Great Britain and Ireland Team Announced for the 44th Curtis Cup

Eight golfers have been selected for the Great Britain and Ireland team to compete against the United States of America in the 44th Curtis Cup match at Bel-Air Country Club.

The biennial encounter is taking place at the renowned Los Angeles venue from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 June with GB&I bidding to retain the famous trophy after a memorable 10½-9½ victory at Sunningdale in 2024.

Catriona Matthew OBE returns as Captain with GB&I aiming for a first win on American soil since 1986.

Matthew, who famously led Europe to back-to-back Solheim Cup triumphs in 2019 and 2021, said, “I’m really looking forward to the match at Bel-Air. We have selected eight players who we believe will provide us with the best opportunity of retaining the Curtis Cup against the United States of America.

“With a number of players turning professional since the last match, we have a new, exciting team. In terms of the amateur rankings, we will be the underdogs but we also were at Sunningdale. It’s going to be a challenge but in match play anyone can beat anyone and it’s just trying to instil that belief in my players.

“I’ve enjoyed my role as Captain. It’s great fun to see the next generation come through, getting to know them and trying to help them. We are all preparing to give our best at Bel-Air next month.”

The top five players on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and three selections make up the GB&I side. Beth Coulter and Patience Rhodes return to the team after playing key roles at Sunningdale.

Matthew’s side also includes Sophia Fullbrook, who has enjoyed three wins on the US college circuit with Florida State University this year, and teenager Nellie Ong, who has qualified for next month’s US Women’s Open at nearby Riviera on the eve of the Curtis Cup.  

The GB&I team:

• Beth Coulter, Ireland, Kirkistown Castle, 22
• Sophia Fullbrook, England, The Melbourne Club, 20
• Lily Hirst, England, Huddersfield, 23
• Isla McDonald-O'Brien, England, Shrewsbury, 19
• Charlotte Naughton, England, Longhirst Hall, 18
• Nellie Ong, England, Eaton, 19
• Patience Rhodes, England, Burnham & Berrow, 22
• Davina Xanh, England, Burnham & Berrow, 22

Reserves:

• Annabel Peaford, England, Walton Heath, 17
• Emma Fleming, Ireland, Elm Park, 21

Captain:

Catriona Matthew OBE

The Scot leads the Great Britain and Ireland team for the second time after guiding her side to a famous victory at Sunningdale in 2024. As a member of three GB&I Curtis Cup teams, The Women’s Amateur Champion in 1993 experienced a loss in 1990, a win in 1992 and a draw in 1994. A graduate from the University of Stirling, the North Berwick player began a professional career in 1994 which has included winning the 2009 staging of the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes and playing on nine European Solheim Cup teams. In 2019 and 2021, Matthew led Europe to consecutive Solheim Cup wins over the United States of America as Captain.

Player information

Beth Coulter

One of two members of the GB&I team who featured in the 2024 victory over the USA at Sunningdale, Coulter plans to turn professional this summer. The Arizona State University student has a wealth of team experience, having played in the Vagliano Trophy, World Amateur Team Championship, European Team Championship and Home Internationals, in addition to her successful Curtis Cup debut. Coulter also reached the quarter-finals of The Women's Amateur Championship in 2023 and has been a runner-up in the Irish Women's Amateur Open, Irish Women's Close Championship and multiple collegiate events in America.

Sophia Fullbrook

Fullbrook comes into her maiden Curtis Cup full of confidence after recording three wins on the US college circuit for Florida State University this year. The 20-year-old triumphed by five shots at the Florida State Match Up in March, before tying for victory at the Coach Mo Classic two weeks later. She then added the NCAA Tallahasse Regional and was subsequently named to the All-ACC team in May.

Fullbrook excelled in last year's Vagliano Trophy, twice partnering Curtis Cup team-mate Patience Rhodes and remaining unbeaten as GB&I edged out the Continent of Europe with a dramatic final-day fightback. Fullbrook was also a winner of the English Girls' Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2022 at the age of 16. She is a former quarter-finalist at the Girls’ Amateur Championship and teamed up with future professional star Lottie Woad to help England to victory in the 2023 Home Internationals.

Lily Hirst

The English Women's Open Amateur Stroke Play Champion in 2024, Hirst has secured a spot in Catriona Matthew's team after a superb run of form this spring. Victory in The Comboy Leveret, a WAGR® event played at Formby Ladies and Delamere Forest, was followed by top-five finishes at the Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Championship, Welsh Women's Open Stroke Play Championship and German International Amateur Championship. Hirst, who attended the University of Kansas, achieved a notable feat at Royal Birkdale in 2024, shooting a ten-under-par 65 to set a new women's course record on her way to winning the Ladies Scratch Trophy.

Isla McDonald-O'Brien

A quarter-finalist in The Women's Amateur Championship at Nairn in 2025, where she claimed the notable scalps of Catherine Park and Jazy Roberts in the knockout stages. McDonald-O'Brien was also part of GB&I’s victorious Vagliano Trophy team last year, winning each of her singles matches. The runner-up at the 2022 Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship, she has recorded a number of top-five finishes in collegiate events for Arizona State University, while her brother, Rory, is part of the men's team at Eastern Michigan University.

Charlotte Naughton

Naughton made a splash at the Junior Orange Bowl in January, winning by seven strokes with a tournament record ten-under total. In doing so, she joined the likes of Tiger Woods, Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson and Joaquin Niemann in achieving success at the high-profile Florida event. The youngest member of the GB&I team at 18, Naughton represented Europe at the Junior Ryder Cup last year, a week after winning the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada.

Naughton was also the runner-up in both the Girls’ Amateur Championship and St Rule Trophy in 2025, as well as making the last-32 of The Women's Amateur Championship, where she was narrowly beaten by three-time Curtis Cup player Hannah Darling. In the run-up to the Curtis Cup, she has finished third at the European Nations Cup – Copa Sotogrande and placed fifth in the German International Amateur Championship.

Nellie Ong

Ong made a significant contribution to GB&I's Vagliano Trophy triumph over the Continent of Europe in 2025, twice winning in tandem with Lottie Woad before recording a thumping 6&5 victory over Valentine Delon in her second singles outing. The 19-year-old also impressed at last year's World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore, finishing tied-fifth in the individual event and helping England to a tied-fourth finish. Ong has demonstrated strong recent form for Ohio State on the US collegiate circuit, recording runner-up finishes at both the Big Ten Women's Golf Championships and the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational.

Patience Rhodes

The second member of Catriona Matthew's team to play in the victorious Curtis Cup side of 2024, Patience is the younger sister of Mimi Rhodes, who is now a three-time winner on the Ladies’ European Tour. Patience is the highest-ranked player in the GB&I team and demonstrated her pedigree when claiming three-and-half points from four matches in the 2025 Vagliano Trophy victory over the Continent of Europe. The winner of the St Rule Trophy in 2023, the Arizona State University student has been a consistently strong performer on the college golf circuit, registering a host of top-ten finishes.

Davina Xanh

Xanh has demonstrated excellent recent form, recording five top-ten and eight top-20 finishes in her last ten ranking events for California State University Fullerton. That fine run included a maiden collegiate victory in March's Ping ASU Invitational and a runner-up finish at the following month's Big West Women's Golf Championship. Xanh also claimed a significant success in 2025 when she won the St Rule Trophy played at St Andrews Links, finishing a shot clear of her Curtis Cup team-mate Charlotte Naughton.

Recent results:

2024 Sunningdale, GB&I 10½ USA 9½
2022 Merion, USA 15½ GB&I 4½
2021 Conwy, GB&I 7½  USA 12½
2018 Quaker Ridge, USA 17 GB&I 3
2016 Dún Laoghaire, GB&I 11½ USA 8½
2014 St Louis, USA 13 GB&I 7
2012 Nairn, GB&I 10½ USA 9½
2010 Essex, USA 12½ GB&I 7½