Great Britain & Ireland win first Curtis Cup since 2016 in dramatic finish

The 43rd Curtis Cup Match culminated in a dramatic finish on Sunday at Sunningdale Golf Club in England, with hosts Great Britain & Ireland claiming their first win in the biennial competition since 2016.

The Curtis Cup, a three-day competition featuring the best female amateurs in the United States and Great Britain & Ireland, features a format that includes three foursomes and three four-ball matches on the first two days followed by eight singles matches on the final day.

Team GB&I led by a score of 7-5 heading into Sunday’s singles matches, and needed only 3.5 points to secure a victory. The first four matches were split between the Americans and GB&I: American Asterisk Talley defeated GB&I’s Lottie Woad 3 and 2; GB&I’s Sara Byrne defeated American Catherine Park 3 and 2; American Anna Davis defeated GB&I’s Hannah Darling 3 and 2; and GB&I’s Patience Rhodes defeated American Zoe Campos 6 and 5, bringing the score to 9-7 with the four remaining matches tied.

American Jasmine Koo then secured a much-needed point for Team USA with a 3 and 2 victory over GB&I’s Beth Coulter to bring the score to 9-8 with three matches remaining.

Great Britian & Ireland’s Lorna McClymont then sealed a decisive victory in her match against Megan Schofill with a string of birdies that allowed her to go 3-up on No. 13. McClymont secured a 3-up victory on the 16th hole, making GB&I’s Mimi Rhodes’ half-point against American Melanie Green the match’s clincher. American Rachel Kuehn’s 3 and 2 win against Aine Donegan in the final match was then a moot point. The final tally: 10.5-9.5 to Great Britain & Ireland.

This year’s match recorded a record attendance figure of more 16,680. Team GB&I was captained by two-time Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew, who led the European team to victory in back-to-back years in 2019 and 2021, while Team USA was captained by four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Meghan Stasi.

The 44th Curtis Cup will be played at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., from June 12-14, 2026.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.