University of Stirling golfer Lorna McClymont represented Great Britian & Ireland (GB&I) in their first Curtis Cup win since 2016.
Held from Friday, August 30 until Sunday, September 1, the historic cup sets the eight best women golfers in GB&I against their American counterparts.
The United States have dominated the tournament since it was established in 1932 with 31 overall wins compared to GB&I’s eight, whose last win was in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club in Ireland.
Joining McClymont at the famous Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire this year was Aine Donegan, Beth Coulter, Hannah Darling, Lottie Woad, Euphemie Rhodes, Patience Rhodes, and Sara Byrne.
Professional golfer and Stirling alumna Catriona Matthew OBE captained the winning team.
After the win, Matthew said: “Any chance you captain a team and you are representing your country, there is no bigger honour and I had a fantastic team.
“All eight of them contributed and we had a great week. We were relaxed, enjoyed it and the players went out and played some amazing golf.”
It was a nail-biting final day with drama hitting the course when 15-year-old USA starAsterisk Talley beat Lottie Woad – ranked first in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – in her only loss of the tournament.
However, GB&I’s success was guaranteed after McClymont gained a 3&2 win over Megan Schofill as Mimi Rhodes gained on Melanie Green.
This took their team to the winning 10.5 points against team USA’s 9.5. The full table of results can be found on R&A’s website.
This is only an addition to the recent string of successes for McClymont, who is ranked second in Scotland and 95th in the world in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
In May, she was crowned champion at the Scottish Women’s Amateur Championships, after winning the Irish and Welsh Women’s Open Championships in 2023.
She also finished second in this year’s Women’s Amateur Championships and is a two-time winner of the R&A Student Tour Series Order of Merit.
McClymont reflected after the Curtis Cup win: “I was just focusing on just one shot at a time, but you could sense the crowd building and it’s the most people I’ve ever played with.
“Knowing that most of them were cheering, I just kind of embraced it and soaked it all up.”
There is no rest for McClymont, who returns to the University this week to begin training for the Iberdrola Calatayud Ladies Open in Spain in October, before heading to Texas for the Spirit International Amateur Golf Championships in November.
Featured Image Credit: The R&A
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