USA Curtis Cup Team Boasts Talented Mix


April 28, 2008

By Stuart Hall

When the United States of America Curtis Cup team arrives in St. Andrews, Scotland, for the 35th Match on the Old Course, it will be one of the most diverse groups of female amateurs ever assembled.

Among the eight-member squad who will face Great Britain and Ireland May 30-June 1 (for the first time the Curtis Cup will be staged over three days) consider this: there are two teenaged prep stars; an Irish-born player who has competed for three colleges; a New Jersey native who found a home in the deep South; two collegiate teammates who can take a third under their wings a few months before she steps onto campus; and an amateur who was the clubhouse leader of an LPGA tournament that was eventually wiped off the books.

For sure, this will be an eclectic mix of personalities, but make no mistake about the one common thread that ties them together — they all have serious golf games.

At 29, two-time U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champ Meghan Bolger is the oldest member of the 2008 USA Curtis Cup team. (USGA Photo Archives)

Sixteen-year old Kimberly Kim and 18-year-old Mina Harigae both have USGA national titles on their résumés — and not of the junior variety. Meanwhile, the elder stateswoman of the team, Meghan Bolger, 29, is the reigning two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, who matriculated at Tulane University and coached at the University of Mississippi for six seasons before leaving that post in May 2007.

But the engine of captain Carol Semple Thompson’s team likely will be comprised of a quintet of college players, each of whom has the talent and moxie for the next level – i.e. the LPGA Tour.

As the college season moves toward conference, regional and NCAA championships, expect to see these five Curtis Cup names rise to the forefront and ultimately contend for a Division I title, either as part of their team or individually: Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee (Duke), Stacy Lewis (Arkansas), Alison Walshe (Arizona) and Tiffany Joh (UCLA).

Since Blumenherst arrived at Duke and Lewis at Arkansas, they have been two of the nation’s best collegiate players. Blumenherst, a junior, is the reigning two-time national player of the year in helping the Blue Devils to consecutive national championships, while Lewis, a senior, has about the only thing Blumenherst has not won — an individual NCAA championship.

In September, Lewis shot a 65 to lead the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship through one round. But when rains washed out the remaining 36 holes, the LPGA could not declare it an official event or even an unofficial event.

It was all for naught except for what Lewis gained.

"Probably just more confidence that I can play with the best players in the world, and I can beat 143 of the best players in the world on one day," said Lewis, who five months earlier tied for fifth at the LPGA’s first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, to earn low-amateur honors.

"I never expected to play like that," she would later say. "I had one of the best putting weeks I’ve ever had. It definitely spurred me on to play well the rest of the year."

No doubt Lewis, 22, an accounting and finance major, could easily calculate the earnings she has bypassed by remaining an amateur through the Curtis Cup, but what’s the rush for a player with such immense talent.

Ditto for Blumenherst, 21. With her junior season not yet complete, she already has 10 career collegiate wins and 27 top-10 finishes. Runner-up at last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, she has steadfastly maintained she will be a Blue Devil for four years.

"Golf you do for however long you really want, so when I think of leaving school or turning pro, you're only going to be in college for four years, which really isn't that long of a time," said Blumenherst, who will be making her second Curtis Cup appearance. "I can be out on tour for however long as I want, so I believe taking the fundamental steps like going to college is such an important part of your life that you really don't want to rush."

And talking about 1 and 1A, at the Bryan National Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C., last month, Lewis took medalist honors with an even-par 216 score, with Blumenherst a shot back at 217.

Were it not for Blumenherst, who won her third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference individual championship last week, teammate Lee would be the Blue Devils’ headline grabber.

Lee, also a junior and expected to be on campus next fall to join Blumenherst in welcoming Harigae to Durham, was the runner-up at the NCAAs as a freshman. And in an odd twist of fate, it was Blumenherst who ousted Lee, 5 and 4, in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinals at Crooked Stick.

Then there is the "Where’s Waldo"-like story of Walshe.

The 22-year-old was born in Galway, Ireland, grew up in Massachusetts and has dual citizenship. Collegiately, she started off at Boston College, transferred to Tulane and then wound up at University of Arizona after Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans and forced Tulane to cancel the golf programs. She’s made all-conference at all three schools.

Walshe, a senior, recently missed the cut at the Kraft Nabisco Championship – her first taste of the LPGA Tour – but came away undaunted.

"Hopefully this is just the beginning," she told the Lowell Sun earlier this week.

That it’s a beginning does not appear to an issue. Nor does it appear one for Joh, a two-time All-American junior at UCLA. Joh, the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, became the first Bruin in 20 years to make a Curtis Cup team. She, along with reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Maria Jose Uribe, has led UCLA to a No. 1 ranking in one of the major polls.

Not inconceivable is a Duke versus UCLA – or a Blumenherst versus Lewis – showdown at the NCAA Championships, May 20-23. The Blue Devils have won the previous three, but before them? How about UCLA in 2004.

No doubt Thompson’s job will be made easier by the competitive desires of those playing for national titles in the coming weeks. And that should make for an easy transition to the international level a week later.

Stuart Hall is a freelance writer whose work has appeared previously on www.usga.org.