The “I” wasn’t always there. In the early days of the Curtis Cup Match, it was simply the United States of America versus Great Britain. That was before Irish stalwart Philomena Garvey was named to the British team. Garvey played in six of seven Curtis Cup matches from 1948 through 1960. In 1958, she finally refused to wear the Union Jack when the Ladies Golf Union didn’t alter the Curtis Cup emblem to include the Irish flag. So Garvey wouldn’t play. In 1960, the Irish flag was included in the LGU emblem. Garvey played. Philomena Garvey, one of Ireland’s greatest players, died in 2009 at the age of 83. She would have been proud to see the Irish flag raised at this year’s opening ceremony when the band played “The Soldier’s Song,” Ireland’s national anthem.