Patience Rhodes and Sophia Fullbrook both finished the week with 4-1 records, but it wasn’t enough as the USA reclaimed the Curtis Cup with a 13-7 victory at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Americans won six of the eight available singles matches to seal the result, but the final margin told only part of the story. At the turn, with GB&I up in several matches simultaneously, it briefly looked as though Catriona Matthew’s team might pull off a remarkable comeback. Captain Matthew admitted afterwards that the board had her glued to her phone.
“I just kept refreshing and refreshing to follow the scores,” she said. “I think just around about the turn, it looked like we were really going to do it. We were just pushing the right way, and then the momentum just started switching to the Americans on the back nine.”
Five of the eight singles matches went to the final hole — the most in any Sunday session since the event moved to a three-day format in 2008. The scoreline of 13-7 did not reflect how competitive a week it had been.
Rhodes’ remarkable comeback from injury
The standout individual performance from the GB&I camp came from Patience Rhodes, who went into Sunday’s singles already 3-1 for the week. The Arizona State rising senior had missed a significant portion of her junior season through a lower leg injury and did not return to competition until April, when she made the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
On Sunday, she found herself 4-down after just seven holes against Stanford’s Kelly Xu — a player with a remarkable 10-1 match play record in the NCAA Championship across four seasons. What followed was a display of exactly the kind of character that had earned Rhodes her place in the team. She clawed her way back through the middle holes and ultimately holed a clutch 15-foot par putt on 18 to secure the point, finishing 4-1 for the week.
“It’s crazy to think about four, five months ago I was barely able to walk in so much pain, and now to be here with the team and play five rounds,” Rhodes said afterwards. “I’m just really proud. Obviously getting my golf swing back, that was a bit scary. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get it back. I’m just so happy to be out playing golf again.”
Fullbrook signs off in style
Sophia Fullbrook, ranked No. 38 in the Women’s World Amateur Ranking and a standout at Florida State, ended her week with a 2-up win over Avery Weed, punctuating it with an approach to two feet on the 18th for a conceded birdie. The Englishwoman had been measured and composed all week, and her 4-1 record matched Rhodes’ as the joint-best on the GB&I side.
Fullbrook had kept her focus even as the team scoreboards shifted around her during singles. “We were very aware that we were behind,” she said, “but Catriona is lovely. She said, go out, have fun. We all know we play best when we have fun. So that’s what we were trying to do today and battle back as hard as we can.”
O’Keefe clinches it for a formidable USA team
Farah O’Keefe, the reigning NCAA Division I individual champion and recipient of the 2026 ANNIKA Award, delivered the clinching point for the USA with a 2-and-1 win over Charlotte Naughton, having trailed by two with six to play. She became just the fourth player in Curtis Cup history to post a 5-0 record since the competition moved to three days in 2008, joining Stacy Lewis, Kristin Gillman and Bronte Law.
All eight USA players were ranked inside the top 30 in the Women’s World Amateur Ranking, with three in the top eight. GB&I had just two players ranked inside the top 40. Matthew acknowledged the scale of the task her side had taken on. “We came in really as underdogs,” she said. “Americans were highly ranked — so to push them so hard, it’s just a shame the actual final score looks like that. It’s so much closer than the final score actually shows.
Matthew proud despite the defeat
For Matthew, the week was one she’ll reflect on with pride, even if the result stings. GB&I had won the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale two years ago, and the captain made clear how much retaining it had meant to the team. “They fought their hardest. Very proud of them. They did their best. Each and every one of them battled out there in every single match, and that’s all you can do.”
Rhodes echoed that sentiment: “All the matches were really close. I think everyone should be proud of themselves. Whether they got four points, three, two — everyone tried their hardest. Matches can go either way, even if you’re playing amazing.”
The next Curtis Cup takes place in 2028 at Royal Dornoch in Scotland — with home advantage back on the GB&I side
Full Results https://championships.usga.org/curtiscup/2026/scoring.html
