NCAA individual champion Rachel Heck is one of the first 3 players named to the 8-woman 2021 USA Curtis Cup Team. (Chris Keane/USGA)
The top three Americans in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® as of July 21 have earned places on the 2021 USA Curtis Cup Team.
They are:
Rose Zhang, 18, of Irvine, Calif. (first in WAGR);
Rachel Heck, 19, of Memphis, Tenn. (second in WAGR); and
Allisen Corpuz, 23, of Kapolei, Hawaii (12th in WAGR). The three will compete against Great Britain and Ireland in the 41st Curtis Cup Match on Aug. 26-28 at Conwy Golf Club in North Wales.
The remaining five players will be chosen by the USGA’s International Team Selection working group prior to the three-day international competition. The winners of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship (Aug. 2-8 at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.) and the 2021 McCormack Medal will also receive automatic selections, if American.
Sarah Ingram, a three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion (1991, 1993, 1994) and a member of three USA Curtis Cup Teams (1992, 1994 and 1996), will serve as captain of the USA Team. A Duke University graduate, Ingram was a two-time All-American and four-year letter winner for the Blue Devils from 1985-1988. Ingram, who was the low amateur in the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open, is a member of the Duke University Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame.
“The level of talent in the women's amateur game has never been stronger,” said Ingram. “Rose, Rachel and Allisen have all had unbelievably impressive years, with notable accomplishments at the junior, amateur and collegiate levels, and we're honored and fortunate to have them a part of the USA Team.”
The Curtis Cup Match is contested by two teams of eight female amateur players, one from the United States of America and one from Great Britain and Ireland, which is composed of England, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The USGA’s International Team Selection working group selects the USA Team, while The R&A selects the GB&I Team.
Player Profiles
Allisen Corpuz, 23, of Kapolei, Hawaii, is a recent University of Southern California graduate who has competed in 16 USGA championships, including three U.S. Women’s Opens. In 2008, Corpuz surpassed fellow Hawaii native Michelle Wie as the youngest qualifier in U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links history at 10 years, 3 months and 9 days. Last summer, Corpuz was the runner-up to Rachel Kuehn in the Women’s North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2, losing in 19 holes, and was a semifinalist in this year’s event earlier this month. Corpuz was named a first-team All-American by both Golfweek and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association and led a talented USC team with a 71.57 stroke average. She plans to compete in the first stage of LPGA Q-school in August.
Rachel Heck, 19, of Memphis, Tenn., is a rising sophomore at Stanford University who won the 2021 Annika Award as the top collegiate golfer. She became the third player in women’s college history to sweep conference (Pacific 12), regional (Stanford Regional) and national titles (NCAAs), joining USC's Annie Park and Arizona's Marisa Baena. At Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., Heck became the first Stanford woman to win an NCAA title, and the ninth freshman to achieve the feat. Heck's 69.72 scoring average over 25 rounds is the lowest in NCAA women's golf history. Last August, Heck was the stroke-play medalist in the U.S. Women’s Amateur before losing in the Round of 16. She also was a quarterfinalist in the 2020 North & South Women’s Amateur. Heck was a five-time AJGA All-American and a two-time USA Today Player of the Year. In 2017, she was the youngest competitor in the U.S. Women’s Open, tying for 33rd at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
Rose Zhang, 18, of Irvine, Calif., is the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, having defeated Gabriela Ruffels in a 38-hole final match last August in Maryland, and the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, having defeated Bailey Davis, 6 and 4, in Maryland earlier this month. She is currently No. 1 in the Women’s WAGR and won the 2020 McCormack Medal as the world’s leading amateur last September. Zhang has competed in four LPGA major championships, making the cut in three, including a T11 finish in the 2020 ANA Inspiration. She just competed in last week’s Amundi Evian Championship. She has represented the United States on both the Junior Solheim Cup and Junior Ryder Cup teams. In 2020, she won the Rolex Girls Junior Championship, the Ping Invitational and the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Zhang finished T3 at this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Courtesy of Julia Pine, USGA Communications
ABOUT THE
Officially named "The Women's
International Cup," the first Curtis Cup
wasn't officially held until 1932. The
biennial competition features the best
female players from the United States of
America pitted against a similar squad
from Great Britain and Ireland. While it
was hoped that many nations would
eventually join the Match, the Curtis Cup
has remained a two-sided competition.
View Complete Tournament Information