CURTIS CUP

June 12, 2022

Sarah Ingram

Merion Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Could you just talk about what it was like to captain this same group of core girls from 10 months ago and how that contributed to your success this week?

SARAH INGRAM: I mean, just having six of the eight girls returning after having the experience at Conwy, it was an experience where we were somewhat isolated, we really just bonded there I think really well. We didn't have any parents, we didn't have many spectators of ours, so we had to kind of be together there, and I think we were able to carry that over to this year. Amari and Latanna were new to the team and fit right in and were welcomed with open arms. Everybody did a great job.

Q. Have you seen any growth from those players that repeated from year to year?

SARAH INGRAM: Yeah, I have. It's been maturity, I think. Some of them I've seen for the last four years really, and it's been fun to kind of watch them grow up, I guess, mature a little bit. It's been -- just having a front seat to their golf games and the way they carry themselves off the golf course or on the golf course it just -- it's been really fun.

Q. Who was the experience of playing in these matches at Merion for you and for your team?

SARAH INGRAM: Well, for me, it was a lot of -- I have some history here, just personal history, and I've always really loved this golf course. It's been one of my favorite golf courses. I love the fact that there's six holes of drama, six holes of comedy and six holes of tragedy. I think that is so interesting.

I love the history of the Bobby Jones completing his Grand Slam, Ben Hogan holing out. It's just very cool.

I used to come here a little bit as a teenager.

I think for the players, just playing at such a top golf course, it's in great condition, it's difficult but they managed it pretty well I have to say. But just the greens, the pureness of the putts, how they roll, and the speed and having to be really precise on their reads and things like that, I'm sure they -- I know they enjoyed it. They had a good time.

Q. What was it like yesterday afternoon, the GB&I team got off to big leads in two of the three matches, and the third match was pretty one-sided, too, for a while and then your focus came back. What did you like most about the way that they just rallied from these deficits?

SARAH INGRAM: Well, last year I'm sure you know we were down one and a half to four and a half after the first day, and after watching them, as I said, a lot of them have been playing for a long time, and I always have seen it when they have -- they don't have their best day, they usually come back firing on all cylinders.

I wasn't too worried then, and I think even now, I just know that they're there, that they are competitive and they want to do their best.

I did get a little nervous yesterday, just you never know how the tides are going to turn, but I was really proud of those that were down for digging deep and coming back and either halving the match or winning the match. It was pretty impressive.

Q. What went into your decision to lead off with Rose and follow up with Rachel Kuehn and Rachel Heck?

SARAH INGRAM: Well, Rose had -- because we were at 6-6 last year, I didn't know how that day was going to go, so I wanted her if it was going to get down to the last point, last hole, I wanted Rose to be the one to take on that pressure. This year I felt like because we did end up after the nine holes of the singles last year we ended up doing pretty well, the scoreboard turning red, Rose's didn't count, so I wanted her to count this time, so I wanted to put her out first. I didn't want to take any chances.

GB&I is tough, and they weren't going to quit, so I wanted to make sure we had a strong opening.

Q. You have the No. 1 player in the world on your team, and she has a very humble demeanor. How does that filter throughout the rest of the group?

SARAH INGRAM: Well, she's an excellent leader in that department, I think. For the captain, those are all good traits. I think that anybody that works with a player of her caliber wants to see -- golf is about being humble. I think humility is a good thing in golf. She's just -- I don't want to say professional because she's not an actual professional, but she goes about her life in a professional way at such a young age.

I've seen her now since -- what is she, 19? So I first saw her at 15, and just to see her grow, really her demeanor hasn't changed, and I love her demeanor. I love that quiet confidence, and she's not boastful, she's not -- she just is a quality person.

Q. When you watched your team do what they needed to do to retain the Cup, what was going through your mind?

SARAH INGRAM: Well, relief, I guess, that we had retained the Cup. The other matches were going well, so I knew -- I figured we would win it outright.

I mean, just relief, relief having that excitement of winning again. I've told some team, I was on three teams and we never won, so to get to be on a team that wins twice now, of course I'm excited about that.

Q. Talk about Rachel's leadership and impact.

SARAH INGRAM: Rachel Kuehn? Like Rose, I think both of them are -- they just kind of go about their business. I think they lead by example. She is also quiet but can get excited and rowdy at the right times. She is definitely a dream to captain.

Again, she's one that I've seen a lot of girls look up to, especially this last year.