Sara Byrne will bow out of amateur golf after this weekend’s Curtis Cup in Sunningdale and she is determined to make it a triumphant last hurrah alongside her long time teammates and friends Beth Coulter and Aine Donegan.
The Irish trio will line out for Catriona Matthew’s Great Britain and Ireland side on Friday, looking to win back the cup for the first time since a Leona Maguire, Maria Dunne and Olivia Mehaffey inspired side beat the USA in Dun Laoghaire eight years ago.
Byrne, Coulter and Donegan were there that week and now make up Ireland’s largest GB&I contingent since 2016 as they prepare to live the dream.
“Maybe in our wildest dreams probably because just having that experience in 2016 and obviously seeing Leona, Olivia and Maria bring that trophy and keep it in Ireland, I suppose, since it was down at Dun Laoghaire, but we were so young, and thinking back to that, looking up to those three girls, being like, wow, this is the coolest thing ever,” said Byrne who will turn professional after the contest and has already progressed through a LPGA Tour Pre-Qualifier.
“We’ve just been saying, the fact the three of us are doing it together now, it’s really, really special.
“I think I played with Beth my first time when she was 11 or something. I was like 13, 14. I think we’ve literally grown up from the very bottom to reach this moment. I think it’s been a really, really special week for us, and we’re just taking it all in and enjoying it.”
The GB&I team is also made up of three Englishwomen and two Scotswomen and Byrne believes the already close bond that exists between the players can only help this weekend.
“Oh, absolutely. I think that runs not even just the three of us; it runs throughout all eight.
“We’ve all known each other for a very, very long time, and I think it’s kind of showing this week. I think we’re all really, really close, and just having the vibes and the aura around us, it’s really, really good, and I think it’s going to make for a great week.”
The Americans own a 31-8-3 lead in the biennial competition and boast four players in the top-10 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings including Zoe Campos who played in the AIG Women’s Open.
The visitors also have Women’s Amateur champion Melanie Green and teenage stars Jasmine Too (18) and Asterisk Talley (15) among their ranks with every player ranked inside the top-50 in the world.
In contrast, GB&I have just three players ranked inside the top-50 including Byrne (49), Hannah Darling (30) and Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and current world number one, Lottie Woad.
“I think they might be ranked ahead of us, but I think honestly in match play and on the day, anything can happen,” said Byrne.
“We’re not that far apart, and we can definitely give them a good run, and that’s what we’re going to do this week. Again, it’s match play; anything can happen. I think we’re confident in our team and we can back ourselves a lot.”