Championships - Curtis Cup 2008
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22.04.2008
Stars of yesteryear head for 2008 Curtis Cup Reunion at St Andrews
The Curtis Cup stars of yesteryear are heading for St Andrews and a grand reunion with team-mates and opponents from the past at this year’s staging of the biennial transatlantic match between Great Britain & Ireland and the United States over the Old Course from May 30 to June 1.A Past Players’ Match will occupy the first tee at the Old Course on Monday, May 26 from 8.40 to 10.10am with 10 four-ball, better-ball ties.
Thirteen American and 27 British and Irish players who have featured in Curtis Cup matches down through the years will be turning the clock back to their glory days.
The Americans include Jane Booth (1970-72-74) and Kellee Booth (1996-1998), the only mother and daughter who have competed at this level.
Anne Sander, whose Curtis Cup appearances stretch over a remarkable span of 32 years, will be there. She was first capped by the United States in 1958. Her last appearances were in 1984 and 1990.
Barbara McIntire, who represented the United States in six Curtis Cup matches from 1958 to 1972, will also be teeing it up as well as another experienced Curtis Cup veteran from America – Phyllis Preuss, five matches from 1962 to 1970.
Seven past captains of American teams are in the draw – Jane Booth (2000), Mary Budke (2002), Martha Kirouac (2004), Martha Lang (1996), Barbara McIntyre (1976 & 1998), Phyllis Preuss (1984) and Leslie Shannon (1990).
Former GB&I team captains down to play are: Diane Bailey MBE (1984-86-88), Pamela Benka (2002), Elizabeth Boatman OBE (1992-94), Ita Butler (1996-98), Belle Robertson (1974-76), Jill Thornhill (1990).
From the British & Irish players’ ranks, there will be the chance to see the likes of Jane Connachan, Wilma (Aitken) Leburn, Ann Irvin, Gillian Stewart, Julie (Hall) Otto, Belle Robertson, Carole Caldwell and Vivien Saunders, to name but a few, in action.
That evening there will be even more great names from the past attending the Past Curtis Cup Players’ Dinner in the R&A Clubhouse (7 for 7.30pm). The guest list includes those who are not taking part in the Past Players’ Match, including Phyllis Wylie, at 97 the oldest surviving Curtis Cup player from either side of the Atlantic. Her 98th birthday is in September.
Phyllis lives in Troon. It was as Phyllis Wade, the English champion of 1934, that she played for GB&I in the fourth Curtis Cup match – at Essex Golf Club, Manchester, Massachusetts in 1938 when transatlantic crossings were made by boat and took rather longer than today.
Past Team Members attending the 2008 Curtis Cup include;
Meriam Bailey Leeke, Ann Howard
Diane Bailey MBE, Ann Irvin
Sally Barber, Bridget Jackson MBE
Barbara Barrow, Martha Kirouac
Linda Bayman, Anne Laing
Judy Bell, Martha Lang
Pamela Benka, Joan Lawrence MBE
Jeanne Bisgood, Wilma Leburn
Elizabeth Boatman OBE, Maureen Madill
Angela Bonallack, Barbara McIntire
Jane Booth, Beverley New
Kellee Booth, Susie O'Brien
Mary Budke, Julie Otto
Ita Butler, Margaret Pickard
Suzanne Cadden, Phyllis Preuss
Carole Caldwell, Elaine Ratcliffe
Jane Connachan, Maureen Richmond
Claire Coughlan, Belle Robertson
Patricia Cornett, Anne Sander
Carolyn Cudone, Vivien Saunders
Alison Davidson, Anne Smith
Tara Delaney, Gillian Stewart
Elaine Farquharson-Black, Leslie Shannon Stewart
Mary Everard, Vicki Thomas
Maureen Garrett, Jill Thornhill
Carol Gibbs, Janette Wright
Mary Hafeman, Phyllis Wylie
For further information please contact;
Susan Simpson, Director of Championships
Lynn Wallace, Communications
Ladies’ Golf Union
The Scores
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9AT
01334 475 811
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