CURTIS CUP

June 11, 2026

Meghan Stasi

Kiara Romero

Asterisk Talley

Bel-Air Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the 44th Curtis Cup match at Bel Air Country Club. I'm joined by World No. 8 Asterisk Talley, USA team captain Meghan Stasi, and World No. 1 Kiara Romero. Asterisk and Kiara just finished up four rounds at the U.S. Women's Open this last week.

Asterisk, I'm going to start with you. 17 years old, your second Curtis Cup. What do you take from the first one, and what are you looking forward to this week?

ASTERISK TALLEY: Yeah, just trying to enjoy the moment. Taking everything seriously but still having fun at the end of the day. Just trying to enjoy the time with your teammates but still trying to play your best golf.

THE MODERATOR: Kiara, for your first one, what is the anticipation like, and what are you looking forward to this week?

KIARA ROMERO: I've been kind of looking forward to this for a long time. I think it's such a fun week and such a fun opportunity to play for something bigger than yourself and have teammates by your side. So it's going to be fun.

THE MODERATOR: Asterisk, coming off of a Women's Open, do you feel like that gives you some momentum?

ASTERISK TALLEY: Yeah, I think so, especially playing well the last couple days and just thinking that my game is in the right place right now and just hopefully I keep it rolling this week.

THE MODERATOR: Kiara, you knew some of these girls maybe a little better than others. Can you talk a little bit about the team dynamic so far?

KIARA ROMERO: Yeah, it's great. I feel like we all know each other from junior golf and then from college golf as well.

Yeah, it's just a tight family out there. We're going to be pushing each other. We're going to have a lot of fun out there. It's going to be good.

THE MODERATOR: Meghan, coming around the second time doing this, do you feel you have more experience? How does your approach change or stay the same?

MEGHAN STASI: Yeah, definitely more experience. It's been so much fun to get to know the girls throughout the last few years. This time around just going to soak it in a little bit more, just enjoy a little bit more every second that I can.

THE MODERATOR: You've made quite a few trips out to Bel Air. Talk about what makes this golf course so great for this event.

MEGHAN STASI: Watching the Am every round when it was here a few years ago, I just remember every single hole, every single shot the girls were hitting. It's just a memorable place, and I never got a chance to play it until last year.

So I've been able to play it a lot, and just looking forward to seeing the girls crush it this week.

THE MODERATOR: What memories stick out from your own Curtis Cup, and what do you kind of tell them in terms of soaking up the moment?

MEGHAN STASI: Yeah, just soaking it all in. It's an individual game, but this week is so different. You're playing for your team; you're playing for your country. Like Kiara said, we're pushing each other.

Q. You had a wonderfully unusual situation of playing so well in the U.S. Women's Open and then having to turn up here and play this. Did you do anything to just sort of reset and maybe take Monday off? It's not something people normally do coming into the Curtis Cup.

KIARA ROMERO: Yeah, I definitely took the day off on Monday and just kind of looked at the course, looked at the girls practicing out there, and just kind of see the vibe out here.

It's always going to be fun playing. So just trying to keep a good, positive mindset on it even though maybe we were a little bit tired. Yeah, I'm just really excited to start playing tomorrow.

ASTERISK TALLEY: I think definitely just trying to chill the first day when you get here, you kind of feel it out with the team and with the course out here. Just trying to reset a little bit on Monday and still try to keep it rolling still from the Women's Open.

Q. Just on the golf course, how much have you played here before this week?

KIARA ROMERO: I played the Women's Am a couple years ago, and then we also came for the practice session as well. I'm getting pretty familiar with this course, and I actually really like it. It's pretty out here. So it will be fun.

ASTERISK TALLEY: I only played during our practice session, so I only played a couple times before this week. I feel like we all know the course pretty well and we're pretty familiar. So I think it's going to be a good week.

Q. Asterisk, I'll start with you. As one of the veterans of this team, even at 17 years old, does that ever still feel weird to you when you have maybe players like Kiara and others asking for advice on how to play a Curtis Cup and you're still in high school?

ASTERISK TALLEY: Yeah, I think I don't really see myself as a veteran because I'm so young. I'm just trying to take from my own experience, and I guess we all kind of have some experience playing in team play, so we all know what we're doing. So I think, yeah, just trying to soak it all in for ourselves and kind of push each other and have some fun.

Q. Kiara, have you asked her any questions about maybe specifically what the Curtis Cup is like as a first timer, or who have you tried to lean on to see what tomorrow and the rest of the week is going to look like?

KIARA ROMERO: Not really, but I feel like I have a good experience with playing team golf with college golf and Palmer Cup and even back in junior golf with the Wyndham Cup. There's been a lot of experiences playing team golf and representing something else, so yeah.

Q. Meghan, you're one of the people who's been around Asterisk probably the most in the last few years as she's begin her rise. How much different is she from this Curtis Cup than what she was at Sunningdale and what impresses you the most about her doing all this at her age?

MEGHAN STASI: I guess you could go on and on. Taller (laughter). More mature, longer, stronger. It's just fun to have been able to watch her play the last couple years. She's just gotten to be a more all around better player.

Not that she wasn't a couple years ago, but it's just been an incredible experience to watch her play.

Q. Meghan, for a couple of your players -- you mentioned soaking in the moment, but for a couple of players, this be their last amateur event before they turn pro, and for a couple more this may be the last Curtis Cup they play in. Why is it so important they enjoy this time at Bel Air?

MEGHAN STASI: It's a family. I can't say it enough. I try to reiterate, even to the women, the past players playing today, I have a little sticker that I made. The number is 222. That's the only number of women that have played on the U.S. Curtis Cup team. It's such a small number, and I think it's really an honor, something to be proud of to represent the U.S.

Q. Do you have -- obviously getting proposed to at the Curtis Cup back in 2008, but like do you have any other moments that really stick out to you from your time as a player?

MEGHAN STASI: Well, mine was a little different. I was a little older. I turned 30 the first day, so on the Friday. I was definitely older, slightly more mature than I was playing in college. So I'm glad I had that experience as an older player.

Q. Kiara, as you take a look at the golf course and knowing you were here in 2023, are there key holes you guys are focused on or talking about in terms of approach or strategy?

KIARA ROMERO: Honestly, I would say throughout the whole course, you kind of want to have a specific game plan and just really commit to that game plan and stick with it. Honestly, I think that's sometimes more important than actually hitting the golf shot, just kind of committing to your shot and like knowing exactly what you want to do.

Q. Meghan, I know you can't reveal your lineup tomorrow, but did you have a plan coming in and then room to modify sort of who you might be putting together based on play this week?

MEGHAN STASI: Sure. Definitely had a game plan going in. It's a tough thing. There's eight players, and two have to sit out, so it's not an easy feat. The two that sit out are there to cheer everyone on, and want the best team out there that's going to represent us as strong as possible.

Q. Does the golf course factor in a lot or the recent play, obviously the incredible play of some of your players?

MEGHAN STASI: Definitely the golf course. The conditions are perfect. It's very lush out there, very green. Play has been unbelievable the last few weeks of a lot of players. So many of them are very similar. They're all leaders, but some of them are different type of leaders.

Yeah, it's going to be fun to pair them up.

Q. Kiara and Asterisk, I know this is your first time playing. Is there any extra motivation this week coming in to try to win back the Curtis Cup after what happened in England, maybe compared to what you felt in 2024, what you found out about this competition?

ASTERISK TALLEY: Yeah, definitely. I think just being back on home soil kind of gives us that little extra edge, especially because the Europeans haven't won on American soil in 40 years. So we don't want it to be the first time that they do that.

So it's going to give us that little extra motivation to be playing for something bigger than ourself and be playing for our teammates and not just for us.

KIARA ROMERO: I think it's always great like playing for something, like I said, bigger than yourself. Golf is such an individual sport sometimes, and you can kind of get a little too focused on yourself. To have that opportunity to represent your country and represent teammates and captain, it's just something bigger, and it means a lot more.

Q. How long has the time been for you, Meghan, since the last one? Has it seemingly taken forever to get back to this point, or has it gone by too quick?

MEGHAN STASI: A little bit of both. It took forever. All of a sudden, you're like it's going to be over before you know it. It's an honor to be here and to go through the last few days with the team and just be prepared for tomorrow.

Yeah, it really has flown by, though. That's why you got to soak it all in.