The 41st Curtis Cup between GB&I and the USA was set to be played from 12-14 June 2020 at the Conwy Golf Club in Wales. But, in April, The R&A and USGA agreed to postpone the biennial match until 2021, due the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, in June, The R&A and USGA announced that the match had been rescheduled to 3-5 September 2021. A move that drew some criticism as the new dates clashed with The 2021 Solheim Cup.
In response, Micky Walker, the 2019 Junior Solheim Captain and former European Solheim Cup Captain, tweeted:
"That is awful news that the rescheduled Curtis Cup at Conway from 3rd-5th September 2021 clashes with the Solheim Cup! Potentially that means that a player eligible for both the PING Junior Solheim Cup and the Curtis Cup will have a decision to make. Is it too late to reschedule?"
Catriona Matthew, the European Solheim Cup Captain, also tweeted:
"This is terrible news for potential players who would also be eligible to play in junior @solheimcup2021, [I] don’t understand why you would make this a conflicting date @TheSolheimCup"
It's not difficult to understand the frustration felt by Walker and Matthew. Arguably the two biggest team events for women, one featuring Great Britain & Ireland's finest amateurs against their USA counterparts, the other for Europe's finest pros against the USA, and you put them on at the same time?
They were not alone in their disappointment. Hannah Darling, Scotland's rising star, was facing an impossible choice between the 2021 Junior Solheim Cup and the rescheduled Curtis Cup. As Matthew argued:
"Potentially it could be a really tough decision for Hannah. I don't think she should have been put in this position"
Yesterday, The R&A and USGA confirmed they had agreed to reschedule the match. As a result, the Curtis Cup will now be played from 26-28 August 2021 at Conwy Golf Club in Wales, the week before the Solheim Cup.
Duncan Weir, Executive Director for Golf Development & Amateur Championships at The R&A, said:
“We have listened to the feedback we received about the rescheduled dates for the Curtis Cup in 2021 and looked again at the schedule. We have moved the match forward by a week and introduced a Saturday finish to enable it to slot in ahead of the Solheim Cup."
"We are grateful for the assistance we have received from the USGA and hope this will offer the best outcome for the players of both teams. We look forward very much to welcoming them to Conwy in August next year.”
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