the greatest week of my life,” added another rookie Latanna Stone, who stuffed her approach on the iconic 18th to seal her singles victory against Charlotte Heath.

Emily Price was the only player on the GB&I team to win her singles match.

Emilia Migliaccio has been a ‘NARP’ for 12 months but ready to enjoy the best of both worlds in life

“I can’t wait to be a student-athlete again. I’m ready to do school and golf and not have to be grading papers too.”

ARDMORE, PA – Emilia Migliaccio has enjoyed being a NARP.

For those not in the know, that acronym stands for non-athletic regular person and for the past 12 months now, the winner of five collegiate golf titles has been doing yoga, re-reading the Harry Potter series and traveling with her fiancé in her spare time and grinding on her master’s thesis on the impact of self-talk on player performance and grading papers as a teacher’s assistant. In other words, being a 23-year-old Wake Forest University graduate student.

What she isn’t doing is what everyone expected from her – namely chasing trophies and riches as a professional golfer. But during this past year of exploration and self-discovery, she also came to an important realization – she still loved competitive golf and in June she’ll scratch that itch by competing in her second straight Curtis Cup when Team USA attempts to retain the trophy on home soil at Merion Golf Club.

“I love being part of a team, love college golf, love team events, so have a new appreciation of amateur golf on a whole new level,” she said during Curtis Cup media day. “I also learned that being part of the Curtis Cup exempts you into the U.S. Amateur for four years. I’m super-excited about that.”

Emilia Migliaccio talks with her mom/caddie on the second hole during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 03, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Migliaccio, who lost in a playoff at the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and played in the event for a third straight time in April, has once again been designated the U.S. side’s “Team Mom,” a role she relishes. “It’s so sweet that they all call me that,” she said. “I do try to make sure everyone is included and cared for, and I’m really committed to making everyone feel welcome.”

That welcome extends to a return to the Wake Forest University women’s golf team for the 2022-23 season to take advantage of a fifth year of eligibility under the NCAA’s Covid waiver. (She has signed NIL deals with Bridgestone and Stitch Golf.) It’s further proof that Migliaccio, who is ranked No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, has found a way to enjoy the best of both worlds.

During her senior year, she experienced performance anxiety and did some soul-searching and decided that the dream of being a pro golfer that had consumed her since she was 13 wasn’t really the lifestyle for her. But while learning a new craft as a reporter and on-air talent for Golf Channel, working on her master’s in communications and spending time with family and recently becoming engaged, she rekindled her love for the game.

“I really love competing and those nervous jitters on the first tee. That was masked when I was stressed from playing all the time,” she explained. “By staying amateur I can still play in some tournaments and get the competitive feeling that I love. I don’t get that stimulation from anything else. Live TV is as close as it gets.”

She’ll get to do her fair share of that. She’ll cover the NCAAs and U.S. Women’s Open for Golf Channel, play in the North-South Women’s Amateur, the Curtis Cup and U.S. Women’s Amateur (and shift to a TV role if she doesn’t advance to match play). It’s her version of the best of both worlds – a normal life while still competing in elite-level amateur competitions.

Asked if she has any regrets about missing out on another ACC women’s title this season – she was part of a conference championship in 2019 for Wake – she smiled and shook her head from side to side.

“Now if they win Nationals this year, I’ll be like we have to win next year,” she said. “I can’t wait to be a student-athlete again. I’m ready to do school and golf and not have to be grading papers too.”

Those days of being a NARP were fun while they lasted.

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USGA announces Rachel Heck, Rachel Kuehn to 2022 Curtis Cup squad bound for Merion

The United States team for the 2022 Curtis Cup is starting to take shape.

The United States team for the 2022 Curtis Cup is starting to take shape.

On Wednesday the USGA announced that Rachel Heck and Rachel Kuehn had earned spots on the squad that will take on the Great Britain & Ireland in the 42nd Curtis Cup, June 10-12 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Heck and Kuehn earned their spots as the top-ranked Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Rose Zhang, currently ranked No. 1 in WAGR, had already qualified after receiving the 2021 McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked amateur. Heck, a sophomore at Stanford with eight college wins, is ranked No. 3. The stroke-play medalist at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur and a four-time collegiate winner over three years at Wake Forest, Kuehn is ranked No. 8.

“Rachel and Rachel are fantastic additions to the team,” said captain Sarah Ingram, a three-time Curtis Cup team member in 1992, 1994 and 1996. “Not only have they had unbelievably impressive collegiate seasons, resulting in these automatic selections, but both are experienced leaders who bring enthusiasm and camaraderie to the team. Having them included in the experience at Merion is something I am very much looking forward to both personally and as team captain.”

Ingram led the Americans to a 12½-7½ victory over GB&I at Conwy Golf Club in Wales last summer in the 2021 matches.

Kentucky senior Jensen Castle had previously earned her spot as the winner of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur. With four places already secured for the summer matches, the USGA’s International Team Selection group will choose the other four players.

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USGA selects 12 players for 2022 Curtis Cup practice session in Florida

Five of the 12 players were members of the winning team in Wales in 2021.

12 players have accepted invitations for a United States Curtis Cup team practice session next month, January 15-16, at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, Florida.

Five players who competed in the 2021 Curtis Cup, held just four months ago after the 2020 event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be on hand: Jensen Castle, Rachel Heck, Rachel Kuehn, Emilia Migliaccio, and Rose Zhang. Castle and Zhang were previously named to the team as automatic selections due to winning the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 2021 Mark H. McCormack Medal, respectively.

“The amateur talent in the United States is so incredibly strong right now, and it’s an honor to gather with this group for a practice session next month,” said Sarah Lebrun Ingram, who returns as captain for 2022. “We have a great mix of young women, including many players who helped lead us to victory in Wales just a few months ago and some players who have played fantastic golf this fall on the collegiate level who I am excited to get to know. I’m very much looking forward to our time together and I know the players are as well.”

Ingram captained 2021’s winning team, was a member of the 1992, 1994, and 1996 Curtis Cup teams, and is a three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion. Elaine Ratcliffe, who defeated Ingram and the U.S. as a player in the 1996 match, will again serve as GB&I captain.

Eight players will eventually represent Team USA, June 10-12, at Merion Golf Club outside of Philadelphia for the 42nd Curtis Cup. The USA leads the overall series, 30-8-3.

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Full list of practice participants

Jenny Bae, 20, of Suwanee, Georgia (Georgia)

Jensen Castle, 20, of West Columbia, South Carolina (Kentucky)

Megha Ganne, 17, of Holmdel, New Jersey (Signed with Stanford, Class of 2026)

Rachel Heck, 20, of Memphis, Tennessee (Stanford)

Julia Johnson, 22, of Saint Gabriel, Louisiana (Mississippi)

Gurleen Kaur, 22, of Houston, Texas (Baylor)

Rachel Kuehn, 20, of Asheville, North Carolina (Wake Forest)

Emilia Migliaccio, 22, of Cary, North Carolina (Wake Forest)

Brooke Seay, 21, of San Diego, California (Stanford)

Aneka Seumanutafa, 21, of Emmitsburg, Maryland (Ohio State)

Erica Shepherd, 20, of Greenwood, Indiana (Duke)

Rose Zhang, 18, of Irvine, California (Stanford)

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After leading Team USA to a win in Wales, Sarah Ingram will return as U.S. Curtis Cup captain in 2022 at Merion

“Last week was a highlight of my career,” said Ingram of leading Team USA to the win in Wales.

Sarah LeBrun Ingram will keep the title “captain” for at least another year.

On Monday morning, just two days after Team USA came back in Wales to win the 41st Curtis Cup – the biennial women’s amateur golf competition between teams from the United States and Great Britain & Ireland – the U.S. Golf Association announced that Ingram will return as captain of the Red, White and Blue for the 2022 Curtis Cup, June 10-12 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.

“Last week was a highlight of my career, being able to captain a team of such talented and wonderful young ladies, who are certainly the future of the game,” said Ingram via a release. “It is an honor and dream to be asked by the USGA to captain the 2022 team. As we bring the Cup back to the United States, I’m already looking forward to next year’s Match at Merion, a place I treasure and one that will surely test both teams.”

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“Sarah’s experience and ability to connect with the players made this an easy decision for us, especially due to the unprecedented nature of the current Curtis Cup schedule,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director, Championships. “The team thrived under her leadership, and we look forward to having her take the reins at Merion.”

After trailing by three points after a GB&I-dominated first day, the Americans slowly picked up points before running away with Saturday’s singles matches to win, 12 ½-7 ½. It was Team USA’s first win on foreign soil since 2008.

Normally held every other year, the 42nd Curtis Cup will be played in just nine months after last week’s 41st playing was postponed due to COVID-19. The R&A recently announced Sunningdale in England will host the 2024 Curtis Cup.

Ingram, a three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, has a deep history in the Curtis Cup. The Nashville, Tennessee, resident was a member of the 1992, 1994 and 1996 teams and was a two-time All-American at Duke where she was the top-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world.

But she doesn’t just captain, she also still plays. In fact, Ingram will tee it up next week at the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Alabama.