CURTIS CUP

September 1, 2024

Catriona Matthew

Mimi Rhodes

Sara Byrne

Lorna McClymont

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the victorious GB&I Curtis Cup team. How special is this one?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: This is just as special as any of the others. Anytime you captain a team when you're representing your country, there is no bigger honour. I had a fantastic team, the eight of them. They all played well. They all contributed.

We had a great week all week. We were kind of relaxed. We enjoyed it. But they went out and played some amazing golf.

My hat's off to the Americans, as well. They gave us a battle. We knew they were going to come out strong today, and they did. But this team, they dug in deep as they have in every session, and I couldn't be happier for them.

Q. All your captaincies have been nail biting. How did that compare with Gleneagles and Tulsa, as well?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, it's all just the same emotions. It's just as good a win as Gleneagles or Inverness was. Anytime you're captaining a team that's representing your country, it's just fantastic.

As you said, it came down to another nail biting finish, some amazing putts, the win from Lorna, from Sara, and that putt from 17 from Mimi. But the whole team were fantastic. You can't win these team events with one or two players. You need everyone to play well and everyone to contribute, and we did that.

Q. Lorna, at what point did you realise it could come down to you?

LORNA McCLYMONT: I think to be fair, I didn't really know at the time. I think I was just kind of just focusing on one shot at a time, and you could hear the crowds building, and yeah, it was just a great atmosphere.

Q. Mimi, the par you made on 17, you've probably not made as many crucial pars in your life?

MIMI RHODES: Yeah, I didn't even know it was for par. I was honestly just thinking about I need to make this putt to feel comfortable going down 18.

I was a bit nervous, but I honestly wasn't as nervous as I would have thought in front of the whole crowd. I just kind of focused, and my caddie really was settling my nerves well. Yeah, I was just glad I made it.

Q. How long did you make that putt? Everybody was saying different things.

MIMI RHODES: How long was it? I paced off about seven meters, so 21 feet, 20 feet. I honestly wasn't as comfortable as I usually am with my putter, but honestly over that putt, I knew it was going in in my mind. I saw it going in. I saw the line. Yeah, I was happy it went in.

Q. Sara, how special for you to go through the week undefeated?

SARA BYRNE: Honestly, I don't think that has settled in yet. It kind of hit me on 15 when I went 3-up. I kind of had in my head for a split second, I was like, oh, I think I've just gone undefeated here no matter what. I knew I needed that crucial point, not half point, so I was really able to lock back in and make a stress-free par on 16, which was really, really nice.

But honestly, coming into this week, if I was told I was going to go undefeated, I probably wouldn't have believed you, to be honest. It's a really special feeling to end my amateur career just like that. So yeah, it was pretty special.

Q. Catriona, you talked about it being a team effort. How proud of the fact that every single member of the team won a match this week?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Oh, very proud. And so happy for them. They've worked hard for this. This is the pinnacle of their amateur careers. Some of them are turning pro probably tomorrow. What a way to go out.

As I said, the whole team, it was always going to be a team. No one ever remembers individual records. I was just so happy for Patience to get that point. She'd had two tough matches the first two days.

Yeah, we loved the whole week.

Q. Catriona, obviously it was nip and tuck all week yesterday coming into the four-balls in the afternoon. How important was that four-ball session yesterday afternoon giving you the momentum for today?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, I think that was really important. At one point it did look as we were going to go 3-0, which would have been quite unbelievable, but two and a half to a half, just giving us that two-point lead, we knew the Americans were going to come out strong in the singles, and they did. They gave us a good fight. It was nip and tuck the whole way today.

So I think that session just kind of gave us the confidence and just gave us that little cushion that got us over the line today.

Q. For any of the players who want to answer this, how aware were you of the red on the scoreboard during the first half of the singles and if you were aware of that how special to sort of respond to that the way you did?

SARA BYRNE: I was very aware of it. I was kind of out first, and then by the time I had reached -- well, one of the starters; I was second out. But by the time I had reached 13, there just seemed to be a bit too much red on that board. I think that's when I kind of locked in and was like, okay, we definitely need my point out here.

I knew I backed my team this whole way. I knew we were going to flip it around come the end, and that's exactly what happened.

To see Mimi roll that one in on 17 was insane, and to have Lorna did what she did, as well, on 16, it was a really special feeling, that's for sure.

Q. What's it been like coming here with what is potentially record crowds for a Curtis Cup? How has it felt playing in front of all those people?

LORNA McCLYMONT: Yeah, I think it was kind of the most crowds I've ever played with. I think just kind of taking it in and just knowing that most of us are them us, and I think just kind of embracing it and just kind of soaking it all up. Yeah, really good.

Q. Catriona, in terms of the way that it panned out there, obviously you kind of loaded the top, but it speaks volumes for the strength and depth of the GB&I team the way it panned out.

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, it really does. Obviously we put Lottie out first. She wanted to go out first, and World No. 1, she had a real battle against Asterisk who played some amazing golf. And to be fair, it was one of these sides there wasn't really anyone not playing well. It was tough to know where to put them.

Yeah, I didn't know -- Lottie was the one decision to go first, and then Áine with maybe just a little bit of experience we put at the end, and to be fair, the other six we could have put in any order.

Q. Lorna, you're the only member of this team not at university in the U.S. You've enjoyed great success over here with the Student Tour Series. Do you think playing so well this week and making the contribution you have shows that pathway can be just as successful, as well?

LORNA McCLYMONT: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's been pretty special being able to get to this point. With having student Tour series there, I think it's a massive steppingstone for anyone coming up that maybe doesn't really want to go to America. It's a good feeling to just show everyone that's doing it at the moment that it is possible. Yeah, it's pretty cool.

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Two Sterling University alums.