Golf:The Curtis Cup will return to Irish shores for the first time in 20 years after Dun Laoghaire GC was selected to host the biennial event between Great Britain & Ireland and the United States in 2016. Ireland's Stephanie Meadow clinched the trophy in Nairn yesterday, with GB&I reclaiming the title for the first time since 1996.
On that occasion the tournament was held in Killarney, the last time it was staged in Ireland.
“We are delighted that the next home Curtis Cup match will be held in Ireland in 2016,” Shona Malcolm, chief executive of the LGU said this morning. “Dun Laoghaire Golf Club submitted a very compelling bid for hosting the 2016 match. The quality of the course and top class facilities at Dun Laoghaire, coupled with the commitment and enthusiasm of the club’s team, convinced us that we were selecting a great venue.”
Dun Laoghaire, which counts Pádraig Harrington among its members, moved to a new facility at Ballyman Glen in the foothills of the Dublin mountains in 2007 with the Martin Hawtree-designed course, with three loops of nine holes, providing further testimony to the fine work that this particular architect is responsible for creating.
Described by Irish Timesgolf correspondent Philip Reid as "truly spectacular", the set-up at Ballyman Glen - with Djouce mountain, the Sugarloaf and the Little Sugarloaf affording wonderful vistas from the clubhouse and from just about everywhere on the course – was constructed to the very highest specifications and will provide a true test to both teams in four years time.
