2010 Curtis Cup Match Tickets Now On Sale
Tickets are now available for the 2010 Curtis Cup Match, which will be conducted June 11-13 at Essex County Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. The Curtis Cup is a biennial competition between female teams from the USA and Great Britain and Ireland. Eight players compete for each side.
The USA has won the last six matches, with the last GB&I victory coming in 1996 in Ireland.
Sisters and notable Essex County Club members, Margaret and Harriot Curtis, helped create the competition and donated the Curtis Cup trophy. The 1938 Curtis Cup Match was contested at Essex, and in 1995, as part of the USGA's Centennial celebration, Essex hosted the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.
More than 2,500 spectators are expected to attend and The Golf Channel will broadcast the three-day competition.
"This is a great opportunity for people of all ages to watch amazing golf up close," said Curtis Cup co-chairman Annie Barton. "These participants who we'll be watching and walking with are likely to be winning future LPGA tournaments."
Tickets, now available online at www.2010curtiscup.com, are $75 for a three-day pass that grants access to each day of tournament play and to Thursday evening’s flag-raising ceremony. Single-day tickets are also available for $30. Youths under the age of 17 are admitted free if accompanied by a ticketed adult.
Opened in 1893, Essex County Club was the first nine-hole golf course in New England. Essex became the sixth member club of the United States Golf Association, which now numbers more than 5,000 clubs.
World renowned architect Donald Ross became the club professional in 1910. He also redesigned almost all the holes, constructing or reconstructing several holes a year. The current third green, which was part of the original nine, is considered to be the oldest green in the country.
Skip Wogan came to Essex in 1910 with Ross and served the club as both professional and greenskeeper until his death in 1957. Wogan’s son, Philip, a course architect, maintained the course from 1957 until his retirement in 1986.
Val Somers, Curtis Cup event co-chairman said, “It is a tremendous honor that Essex County Club has been selected to host the Curtis Cup Match again in 2010.”
Former Curtis Cup players include Dottie Pepper, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie, as well as Carol Semple Thompson, who competed in a record 12 matches for the USA.
The 2010 USA Team will be captained by Noreen Friel Mohler, a Massachusetts native, former Curtis Cup player and accomplished golfer. Members of the USA team are expected to be named in April.
Mary McKenna, captain of the 2008 GB&I team, is returning to captain the 2010 squad, which also is expected to be named in April.
For more information on the Match, go to www.2010curtiscup.com.
Schedule of Events (format subject to change):
Thursday, June 10 - Flag-raising ceremony: Open to the public.
Friday, June 11 (First day of play): Three morning foursomes (alternate-shot) matches followed by three afternoon four-ball (best-ball) matches.
Saturday, June 12 (Second day of play): Three morning four-ball matches followed by three afternoon foursomes matches.
Sunday, June 13 (Final day of play): Eight singles matches.