Captain Catriona will help integrity of Curtis Cup to get even better
Kathryn Imrie cannot wait to get the old gang back together as she prepares for her new role with the Curtis Cup team.
Imrie will be vice-captain to Catriona Matthew for the GB&I team at Sunningdale next year, just as she was for Matthew’s victorious Solheim Cup matches as captain of Europe in 2019 and 2021.
Traditionally, the captain of the Curtis Cup has always been an amateur, so The R&A have taken a bold decision.
But Matthew has a status and a CV few can match. A winner of the Curtis Cup as a player from her three appearances, a Solheim Cup winner as player and twice as captain, Women’s Open Champion and Amateur Champion.
And, according to her great friend, they could not have picked a better person for the role than the pride of North Berwick.
“With Catriona getting the job, they are taking the role in a new direction,” Imrie told The Sunday Post.
“But anything that promotes women’s golf, I’m all for.
“The integrity of the Curtis Cup goes up, and anything associated with Catriona has a better response. This just makes it better.
“People will see some negatives with the fact that she is not an amateur, but this is a good thing to get women’s golf in the spotlight.
“What’s more, The R&A wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t a good thing.
“If the girls weren’t already excited to try to make the team, there is now the added incentive of playing for Catriona.
“She’s done everything in the game, and there’s no better role model.
“The great thing about her as a captain is that she does not change. She is completely herself.
“She’s a really good person, and there’s a simplicity about her that is so endearing.
“People may be intimidated by her record, but not by her.
“Catriona has a very relaxed demeanour – but she’s very smart and calculating with her picks.
“Because she has done so many great things in her career, people take on board what she says, and want to do well for her.”
Imrie’s current role as a performance coach for Scottish Golf means she is working all the time with players who will be desperate to make the team next August.
And travelling to all the key amateur events will see her come across the leading players from the other Home Nations.
Meanwhile the other vicecaptain, former Women’s Open winner Karen Stupples, will keep an eye on players over at college in America.
GB&I have lost the last three Curtis Cup matches, including a 15.5-4.5 drubbing at Merion last June.
So with that in mind, Matthew’s appointment represents a sign of intent.
Imrie hopes the news means leading amateurs, who were contemplating turning pro, hold off on that decision for 18 months so they can sample the beauty of team golf, and play under a legend of the women’s game.
“When an event becomes lopsided, it’s worth trying a different track,” she said.
“The Solheim Cup has been going in our favour in the last few years, but I can remember when we were losing and there was talk of extending our pool of players.
“That’s sport. These things go in waves, so we can definitely turn things around.
“I know how good the Curtis Cup is and, with Catriona as captain, that may convince a player stay as an amateur for another year to make the team.
“That would certainly be my advice to any of the girls who are wondering about what to do.
“The more connections you can make as a young player, the better. You have to be like a sponge, and soak up as much information as possible.
“There is nothing like being in that team room, or a one-onone environment with someone Catriona.
“Beany and I have always been very competitive and, hopefully, those competitive juices get instilled in the people around us.”