Few courses can match the pedigree of Merion Golf Club. This 42nd Curtis Cup Match is the record 19th USGA championship to be staged on its East Course, a list that includes five U.S. Opens. Bob Jones completed his historic 1930 Grand Slam here in the U.S. Amateur. Ben Hogan won a U.S. Open in 1950, 16 months after a near-fatal automobile accident. Jack Nicklaus lost a memorable 18-hole playoff to Lee Trevino in 1971, 11 years after Nicklaus led the USA to a resounding victory in the World Amateur Team Championship.
Nicklaus once said of the East Course, which sits on a 126-acre site, “Acre for acre, it may be the best test of golf in the world.”
The USGA thinks so highly of this Hugh Wilson design that last summer it awarded Merion two future U.S. Opens (2030 and 2050), two future Women’s Opens (2034, 2046) and the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
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This week, Merion welcomes the Curtis Cup Match for a second time; it first hosted in 1954. Eight elite female amateurs from the USA will face their Great Britain & Ireland counterparts over the next three days. Three four-ball and three foursomes matches will be staged Friday and Saturday, followed by eight singles matches on Sunday.
Golf Channel and Peacock will carry 17 hours of live coverage as the USA will look to win its third consecutive Match. GB&I has only managed one victory (1986) on U.S. soil since the biennial team competition began in 1932. There have been two draws, and GB&I retained the Cup on both occasions.
Here are 3 Things to Know before the first shots are struck:
The Hanse Touch
It might not be totally noticeable to the naked eye, but Merion recently underwent a facelift. Renowned architect Gil Hanse, who lives in Malvern, Pa., just minutes away from the venerable course, completed a three-year restoration that included tree removal and expansion of green complexes.
Much of the work was done underground, with the installation of a sub-surface drainage system that should result in healthier turf and improved playing conditions.
While these 16 elite amateurs are sure to put on brilliant show of ball-striking, putting and teamwork, they will share the stage with the golf course.
Anchor (Wo)Man
Last August, Rose Zhang, the top player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®, was the workhorse of the American side, playing all five sessions and posting a 4-0-1 record in a come-from-behind victory in Wales.
She arrives at Merion for her second Curtis Cup with the same lofty ranking and coming off plenty of recent top-notch competition. Three weeks ago, the Stanford freshman played seven rounds of golf in six days to not only win the NCAA Division I individual title, but also help the Cardinal to the team title. Last week, Zhang made the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, finishing tied for 40th.
Don’t be surprised if Sarah Ingram, the USA captain, pencils in the two-time USGA champion to play all five sessions again.
Experience Matters?
With so many top amateurs turning pro at a younger age, it doesn’t allow for many returning players. But this Curtis Cup is unique in that it’s being contested just nine months after the USA retained the Cup in Wales. That Match was played a year later than scheduled due to COVID-19.
Thus Great Britain and Ireland returns six of its eight players, while the USA has five of its players back.
Will this lead to a tight Match?
On paper, the Americans have the clear advantage in terms of WAGR: a 20.5 average ranking compared to 43. However, three GB&I players made the 36-hole cut in the 2021 AIG Women’s British Open (Louise Duncan, Hannah Darling and Annabell Fuller). Caley McGinty and Darling are each ranked among the top 15, and Fuller is competing in her third Curtis Cup.
Besides Zhang, the USA returns 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Jensen Castle, Wake Forest All-Americans Emilia Migliaccio and Rachel Kuehn, and 2021 Annika Award winner and NCAA champion Rachel Heck. Even newcomer Megha Ganne got a taste of the competition last August when she traveled with the team as an alternate.
David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.