Curtis Cup focus
That American trio will therefore understandably be highly-fancied. However, there is significant depth to this year’s field, one which should deliver a competition worthy of the spectacular coastal surroundings and produce plenty of compelling storylines, with a renewal of acquaintances for several members of last year’s Curtis Cup teams likely to be among the most interesting to follow.
Great Britain and Ireland prevailed at Sunningdale last year in the closest Curtis Cup for 12 years, their 10½ - 9½ winning margin matching that of 2012, when they defeated the United States of America by the same score at Nairn. Beth Coulter, Hannah Darling and Patience Rhodes – who delivered a crucial victory in the Sunday singles – will all be at Nairn from the victorious GB&I team. On the American side, Park and Koo are joined by Curtis Cup team-mate Anna Davis.
Darling returns
A two-time semi-finalist at The Women’s Amateur, former Girls’ Amateur champion Darling is poised to head to the paid ranks at some point following her bid for glory at Nairn, which would be an ideal way to sign off before she attempts to earn her LPGA card through the qualifying series. Seizing her last chance to win The Women’s Amateur would certainly send Darling into the professional arena with positive momentum.
However, in addition to the sizeable and talented American contingent, there are several other European hopes who will be confident of mounting a serious challenge.
Rhodes has impressed on the collegiate circuit at Arizona State this year, posting five top-ten finishes, while the highest-ranked European in the field is Spain’s Paula Martin Sampedro. Sampedro is 13th in the WAGR® and only missed the cut at the US Women’s Open by a stroke, matching Talley in posting a score of two-over-par for the first 36 holes.
That highly respectable performance at Erin Hills will likely give Sampedro belief she can become the first Spaniard to win The Women’s Amateur since Azahara Munoz in 2009. Sampedro also impressed last year, progressing through two rounds of match play before losing 6&5 to eventual champion Green.