The return to Scotland, 24 years after the match at Muirfield, will come three years after the Old Course hosts the 134th Open Championship, the 27th time that golf’s oldest championship will have been played at St Andrews.
Although this will be the first time that the lady amateurs of Great Britain & Ireland and the United States have contested the Curtis Cup at the Home of Golf, their male counterparts have played there for the Walker Cup on eight occasions.
The Curtis Cup was played in Scotland in 1936 at Gleneagles; 1952, Muirfield; 1972, Western Gailes and 1984, Muirfield.
Commenting on the announcement, Andy Salmon CEO of the Ladies’ Golf Union said, “We are delighted that the 2008 Curtis Cup will be played at St Andrews. The history and tradition of the Old Course make it an unrivalled setting for the biennial contest between the best amateurs of the United States and Great Britain & Ireland and I am certain that it will be a memorable match.”
The Old Course is one of six courses administered by St Andrews Links Trust, and their general manager Alan McGregor said: “Thousands of ladies play on our courses every year and it seems wholly appropriate that the foremost ladies’ amateur matchplay tournament should be staged at the Home of Golf.”
The Curtis Cup was donated by the sisters Harriet and Margaret Curtis in 1927 and is inscribed: “to stimulate friendly rivalry among the women golfers of many lands.” However largely due to financial reasons, the first official match was not played until 1932 at Wentworth where the US beat GB&I 5½ – 3½.
In the series the US have won 22 matches, GB&I 6, with three matches halved. Since 1984 the results have been much closer with four wins each and one halved match.
The Curtis Cup will next be played at Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh from 3rd to 4th August 2002 and then at Formby Golf Club from 12th to 13th June 2004.
Ladies Golf Union www.lgu.org