GB&I go into Sunday’s eight Curtis Cup singles at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles trailing USA 7-5, with Catriona Matthew’s side needing to win five points from the final singles session to retain the trophy.
The tone was set on the opening day when the Americans took four of the six available points, led by Farah O’Keefe, who is ranked third in the world amateur rankings. O’Keefe partnered with Jasmine Koo in the morning four-balls and Avery Weed in the afternoon foursomes, winning both matches to move to 2-0 for the match.
USA captain Meghan Stasi’s decision to lean heavily on her best players from the outset reflected the lessons of 2024, when the Americans took just 1.5 points from the first six available at Sunningdale and never recovered.
World number one Kiara Romero and 17-year-old Asterisk Talley, both fresh from making the cut at the US Women’s Open at nearby Riviera, delivered the morning four-ball point with a comprehensive win over GB&I’s Lily Hirst and Davina Xanh. But GB&I showed their resilience in the afternoon, with Beth Coulter and Isla McDonald-O’Brien beating Romero and Talley 3 and 2 in the foursomes, winning four consecutive holes on the back nine.
GB&I’s top pair keep the door open
Sophia Fullbrook and Patience Rhodes, the highest-ranked players in the GB&I side at world numbers 38 and 20 respectively, posted a pair of wins on Saturday to keep the visitors within striking distance. The Florida State rising junior and the 2024 team returner claimed the morning four-ball over Anna Davis and Weed, then defeated Kary Hollenbaugh and Kelly Xu in the afternoon foursomes to finish the two days with a combined 3-1 record.
“We definitely believe,” said Fullbrook after Saturday’s play. “We’ve closed the gap a bit since this morning. We have faith in ourselves in singles for sure.”
Their afternoon win came with some drama. Hollenbaugh and Xu pushed them hard, winning a conceded birdie on the 15th and a par on the 17th to stand just one down heading to the last — before the Americans three-putted for bogey, allowing Fullbrook to hole a 10-footer for the match.
Naughton and Xanh deliver GB&I’s big Saturday moment
The standout performance of Saturday afternoon came from the GB&I pair who had been rested all morning. Charlotte Naughton, an incoming University of Texas freshman, and Davina Xanh, a 2026 Cal State Fullerton graduate, defeated Anna Davis and Asterisk Talley 3 and 2 in emphatic fashion, combining beautifully throughout. Xanh nearly holed her tee shot on the 281-yard par-4 seventh, using the backstop to stop the ball two feet from the hole for a conceded eagle, and also nearly aced the par-3 13th.
“I couldn’t really see where it went beyond that tree,” Xanh said of her tee shot at the seventh. “Then hearing everyone cheer, you know you’ve hit a good one.
O’Keefe closes the door — just
O’Keefe, who arrived at Bel-Air this week carrying a sore left leg after a punishing stretch of golf that included the Chevron Championship, a US Women’s Open qualifier, the NCAA Championship and the US Women’s Open itself at Riviera, where she tied for 34th, was unbowed by any of it. Playing Saturday afternoon foursomes alongside Weed, she delivered a succession of clutch shots, setting up Weed birdies on the eighth, ninth and 11th, before holing a five-foot par putt on the 15th to seal a 4-and-3 win over Isla McDonald-O’Brien and Beth Coulter.
That point proved decisive. GB&I took the other two afternoon matches — and had they won all three, they would have gone into Sunday level. Instead, they face an eight-point singles battle to retain the trophy, needing 10 from the available 16.
“I’m going to go and try to get 12 hours of sleep and run it back,” O’Keefe said afterwards.
How to watch Sunday’s singles
Sunday’s eight singles matches get under way at Bel-Air at 2.10pm local time (PDT) — that’s 9.10pm EDT and 2.10am BST on Monday morning.
UK viewers: Coverage is live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Mix from 11pm Sunday night.
US viewers: Golf Channel has live coverage from 6pm–10pm PDT / 9pm–1am EDT.
The USA need 10.5 points to reclaim the trophy; GB&I need 10 to retain it.
