Getting to Know You

When eight young women were selected to represent the United States of America at the 2004 Curtis Cup Match, the team members might have been quite familiar with each other’s exploits on the golf course but didn’t know too much about each other off the links.

Some quality bonding time in Georgia changed that.

In preparation for this weekend’s Match at Formby Golf Club in Merseyside, England, the members of the 2004 USA Curtis Cup squad spent several days together at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons, Ga. While they did spend several hours a day on the golf course, the most productive time may have been the hours they spent together after play.

"It’s funny how differently players act and how well you can get to know them in a different atmosphere," said Sarah Huarte, 22, of Shingle Springs, Calif. "In this case we had the opportunity to live with each other for five days and we literally spent 24 hours a day together. As someone said, we’ve never laughed so hard in one week. It was a great way to get to know one another."

"It was a real joy getting to know each player off the golf course," said 21-year-old Annie Thurman of Highland, Utah. "It was great to have the opportunity to make so many great friends in such a short amount of time."

Huarte and Thurman did know each other before they arrived at Sea Island, having struck up a friendship at events throughout the school year. Liz Janangelo, 20, of West Hartford, Conn., and Brittany Lang, 18, of McKinney, Texas, are teammates at Duke University, and several of the college players knew each other from various collegiate tournaments. And Jane Park, 17, of Beaumont, Calif., and Paula Creamer, 17, of Pleasanton, Calif., had teamed up to win the 2003 Spirit International for the USA.

But some of the players didn’t know each other at all. A few had never met 14-year-old Michelle Wie, of Honolulu, Hawaii, despite being in the same field at events such as the U.S. Women’s Amateur. So it was important to get to know each other past their golf resumes.

"Sometimes we forget to realize that our competitors have feelings and are just like everyone else," said Janangelo. "It was important to get to see that and take the good from our teammates and incorporate that into our team."

Not only did the week afford the players the opportunity to learn more about each other, but also their captain, Martha Kirouac, who played on the 1970 and 1972 USA Curtis Cup teams.

"Martha is an amazing captain," said Erica Blasberg, 19, of Corona, Calif. "She has a way of keeping us focused when we need to be, but letting us be ourselves at the same time."

Said Thurman: "She has a great ability to listen and to communicate with us. Although we are a bunch of young ladies, Martha has the ability to both coach us and joke around with us at the same time."

The teammates consider Kirouac’s advice and experience as a past Curtis Cupper to be invaluable.

"She tells us to think of ourselves as a team, and not as eight individuals," said Creamer. "She does a great job of reminding us of the legacy of the Curtis Cup, and how to represent ourselves and our country well, both on and off the golf course."

Much has been made of the American team’s youth. Despite their absence of previous Curtis Cup experience, there is no lack of understanding as to the Match’s importance.

"Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of playing on the Curtis Cup team," said Janangelo. "The Curtis Cup is the biggest amateur event for women, and representing my country is the biggest honor one could have. It will be unforgettable to walk into the opening ceremony with our red blazers, listening to the cheers of many people who understand golf and its history so well."

Said Park: "Representing the United States is a feeling only a chosen few get to do in their lifetime. I have had the privilege of representing the U.S. several times and when you hear that national anthem, it sinks in that you are carrying the country with you every step of the way with all its support and it makes you feel great." 

That moment on Friday, when the USA flag is raised and the national anthem is played, is one Kirouac has told her team will be incomparable.

"People had told me what a special experience it would be, but words could not express the intensity of the feelings we shared at that moment," Kirouac said. "That’s when our players will finally really find out what is so special about playing on a Curtis Cup team. They will experience something that will always tie them together."

Something they got a little taste of during their days in Sea Island.

This story was written by Beth Murrison of USGA Media Relations. Please contact her at bmurrison@usga.org with any queries or comments.