St. Louis’ best will be leading America’s finest at St. Louis Country Club in 2014 when the United States Golf Association brings the biennial competition between female amateur teams from the USA and Great Britain and Ireland.
Ellen Port, a five-time USGA Champion will captain the 2014 Curtis Cup Team in the 38th playing of the Matches. “Ellen is one of the great USGA amateur champions of the modern era,” said Dot Paluck, chairman of the USGA Women’s Committee. “She has well represented the United States in past Curtis Cup Matches, and we are proud to have her as captain of the 2014 Team.”
Port won the 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2011 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs and the 2012 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. She is one of two women to win both championships, joining renowned career amateur and two-time USA Curtis Cup Captain Carole Semple Thompson, and the 11-year span between her third and fourth Women’s Mid-Amateur victories is a championship record. She was runner-up at the 2002 Women’s Mid-Amateur, and is a record four-time Women’s Mid-Amateur stroke-play medalist (2000, 2001, 2002, 2010). Port has 58 Women’s Mid-Amateur match victories, the most in championship history, and has also competed in the U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and USGA Women’s State Team championships.
Port is an eight-time Missouri Women’s Amateur champion, most recently in 2012, the most in championship history. She is a 12-time St. Louis Women’s Metropolitan Amateur Champion, most recently in 2010, and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Port also won the 1994 Women’s TRANS National Golf Association Amateur Championship.
Port will be following the path of another legendary amateur from St. Louis, Jim Holtgrieve. It’s not everyday two amateurs from the same city will be leading the countries top amateur teams in International competition. Holtgrieve will be representing the United States in 2013 in his second stint as Walker Cup Captain.
Great Britain and Ireland won the most recent playing of the Curtis Cup Match, capturing five Sunday singles matches to take a 10.5 to 9.5 victory in 2012 at The Nairn Golf Club in Nairn, Scotland. It was GB&I’s first title since 1996 and seventh in Match history. The USA now holds an overall 27-7-3 record.
The 2014 Curtis Cup Captain will be a guest on The Back Nine Radio Show with Dustin Ashby and Dr. Tobin Lingafelter at 9am CST on 101.1 ESPN (www.101sports.com).
