Irish Golf Desk

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Walsh retains Curtis Cup spot; Coulter second reserve

Caley McGinty and Lauren Walsh have been selected for the GB&I team at the 42nd Curtis Cup to be played at Merion.

25 April 2022, St Andrews, Scotland: Eight players have been selected for the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the United States of America in the 42nd Curtis Cup at Merion, Pennsylvania from 10-12 June.

The GB&I team is made up of Hannah Darling, Louise Duncan, Annabell Fuller, Charlotte Heath, Caley McGinty, Emily Price, Lauren Walsh and Amelia Williamson. The non-travelling reserves are in order, Lottie Woad and Beth Coulter.

"I'm delighted to be selected again for my second Curtis Cup. Last year's competition in Conwy was one of the best weeks of my life,” Walsh said.

"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to play in a Curtis Cup on American soil. It'll be a different style of golf to what we played in Wales. I can’t wait to get to Merion."

World number ten Darling and world number 11 McGinty earned their places in the team as automatic selections thanks to being the top-two GB&I players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR ®) on Thursday 21 April 2022.

Six players return to the GB&I team which last year got off to a solid start at Conwy and were leading after the opening three sessions. They will look to build on that form when they head across the Atlantic to be joined by debutantes Price and Williamson.

After their victory at Conwy, the USA will be looking for a third consecutive victory and have enjoyed plenty of success on home soil.

Elaine Ratcliffe, GB&I Captain, said, “I would like to congratulate these eight players on their selection to the Great Britain and Ireland team. The Curtis Cup is one of the highlights of the amateur game and I know they will all put in their best performances at Merion.

“I am delighted to have six of the girls from last year back in the team for the 2022 match and I believe this gives us a strong base to build upon. The two new players to the team will strengthen that talent base and we very much look forward to an exciting match.”

The GB&I team:

Hannah Darling (18, Broomieknowe, Scotland)
Louise Duncan (22, West Kilbride, Scotland)
Annabell Fuller (19, Roehampton, England)
Charlotte Heath (20, Huddersfield, England)
Caley McGinty (21, Knowle, England)
Emily Price (22, Ludlow, England)
Lauren Walsh (21, Castlewarden, Ireland)
Amelia Williamson (21, Sheringham, England)

Reserves
1. Lottie Woad (18, Farnham, England)
2. Beth Coulter (18, Kirkistown Castle, Ireland)

Captain:
Elaine Ratcliffe (49, Essendon Country Club, England)

Recent results:
2021, Conwy, USA 12 ½ GB&I 7 ½
2018, Quaker Ridge, USA 17 GB&I 3
2016, Dun Laoghaire, GB&I 11½ USA 8½
2014, St Louis, USA 13 GB&I 7
2012, Nairn, GB&I 10½ USA 9½

Player information:

Hannah Darling, WAGR: 10th

Having previously represented GB&I in the Junior Vagliano Trophy and Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup, Darling made her Curtis Cup debut at Conwy last year and secured an impressive three points. Winner of the 2021 St Rule Trophy and the 2021 R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship, Darling has continued her form after joining the University of South Carolina. The Scot has already posted six top-10 finishes on the US college circuit and made her debut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

Louise Duncan, WAGR: 62nd

The 2021 Women’s Amateur Champion won the final at Kilmarnock (Barassie) by a record 9&8 margin and became the first Scot to triumph in 24 years. The victory helped seal her Curtis Cup debut at Conwy. An R&A Foundation Scholar and student at the University of Stirling, Duncan finished tied 10th at the AIG Women’s Open last August, securing her exemption into the 2022 championship at Muirfield. A Scotland international, Duncan posted four top-10 finishes on the R&A Student Tour Series in 2021-22 and made her debut at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Annabell Fuller, WAGR: 41st

Fuller made her second Curtis Cup appearance at Conwy in 2021, earning an impressive three points. Winner of the 2020 English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship and runner-up at the 2020 Women’s Amateur Championship. Fuller, who has also represented Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup and is a regular international for England, has also shone at the University of Florida. In 2022, she has secured four top-10 results, including a runner-up finish in the Clemson Invitational. Fuller also qualified for the AIG Women’s Open last August.

Charlotte Heath, WAGR: 51st

Heath secured a point on her Curtis Cup debut in Wales last year. Winner of the 2020 Australian Amateur Championship and a member of the victorious England teams at the European Ladies’ Team Championship and Women’s Home Internationals in 2021. The Florida State University student has secured five top-12 finishes on the US college circuit in 2022, including fourth place in the Moon Golf Invitational, building on four top-10 results in her 2021 season.

Caley McGinty, WAGR: 11th

GB&I’s leading scorer on her Curtis Cup debut in 2021, securing three-and-a-half points from her five matches. Last year, McGinty earned the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Golfer and Freshman of the Year awards after securing three wins at Kent State. She was also a member of the victorious England teams at the European Ladies’ Team Championship and the Women’s Home Internationals. McGinty transferred to Oklahoma State from Kent State prior to the 2021-22 season and made an immediate impact on her new team, winning both the Schooner Fall Classic and the Jim West Challenge before making her Augusta National Women’s Amateur debut in April.

Emily Price, WAGR: 59th

In August 2020, Price celebrated the biggest win of her career after coming from behind to defeat Lily May Humphreys in the English Women’s Amateur Championship final. At Kent State in the US, she has impressed, including wins in the Indiana Invitational and the Illini Women’s Invitational in 2021 and most recently at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in April 2022. A participant for the International team in the Arnold Palmer Cup last year, Price has added three other top-20 results in the US in 2022.

Lauren Walsh, WAGR: 27th

Walsh was the highest ranked player on the GB&I Curtis Cup team at Conwy in 2021 and went on to earn a point. The Irishwoman played in the AIG Women’s Open last August and finished eighth in the 2019 ISPS HandaWorld Invitational on the Ladies European Tour. Walsh won the 2021 NCAA Championships as part of the team representing Wake Forest University and has achieved four top-20 results in 2022 including a third-place finish at the ACC Women’s Golf Championship in April following on from her first start in the Augusta National Women's Amateur. A regular international for Ireland, she was also a member of the International team at the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2021.

Amelia Williamson, WAGR: 53rd

The Florida State student won the individual title at the Florida State Match Up in February, building on her second-place finish in the same event in 2021. She also has three other top-10 results to her name in the US in 2022. Back home, Williamson enjoyed a fine summer last year, including third-place finishes in the English Women’s Amateur and the English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play. She was also seventh in the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open and helped England win the Women’s Home Internationals.

Lottie Woad, WAGR: 180th (Reserve No.1)

In 2021, Woad claimed a double trophy success by winning both the girls’ and the women’s England Golf Order of Merit titles. Woad’s victories included the Welsh Ladies’ Open Stroke Play, the Liphook Scratch Cup and the Critchley Salver. A member of the England girls’ squad, Woad finished fourth in the Portuguese International Ladies’ Amateur in January and followed it up with a tie for the eighth place among the professionals in the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on the LET Access Series.

Beth Coulter, WAGR: 156th (Reserve No.2)

The Kirkistown Castle teenager was runner-up in the R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship in 2021 – the first Irish player to reach the final since 1980 – after losing out to Hannah Darling at Fulford. Coulter also finished second in the Irish Women’s Close Championship last year, but claimed success in the Irish Girls’ Close. An Ireland international, Coulter achieved a share of third place at the European Nations at Royal Club de Golf Sotogrande in April.