An initial Great Britain and Ireland squad of 14 players,
including Roehampton Club's Annabell Fuller, has been announced by
The R&A ahead of next year's Curtis Cup match being played at
Quaker Ridge, New York.
The 40th Curtis Cup match will be played from Friday 8 to Sunday
10 June 2018 with GB&I attempting to retain the historic trophy
after an 11½-8½ win over the United States at Dun Laoghaire in
Ireland last year.
Talented golfers
Elaine Farquharson-Black, who will captain GB&I in
the Curtis Cup for the second time, said, 'We have identified a
talented group of golfers, including three members of the winning
2016 Curtis Cup team. Each player in the squad is in contention for
selection to the team and we will be monitoring their performances
and results closely over the coming months.
'We will also be closely following the performances of other
players not named in this squad who still have the opportunity to
play their way into our thinking before the final team selection is
made in April.'
Squad members
Leona Maguire, who is currently the number one woman golfer in
the WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™, leads a group from Ireland which
also includes Paula Grant, a former R&A Foundation scholar,
Olivia Mehaffey, a 2016 team member, and Annabel Wilson. Maguire
won the 2017 British Amateur Championship at Pyle & Kenfig,
while Mehaffey had wins at the Irish Women's Open Stroke Play
Championship and Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship in
2016.
Lily May Humphreys, who won the Girls British Open Amateur
Championship at Enville earlier this year, features in a strong
English contingent of eight players. Alice Hewson is in contention
to make her second Curtis Cup appearance after playing in the
winning GB&I side in 2016 and Sophie Lamb, who finished as
leading amateur at the Ricoh Women's British Open at Kingsbarns to
win the Smyth Salver, is also included.
Scotland's Shannon McWilliam and Connie Jaffrey make up the
squad. A former Scottish Ladies Order of Merit winner in 2015,
McWilliam finished runner-up in both the Helen Holm Championship
and the Scottish Girls Open Championship this year. Jaffrey attends
Kansas State University and has won three times in US collegiate
golf, while also triumphing in the 2017 Scottish Ladies Amateur
Championship.
The GB&I squad:
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Emma Allen (20, Meon Valley, England)
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ConnieJaffrey (21, Troon Ladies, Scotland)
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Lianna Bailey (21, Kirby Muxloe, England)
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Sophie Lamb (20, Clitheroe, England)
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India Clyburn (21, Woodhall Spa, England)
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Leona Maguire (23, Slieve Russell, Ireland)
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Annabell Fuller (15, Roehampton, England)
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Shannon McWilliam (18, Aboyne, Scotland)
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Paula Grant (24, Lisburn, Ireland)
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Olivia Mehaffey (20, Royal County Down Ladies,
Ireland)
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Alice Hewson (20, Berkhamsted, England)
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Isobel Wardle (17, Prestbury, England)
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Lily May Humphreys (15, Stoke by Nayland,
England)
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Annabel Wilson (16, Lurgan, Ireland)
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Final team selection
The final eight player GB&I team will be announced on 26
April 2018 and will include the two golfers who are placed highest
in the WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™ on 25 April 2018. In addition, a
further six players will be selected by The R&A Women's
Selection Committee. Up to four non-travelling reserves will also
be announced
Read the article on the R&A website