PHILIP REIDmeets the Maguire twins, the youngest players to represent Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup
Fate often has a strange calling card. Who knows? If a nine-year-old Lisa Maguire hadn’t broken her arm all of, what, six years ago; and if the medical specialist hadn’t advised taking up a sporting pursuit as part of the recuperation process, then she – and her twin sister Leona – may never have got consumed by what’s become their passion, a sport which has led them on a wonderful odyssey all the way to Essex Country Club here in Manchester-by-the-Sea, on the northern perimeters of Boston.
Who knows what would have lay in store for them this week? The Junior Cert, for one. English on Wednesday, Irish yesterday. Instead, Lisa and Leona – two prodigious talents who learned their craft amidst the drumlins of north Cavan and south Fermanagh – were swapping one type of examination for another and going about their business as usual on the eve of creating a slice of history.
Putting. Chipping. Driving. It is what they do brilliantly – pretty much bringing an A-Game to the course time and time again as results and championship titles confirm – and, today, the Co Cavan twins will add to their impressive CVs and make history as the youngest players to play on a Britain and Ireland team in the Curtis Cup. If there is a sense of history in the making, the two are taking in their stride; cool and calm as cucumbers, these two peas in a pod.
“This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and you just have to enjoy it while you get it, you’ve got to make the most of it,” said Leona yesterday, sitting side-by-side with Lisa in this elegant and old world clubhouse where the Curtis sisters, Harriett and Margaret, learned the game and who would later donate the famous trophy to be played for in a biennial match.
The Maguire twins – one quarter of the eight-strong B I team – are itching to get going, having arrived here over a week ago to acclimatise. One of the highlights of the time spent building up to the match was going on the original Duck Tour in Boston on Saturday – sightseeing on land and water – but, for the most part, it’s been about getting to know the course and, of course, team bonding.
“Our team spirit is quite strong, and I think everyone’s enjoyed the week so far. We’ve really bonded well and there was six out of the eight of us on the Vagliano Trophy team last year, so we know what it is like to play together as a team. It’s been just an amazing week so far and I’m sure the next few days will be no different,” said Leona.
When Mary McKenna, the captain of the team made her Curtis Cup debut in nearby Brae Burn Golf Club back in 1970, she was the only Irish player on the team and marshals answered the large contingent of Irish supporters as to her location on the course by remarking, “follow the crowds,” there were so many tracking her.
With Danielle McVeigh also in the team here, another large Irish contingent is anticipated and the two Maguires arrived here with a bagful of cards and messages of support. “It’s been great, before we left we got so many good luck cards, emails and messages and Boston is suppose to be the home of the Irish and I’d imagine we’ll have a few of them supporting us too,” said Leona.
Still, a small part of them wonders about how their friends are doing in the Junior Cert. “We were talking to some of the girls on Tuesday night and they were getting a bit jealous about us being over here and they were going in to sit their papers,” said Lisa, a student of Loreto College in Cavan, who accepted their mock exam results. “The school have been very supportive and wished us well,” she added.
Leona said: “It would have been nice to do them (the Junior Cert), but I think the Curtis Cup is just a chance you get once and you have to take it when you get it.” And, as Lisa added, “you only have one first-time Curtis Cup and you’ve got to make the most of it as well.”
These two girls are so alike in many ways, physically and in their shared determination to compete well, and yet have their own distinct personalities as evidenced by the friendships they’ve struck up in the team room.
Their focus on learning the course, as you’d expect, has been meticulous. “It’s not a typical American course. The greens are very undulating and you have got to be in the right place with your approach shots into the green,” said Leona, a veteran of Junior Solheim Cup matches in the States. “Yes,” agreed Lisa, “and we’ve figured out you can’t be behind any of those pins. On one of the days, I’d a putt 10 feet above the hole and it ran away off the green into a collar of rough. You have to take your medicine, and you’ve got to err slightly short if you are going to err any way.”
You can be sure the lesson was well and truly taken on board. After all, they’ve proven themselves to be “A” students pretty much every time they’ve stood on a golf course.
Curtis Cup lowdown
What is the Curtis Cup?
It’s the women’s equivalent of the men’s Walker Cup, pitting teams from Britain and Ireland against the United States in a biennial match. The cup is named after the Curtis sisters, Harriett and Margaret, who donated the Cup in 1927 – but the match didn’t officially begin until it was staged at Wentworth in 1932.
Who are favourites to win?
The United States have had a stranglehold on the competition since 1996, the last time Britain and Ireland won (at Killarney).
Since then, the USA has dominated – winning 10-8 (in 1998), 10-8 (2000), 11-7 (2002), 10-8 (2004), 11-6 (2006) and 13-7 (2008, when the number of matches was increased from the traditional 18 to 20 to include fourballs).
Where is it being played?
Essex County Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, opened in 1893 and was the first nine-hole lay-out in New England.
The famed architect Donald Ross arrived at the club in 1910 and conducted an extensive re-design of the course, but the third green was left untouched and remains the oldest continuously used green complex in the United States. The course is a Par 70 playing to 6,247 yards.
What’s the format?
The competition takes place over three days.
Today’s opening series of matches will see three foursomes in the morning session followed by three fourballs in the afternoon. Tomorrow’s programme will feature three fourballs in the morning, followed by three foursomes in the afternoon.
The final day’s play on Sunday features eight singles.
– PHILIP REID
