Here are the key events on the amateur schedule in 2024.
What a year it was for amateur golf in 2023.
The best female amateur of all-time, Rose Zhang, capped her career in as strong of fashion as possible, winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and her second straight NCAA Championship. Nick Dunlap won the U.S. Amateur and in the process accomplished something only Tiger Woods had ever done before him: win a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Junior.
Then there were the American men, which included Dunlap, winning a Walker Cup at St. Andrews and the World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Amateur golf has never been stronger, and the schedule is looking great for another spectacular year in 2024.
Here are the key events on the amateur schedule in 2024.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Two years after Pine Valley Golf Club admitted its first female members, the USGA announced that a Curtis Cup would be staged there in 2034. The club has previously hosted two Walker Cup matches in 1936 and 1985.
“We are committed to bringing our championships to the finest golf courses in the country, and over the last several years, that commitment has only strengthened for our women’s championships,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “That is why, on the eve of a monumental first U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, this is a fitting and historic announcement for the Curtis Cup and the USGA.”
Francis Ouimet captained the 1936 Walker Cup Match at Pine Valley that saw the U.S. sweep Great Britain and Ireland, 9-0. It was a closer affair in 1985, with Team USA claiming a 13-11 victory.
The Curtis Cup is comprised of two teams of eight female amateur players, one from the USA and one from GB&I. The format consists of six foursomes (alternate-shot) matches, six four-ball matches and eight singles matches over three days of competition. The USA leads the overall series, 31-8-3.
Here’s a look at future Walker Cup and Curtis Cup sites.
The Walker Cup and Curtis Cup often give glimpses into the future of golf.
The competitions, Walker Cup for men and Curtis Cup for women, are biennial competitions organized by the United States Golf Association and R&A between the best golfers from the U.S. on one team and Great Britain and Ireland on the other team.
The first unofficial Walker Cup was hosted in 1921 at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which was followed by official annual contests from 1922 through 1924. From 1925 they became biennial.
The Curtis Cup began in 1932 at the Wentworth Club in England.
On March 21, 2022, the R&A and USGA announced the Walker Cup would move to even years in 2026 to avoid future conflicts with the World Amateur Team Championships, which will be played in odd years beginning in 2023.
As for all-time records, in the Walker Cup, the United States leads 38-9-1. And in Curtis Cup, the Americans lead 31-8-3.
Here’s a look at future Walker Cup and Curtis Cup sites.
Matthew was a three-time Curtis Cupper and the first captain to lead Europe to back-to-back Solheim Cup wins.
For those who don’t follow the Curtis Cup closely, the appointment of Catriona Matthew as captain of the 2024 Great Britain and Ireland team at Sunningdale might seem like a no-brainer. Of course she’s qualified for such a position as the three-time Curtis Cupper and major champion became the first captain to lead Europe to back-to-back Solheim Cup victories in 2019 and 2021.
What’s historic about the appointment, however, is that a professional player has never captained a Curtis Cup team. Matthew will be the first LPGA pro to lead the team of eight in the biennial competition against Team USA. GB&I last won the Curtis Cup in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire.
The 43rd Curtis Cup match will be played at Sunningdale’s Old Course for the first time, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2024. Matthew has practically seen it all in the event. She was on the losing side in 1990, the winning side in 1992 at Royal Liverpool and again in 1994 when GB&I retained the trophy.
Winner of the 2009 AIG Women’s British Open and the 1993 Women’s British Amateur, Matthew still works in a mentoring role with Scottish Golf.
“As a player I remember the emotions of competing in the Curtis Cup,” said Matthew in a statement, “the excitement of being on a team rather than competing individually, as well as the desire to perform well for your team and pressure you put on yourself not to let them down. As a captain, it is my job to navigate the players through these situations and to help them believe what is possible.”
Last summer, GB&I lost to the Americans at Merion by a score of 15½-4½. The USGA has also traditionally appointed outstanding amateur golfers to captain its Curtis Cup squads.
“The Curtis Cup has long been a prominent event for women’s elite amateur golf and Great Britain and Ireland has enjoyed some fantastic wins,” said R&A CEO Martin Slumbers in a release. “We are now seeing the amateur level of the sport evolve into a more competitive era and believe that Catriona is the best placed captain to guide the team in this period.”
“Being asked to fill the role of captain is humbling.”
The United States will have plenty of experience at the helm during the 2024 Curtis Cup.
The USGA announced Tuesday that four-time Women’s Mid-Am champion Meghan Stasi would captain the 2024 U.S. Curtis Cup team. The biennial competition pits the top female amateur golfers from the U.S. against the best from Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I), and will be at Sunningdale Golf Club in England.
“Meghan is one of the top amateur players of her generation, and her impact on the women’s amateur game is substantial,” John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer, said in a release. “It was clear to us that Meghan becoming captain of our USA team was a matter of when, not if, and we’re thrilled she has agreed to take on the role in 2024.”
Stasi was a member of the victorious 2008 Curtis Cup Team at St. Andrews. Stasi’s four U.S. Women’s Mid-Am titles are tied for the most in the championship’s 35-year history. She won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 before winning again in 2010 and 2012.
“My experience in 2008 with the Curtis Cup team was incredibly meaningful and rewarding; being asked to fill the role of captain is humbling,” Stasi said. “I’ve had the opportunity to attend the match and be around the teams the last two years in Wales and at Merion, and the level of talent and poise these amateur golfers have is inspiring and infectious to be around. I can’t wait to begin this journey and most of all, be part of the USA team again.”
In 2021, Stasi became the youngest individual ever inducted into the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) Hall of Fame. To date, she has won 17 FSGA titles, including two Florida Women’s Amateurs and five Florida Women’s Mid-Amateurs. Stasi is an eight-time FSGA Player of the Year.
The U.S. won the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club for its third straight victory. The USA leads the overall series, 31-8-3.
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.
The Americans ended Saturday with a commanding 8½ to 3½ lead.
ARDMORE, PA. — It looked like Great Britain and Ireland might finally get the session they needed at the 42nd Curtis Cup. Captain Elaine Ratcliffe’s squad was 4 up in two matches and 2 up in a third in afternoon foursomes.
But it didn’t last.
The visiting team lost momentum down the stretch at Merion as the Americans ended Saturday with a commanding 8½ to 3½ lead. Team USA only needs 10 points to retain the Cup. GB&I hasn’t won on U.S. soil since 1994 at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Curtis Cup rookie Amari Avery is now 4-0 for the week and has a chance to become only the third American to go 5-0, joining Stacy Lewis and Kristen Gillman.
Avery paired with Megha Ganne for both fourball victories and Rachel Kuehn in foursomes.
Team USA player Amari Avery reacts after putting on hole one during Four-Ball Matches at the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Saturday, June 11, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Hannah Darling and Annabell Fuller delivered the only full point for GB&I in the afternoon session, defeating Jensen Castle and Latanna Stone, 2 and 1. Darling picked up a slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza in the media room late in the round and said it gave her a boost.
“Down the stretch was tough,” said Darling. “I needed something to kind of lift me up a little bit. I went for the pepperoni and sausage. It was pretty good. It was actually a bigger slice than I wanted, but you know what, I ate it all.”
Darling said her partner was jealous and asked for a bite. Fuller noted that last year at Conwy Golf Club in Wales, there was an ice cream van near the 13th that they enjoyed visiting. Seeing Darling come out with a slice of pizza brought back good memories.
“I knew coming into that she was deemed to hole some putts,” said Fuller as Ratcliffe stood a few steps away eating her own piece of the pie.
Ratcliffe said her team set a pace on Saturday afternoon that put more pressure on the U.S. She’d like to see more of that in Sunday singles.
“We took it to them,” said Ratcliffe, “we executed shots. The result in the end perhaps does not show the golf that was played out there.”
Team GB&I player Caley McGinty chips to the green on hole 17 during Foursomes Matches at the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Saturday, June 11, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Darling noted that her team has gone over all the putts that came close at every meal so far this week. She’s looking forward to talking about the ones that dropped late in the fourth session and believes they’re due for more.
“I think we waited a little bit too long to get our first win on the board,” said Fuller, “but I mean, we’re all going into tomorrow with our head held strong and our whole team wants this more than anything, and especially after last year it being so tight. … I know we want it more than the Americans and we’re all going to play our hearts out.”
The idea of belonging to a national team doesn’t have to end after this week.
ARMORE, PA. – It’s difficult to look at this year’s U.S. Curtis Cup team and think there’s a problem with women’s golf in this country. After all, there are some potential world-beaters on this squad. Just look at world No. 1 Rose Zhang.
If recent history is any indication, however, only one or two players from the eight-player roster at Merion will go on to win on the LPGA. In the past 20 years, 11 out of 69 American Curtis Cup players have won on tour.
USGA CEO Mike Whan had a front-row seat to what the rest of the world has produced in women’s golf as LPGA commissioner. As he championed LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, which exploded under his tenure, only one American, Stacy Lewis, has been LPGA Rolex Player of the Year since the 1990s. Only three Americans – Nelly Korda, Cristie Kerr and Lewis – have been No. 1 since the Rolex Rankings debuted in 2006. The last American to win Rookie of the Year: Paula Creamer in 2005.
Not long after Whan took the helm at the USGA, he told Golfweek that it was “embarrassingly past time” for the United States to have a development program. After all, every other country has one.
“My mom said that’s the one thing holding Americans back,” said Emilia Migliaccio, whose Swedish mother was an elite amateur, playing on the same Arizona team as Annika Sorenstam.
Members of the USA Team are seen at the start of the flag raising ceremony before the start of the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
At last week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, a pair of Swedish national coaches were on hand in North Carolina, looking after both the amateurs and professionals in the field. LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad phoned Patrik Jonsson the week before the event and asked for help with a caddie. Jonsson flew in a retired Sophia Gustafson, a five-time winner on the LPGA, to guide the promising young player. Lindblad tied for 11th.
The Swedish national team hosts camps in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the south of Spain during the fall and winter, where other European countries come together for competition. What started out as a program for juniors and amateurs has been expanded to include professionals.
There’s even housing for young pros to share in Arizona, a hub of sorts, with access to practice facilities and like-minded dreamers.
“It’s not a holiday apartment,” said Katarina Vangdal, who oversees both the men’s and women’s national programs for Sweden.
Pia Nilsson, co-founder of Vision54 and a former Swedish national coach, once told Golfweek that there’s so much golf knowledge available in the U.S. that young aspiring players don’t know how to access.
“When there’s too much competition and no sharing,” she said, “you’re not taking the full advantage of it.”
Whan recently hired Heather Daly Donofrio as the USGA’s Managing Director of the new developmental team for U.S. players – both men and women. A two-time LPGA winner, Daly Donofrio most recently served as Chief Tour Operations Officer for the LPGA.
“This is the best thing that could happen for junior golf in the U.S. right now,” said NYU men’s and women’s golf coach Katie Rudolph. “There’s not another initiative we need. We need to start to prepare our kids to get to the next level.”
Prior to NYU, Rudolph spent a decade as Chief Operating Officer for the First Tee of Metropolitan New York. She’s also the longtime private coach of Megha Ganne, who makes her Curtis Cup debut this week.
Ganne, who will be a freshman at Stanford this fall, said there’s no rallying support for American players at big events like there is for international players.
“The strength of the game is there,” said Ganne, “but the other teams have a united force. They have each other to lean on or a coach or an assistant, people telling them more information about the golf course and practice rounds. Even figuring out the basics like hotel rooms and where we’re going to eat that you’re always on your own for, which is harder than you think.”
USA team (standing left to right): Emilia Migliaccio, Amari Avery, Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang, (sitting left to right): Rachel Kuehn, Latanna Stone, team captain Sarah Ingram, Jensen Castle and Megha Ganne pose for the official team photo with an iconic Merion wicker basket flagstick before the start of the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
While additional resources are key, particularly for those who have the raw talent but don’t have the financial means to put the rest of the puzzle together, there’s a human element there, too.
“Everyone wants to feel like they’re a part of something,” said Vangdal.
Anna Nordqvist, a three-time major champion, has worked with Jonsson since she was a teenager. They still come together to bounce ideas and break down stats. Nordqvist also likes to attend camps with young Swedes to pass down what she’s learned.
Migliaccio would like to believe that the culture on the LPGA among American players could become more cohesive week-to-week in the coming years. While she doesn’t have plans right now to turn professional, she has talked about this subject with Curtis Cup teammates Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck, who compete together at Stanford.
“I think when you get on a team, even if you’re someone who prefers to be by themselves, you realize how beneficial being on a team is, “said Migliaccio.
“We’re only uplifting each other. Rose and Rachel are so passionate about it. They want to make sure that when they’re the veterans on the LPGA, that a rookie can come up to them and feel OK with saying hello and asking for advice or playing a practice round.”
The idea of belonging to a national team doesn’t have to end after this week.
Rachel Kuehn celebrated her 21st birthday at Merion by going 2-0 with her mom Brenda, a former Curtis Cup star herself, by her side.
ARDMORE, Pennsylvania – Brenda Corrie Kuehn wears a gold scapular medal around her neck, and for years has told daughter Rachel about the time her heart was pounding so hard she could feel that necklace moving up and down as she faced a 4-foot downhill slider to clinch the 1998 Curtis Cup.
“I can’t even tell you the amount of times she’s told us about the 4-footer,” said Rachel, “downhill, left-to-right.”
There are pictures scattered around the family’s North Carolina home of Kuehn walking the fairways at the Curtis Cup with her oldest son, Corrie, who was a baby at the time. Rachel grew up familiar with her mother’s Curtis Cup pins, red blazer, and vintage footage of that putt, which gave Team USA its first victory over Great Britain and Ireland in eight years.
Now, it’s Rachel’s turn to make memories. There was a time when she longed to escape her mother’s shadow. Now, she basks in what they share.
Rachel Kuehn and her mother Brenda Corrie Kuehn pose for a photo after the team won the 2021 Curtis Cup at Conwy Golf Club in North Wales, United Kingdom on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. (Oisin Keniry/USGA)
On Friday at the 42nd Curtis Cup, Rachel’s team serenaded her on the first tee for her 21st birthday. One day, Rachel will likely tell her own kids about the time she had her own Cup-clinching moment in Wales, followed by a milestone birthday at Merion, one of the game’s most iconic courses. Her present: two full points and a commanding 5-1 lead for Team USA.
“I don’t know what she’d rate hers on a scale of 1 to 100,” said Rachel of mom’s Curtis Cup experience, “but mine is a 200.”
They are the second mother-daughter duo to compete in a Curtis Cup, joining Jane Bastanchury Booth and Kellee Booth. Brenda and Kelly happened to be foursomes partners in 1998.
The 1998 USA Curtis Cup Team as seen at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minn., Friday, August 31, 1998. Back Row (left to right): Jo Jo Roberts, Elizabeth Bauer, Kellee Booth and Wanalee Jenny Chausiriporn. Front Row (Left to right): Robin Burke, Virginia Derby Grimes, Captain Barbara McIntire, Carol Semple Thompson and Brenda Corrie Kuehn. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
After a sparkling career at Wake Forest in which she won five times as a senior, Brenda turned professional and competed on what’s now known as the Epson Tour, winning her first tournament in 1988, the Chattanooga Classic, with a final-round 66 that included two chip-ins.
But, after two years and no LPGA status, Brenda decided professional golf wasn’t for her and regained her amateur status. In addition to her two Curtis Cup appearances, she also represented the United State in the 1996 U.S. World Cup Team. Among her nine appearances in the U.S. Women’s Open, the one at Pine Needles in 2001 garnered the most attention after she qualified for the event when she was seven months pregnant.
Given that her first son was born three weeks early, Brenda’s doctor advised that she not play. Brenda wasn’t having it, however, and found a doctor in the Pinehurst area who could be on call. She was eight months pregnant when she teed it up.
“I was having Braxton Hicks contractions through the whole tournament,” she said, “and had her a week later.”
Previous Curtis Cup players were in attendance at the flag-raising ceremony to kick off the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. Left to right: Ellen Port, Brenda Kuehn and Marla Jemsek-Weeks (Chris Keane/USGA)
Twenty-one years later, Kuehn walked alongside her daughter at Merion, feeling a different kind of nerves as she caught up with players like Karen Stupples and Marla Jemsek-Weeks, who competed with her in the late 90s.
After Brenda had Rachel, it became too hard to keep up with golf with a baby and one child in school, so she wound down her competition schedule. Rachel grew up playing soccer, tennis, baseball and golf on Sundays with her family.
At age 13, she decided to pick golf as her main sport, but continued to compete in tennis throughout high school, earning all-state honors. The original intent was to use golf to attend an Ivy League School, but as her golf game progressed, the academic-minded student began to see other doors open.
She did not, however, want to follow in the footsteps of both her parents, who met at Wake Forest. Father Eric briefly played baseball for the Demon Deacons.
“I’m a Wake Forest fan,” Rachel told them, “but never in a million years am I going to Wake Forest.
“I wanted my own school, especially if I was going to be a golfer. I didn’t want to go and be known as her daughter.”
But, after Rachel went on a campus visit to Wake, there was no turning back. Now she’s happy with her name on the same walls of fame as mom and chasing her records. The rising senior even plans to stay on for a fifth season, using her extra year of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue a graduate degree in business analytics.
Mother and daughter are both bubbly and feisty and competitive. Rachel is more aggressive in her game, but strives to match her mother’s work ethic.
“First of all, she’s done a lot more than me,” said Brenda. “She’s leaping me, and it’s just fabulous to see.”
After she graduates, Rachel, who is currently No. 11 in the world, plans to turn professional, though she knows that she can always get her amateur status back, just like mom.
“I don’t want 10 to 15 years from now say, ‘Oh I wish I had tried,’ ” said Rachel.
Last year, Team USA rallied back from an early deficit to defeat Great Britain and Ireland, 12½-7½.
The 42nd Curtis Cup gets underway Friday morning at 7 a.m. at Merion Golf Club with the first four-ball session. This marks the second time the biennial match has been hosted at the historic club, with the first in 1954.
Two Curtis Cups are being held within a 10-month span due to the 2020 contest in Wales being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both captains return for a second stint along with five repeat Americans and six returning GB&I players.
Last year, Team USA rallied back from an early deficit to defeat Great Britain and Ireland, 12½-7½.
USA team member Rachel Kuehn, right, looks back and smiles at teammate Rose Zhang during a practice round at the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Friday four-ball matches (all times ET)
7:30 a.m.: Hannah Darling/Annabell Fuller (GB&I) vs. Rachel Heck/Rachel Kuehn (USA)
7:42 a.m. Caley McGinty/Lauren Walsh (GB&I) vs. Amari Avery/Megha Ganne (USA)
7:54 a.m. Louise Duncan/Charlotte Heath (GB&I) vs. Rose Zhang/Emilia Migliaccio (USA)
USA Team member Emilia Migliaccio (center) smiles during the flag-raising ceremony to kick off the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
