Thompson young enough at 47

AMERICA'S Curtis Cup selectors clearly subscribe to the notion that if a player's good enough, she's young enough. So, 47-year-old Carol Semple Thompson will match the achievement of Ireland's Mary McKenna by making a record-equalling ninth appearance when the US attempt to regain the trophy at Killarney on June 21st and 22nd.

Thompson's eight previous Curtis Cup appearances had tied her with compatriot Anne Quast Sander, who last competed for the US in 1990. But McKenna retains the distinction of having gained her nine appearances in succession.

Thompson first represented the US in 1974 and was also in the 1976 side, but failed to gain selection in 1978, 1984 and 1986. However, she was restored to the US side in 1988 at Royal St George's, Sandwich where she won both her singles. This will be her fifth successive appearance.

Sarah LeBrun Ingram and Ellen Port are the only other players with previous Curtis Cup experience. Ingram, 29, was unable to defend her US Women's Mid-Amateur title last October but she is now set for a third successive Curtis Cup. Port, 34, was a member of the team which failed to regain the trophy in Chattanooga two years ago when the match ended in a 9-9 draw.

So, five players will be debutantes. Kellee Booth, a 19-year-old former US Girls' champion, is a particularly interesting choice given that her mother, Jane Bastanchury Booth, was a member of the US teams in 1970, 1972 and 1974. Brenda Corrie-Kuehn (18) is the reigning US Women's Amateur champion, having emulated the great Joanne Carner by taking the title 12 months after capturing the national Girls' Junior crown.