Curtis Cup players are in awe of iconic Merion Golf Club

A visit to Merion Golf Club can be sensory overload for many — the well-manicured fairways and greens, the treacherous bunkers with their dunes grass and Scottish broom, the diabolical nature of the quarry hole at No. 16.

However, for the women who will compete for the United States and the Great Britain/Ireland teams in the 42nd Curtis Cup Matches beginning Friday, the attention has centered on the iconic wicker basket flagsticks that will remain in place on the greens for the event.

“It’s really cool. They’re really iconic,” U.S. team member Rachel Kuehn said Thursday. “I wasn’t sure coming in whether they were going to switch the flags because the [U.S. Golf Association] always puts in USGA flags or Curtis Cup flags, but I’m really glad they’ve kept the baskets. It’s just really cool.”

For teammate Megha Ganne, it was a surprise when she was asked to take the flagstick out during a practice round.

“They’re heavy,” she said. “I hadn’t picked one up because our caddies had been doing it for us. I tried to pick it up with my left hand. They’re very heavy.”

GB&I team member Caley McGinty talked about her first time seeing the wicker basket in the hole.

“I was throwing my golf ball at it just to see what happened,” she said. “It’s kind of cool because you don’t really realize in normal golf how much you actually pay attention to the wind at the flag, and it makes it a little bit harder not having that visual there with the wind. But no, it’s cool. It’s fun.”

The two sides concluded their practice rounds Thursday and are ready to start. The competition features three four-ball (better-ball) and three foursomes (alternate-shot) matches on both Friday and Saturday, followed by eight singles matches on Sunday.

The United States won the most recent Curtis Cup, 12.5-7.5, last year at Conwy, Wales, a competition that was delayed one year because of the pandemic. Eleven players from those matches — six from GB&I, five from the U.S. — are back playing this year.

One of them is Kuehn, who secured the winning point in last year’s victory. Her mother, Brenda, achieved the same distinction at the 1998 Curtis Cup in Minneapolis. She said the reaction of family and friends to this weekend has been along the lines of, “Oh my gosh, that’s going to be incredible.”

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“There’s just so much history here,” she said. “You watch the U.S. Open on TV and you watch footage of shots being hit here and the stories that our caddies have for us, just to know that we’re going to be able to add our names to that little piece of history at this incredible golf course and just an incredible tournament, I think it’s something really special and I think we all appreciate it.”

Another feature about Merion that impressed the players was the club archives that spell out the history of the club, from the earliest USGA championship in 1904 to the opening of the East course in 1912 to each of the five U.S. Opens contested there.

“I think one of the coolest things for me was going into their archives room and seeing all the signatures and all the pictures and their ledger and all that stuff,” Kuehn said. “The history here is just so deep. As you walk the fairways, you can just kind of feel it and you can see it. It’s something that I don’t think is lost on our team.”

As for the style of play, Merion is considered a course where the high-ball hitter would have an advantage over a player who is more accustomed to striking a low, running shot as played in Great Britain and Ireland. But as GB&I’s Lauren Walsh noted, she and six other members of her team play for U.S. colleges, and they’re comfortable playing that type of game.

“A lot of us have had success over here in the States,” said Walsh, who plays for Wake Forest. “While the Americans have their rankings, we’ve all had success in the college circuit around here, and a lot of those golf courses are very similar style of golf that we have to play here. We’re very experienced when it comes to this type of golf. We’re here to play our own game, and we have the experience.”

» READ MORE: Again, Merion rolls out the red carpet for a USGA championship at its iconic East course

*Rose Zhang, 18, Irvine, Calif., freshman at Stanford, world ranking 1

Zhang became the 10th freshman to win the individual title at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, and won the deciding match to give the Cardinal the national championship.

*Rachel Heck, 20, Memphis, Tenn., sophomore at Stanford, world ranking 4

Heck, who was the ninth freshman to win the NCAA individual title last year, became the third player in the history of women’s golf to win conference, regional and national championships.

*Rachel Kuehn, 20, Asheville, N.C., junior at Wake Forest, world ranking 11

Kuehn, the medalist in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur, is part of only the second mother-daughter tandem to have played in a Curtis Cup, clinching the cup for the United States last year in Wales

Amari Avery, 18, Riverside, Calif., sophomore at Southern California, world ranking 15.

Avery tied for fourth at this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She also competed last year in the U.S. Women’s Open and the LPGA Founders Cup event.

Megha Ganne, 18, Holmdel, N.J., entering freshman year at Stanford, world ranking 17

Ganne was low amateur in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, earning a spot in the final grouping in the fourth round. She has represented the United States in the Junior Solheim Cup and the Junior Ryder Cup.

*Emilia Migliaccio, 23, Cary, N.C., Wake Forest graduate, world ranking 19

Migliaccio, who went 2-2 in last year’s Curtis Cup, decided against turning professional and will return to Wake Forest to study for a Masters in communication. She currently works part-time for Golf Channel.

Latanna Stone, 20, Riverview, Fla., junior at Louisiana State, world ranking 42

Stone tied for second at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She has played in three U.S. Women’s Amateur, the first being at age 10, making her the youngest contestant in championship history.

*Jensen Castle, 21, West Columbia, S.C., junior at Kentucky, world ranking 55

Castle won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club and three weeks later, she compiled a 1-1-2 record in the Curtis Cup.

*Caley McGinty, 21, Knowle, England, junior at Ohio State, world ranking 10

McGinty, who transferred to Ohio State at the end of the spring semester, was the top point producer for her team at last year’s Curtis Cup, securing 3½ points.

*Hannah Darling, 18, Broomieknowe, Scotland, freshman at South Carolina, world ranking 14

Darling contributed three points to her team’s total in last year’s Curtis Cup and then had a fine first year with the Gamecocks, posting six top-10 finishes.

*Annabell Fuller, 19, Roehampton, England, junior at Florida, world ranking 44

After earning three points last year in Wales, Fuller will be competing in her third Curtis Cup this weekend. She qualified for the AIG Women’s Open last August.

*Lauren Walsh, 21, Castlewarden, Ireland, junior at Wake Forest, world ranking 46

Walsh, the highest ranked GB&I team in last year’s Curtis Cup, was part of the Demon Deacons’ NCAA title team in 2021 and finished third in the 2022 ACC Championships.

Amelia Williamson, 21, Sheringham, England, senior at Florida State, world rank 47

Williamson won the individual title last February at the Florida State Match-Up event, and posted third-place finishes last summer in the English Women’s Amateur and the Women’s Amateur Open Stroke Play.

*Louise Duncan, 22, West Kilbride, Scotland, senior at University of Sterling, world rank 48

Duncan tied for 10th at last year’s AIG Women’s Open to secure her berth this year at Muirfield. She won the 2021 British Women’s Amateur by a record 9-and-8 margin.

*Charlotte Heath, 20, Huddersfield, England, sophomore at Florida State, world rank 59

Winner of the 2020 Australian Amateur Championship, Heath picked up a point last year in her Curtis Cup debut and finished in the top 12 in five events for the Seminoles.

Emily Price, 22, Ludlow, England, senior at Kent State, world rank 76

Price captured the 2020 English Women’s Amateur Championship and picked up her third collegiate tournament title with a win at this year’s Lady Buckeye Invitational.

(* — also competed in 2021 Curtis Cup)