November 04, 2019 - 1732 views
A prestigous golf tournament returns to Conwy next June as part of a busy calendar of sport in the region.
From 12-14th June, Conwy Golf Club plays host to The Curtis Cup on a course which is said to be one of the best in the country.
It is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers and is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and the Ladies Golf Union. Many women who have gone on to become stars of women's professional golf have played in the Curtis Cup.
The first match was played in 1932 at the Wentworth Club in England, and was won by the American team.
The trophy, a silver bowl of Paul Revere design, was donated by Harriot Curtis (who had won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1906) and her sister Margaret (who had won it in 1907, 1911, and 1912). The Curtis sisters had competed in the 1905 British Ladies Amateur at Royal Cromer Golf Club, where an informal match had occurred between teams of American and British golfers, and they wanted to promote the international friendships in the world of women's golf.
The cup is inscribed, "To stimulate friendly rivalry among the women golfers of many lands." Discussions between various golf associations had been underway since 1924—the Curtis sisters had originally donated the trophy in 1927 to help these discussions along—but it was not until 1931 that the USGA and LGU agreed to co-sponsor the event.
The Curtis Cup Match is played every two years in even numbered years, alternating between the two sides of the Atlantic. Each team consists of eight golfers.
The competition involves various match play matches between players selected from the two teams of 8, either singles, foursomes, or (starting in 2008) fourball.
The winner of each match scores a point for their team, with ½ a point each for any match that is tied after 18 holes. If the entire Match is tied, the previously winning team retains the Cup. A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. The golfers on the same team take alternate shots throughout the match, with the same ball.
Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A fourball match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. All four golfers play their own ball throughout the round. Each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer had the lowest score. A singles match is a standard match play competition between two golfers.
The original format was a single day of competition, with three foursomes matches in the morning and six singles matches in the afternoon, for a total of nine points. In 1964, the format was changed to two days, with three foursomes and six singles matches each day, a total of 18 points.
In 2008, the format changed to a three-day competition, with three foursomes and three fourball matches on each of the first two days, and eight singles matches on the final day, a total of 20 points.
The links in Conwy was established in 1890 and is a world class course which has hosted The Open Championship final qualifying for Hoylake, European Tour and Ladies Tour Events.
