CURTIS CUP

June 13, 2026

Catriona Matthew

Davina Xanh

Patience Rhodes

Bel-Air Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: End of day two here at Bel Air Country Club, Great Britain & Ireland. Joined by Catriona, Davina, and Patience.

Catriona, I take it the most important thing was to win the afternoon session, and you did.

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Absolutely. We knew going out we had to win the session to give ourselves a chance tomorrow, and we've gone out there and done it. Two fantastic wins from these two.

Davina and Charlotte in that top match. I think Davina hit it to about three feet on 7 for eagle and then nearly holed it on 13. Charlotte hit a great shot on 10 into the par-3. So they played great.

Patience and Sophia have been playing well all week. To play all four matches is tough. It can be tiring. So to pull out that win this afternoon was really important.

THE MODERATOR: Does it give you any confidence going into singles tomorrow?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Absolutely. I think it was 7-5, if I recall, at Sunningdale. In the other, we were leading 7-5, and you saw how close it got there. Yeah, I think that win has definitely kind of buoyed us. We've got a bounce in our step now and giving us a chance tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Davina, for you, great to get a first win on the board, I'm assuming.

DAVINA XANH: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: How good did it feel to get that point?

DAVINA XANH: Really good. Charlotte and I were feeding off each other's energy very well. We had a good rhythm going.

THE MODERATOR: Patience, just one for you. We talked about the importance of leadership this week, and I think you've proved it with three wins. How good do you feel about your game and the way things are going?

PATIENCE RHODES: I feel pretty good. I wouldn't feel this good without the support of my team around me. I think it's great everyone's feeding off each other, and everyone's playing great, so we all have trust that everyone's going to try their best to get their win in singles.

Anything can happen, and we're pretty feisty out there, so yeah.

Q. Davina, can you just take us through the shot on 7. Did you guys ever -- did you practice from that tee? What was the discussion you had before ultimately picking driver?

PATIENCE RHODES: We did practice from that tee one time, and honestly like it's not something I would usually go for. Also seeing my opponent pull out driver first, even though it was me to go, it kind of gave me the confidence to really get after it, and Charlotte was very encouraging.

And it was a good number to the front of the green, which is what I was really aiming for. Yeah, and I hit it well. I couldn't really see where it went beyond that tree. So then hearing everyone cheer, you know you've hit a good one.

Q. Did you as a captain discuss strategy on that hole, or did you leave that up to the teams to dictate what they do based on the match?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: They'd all practiced off that tee. We talked a little bit about how we'd play that hole. There's a lot of room left, and it all kicks down. At the end of the day, we left it up to the individual player. Sometimes it's just how you feel in that tee, how you've been hitting.

I don't think you can really tell them one way or the other what to do. Sometimes as long as they've practiced it and know what to do, then it's up to them how they're feeling at that moment.

Q. Davina, I want to ask if you had to rate your shot on 7 versus your shot on 13, how do you compare those two? Which one were you more happy with the result?

DAVINA XANH: Probably the shot on 7. It's definitely one of the best of my career. I feel like I'll remember it forever.

Q. Patience, you were in the team room a couple years ago. You understand what it takes to get this thing across the finish line. Obviously a little bit different situation. What's the message you want to share with your teammates before you guys take the course tomorrow?

PATIENCE RHODES: That's a great question. I mean, let's just go out there. We have nothing to lose. We're a great team. We've got great support, great captains. So, yeah, we're just going to do our best and try to take them down.

They'll have lots of pressure on them. They haven't lost in like 40 years on their own soil. So we have nothing to lose. We're just going to go out there firing.

Q. You filled out a lot of these lineups before. Do you have a philosophy, or do you look at the way your players are playing and the setup to determine your lineup?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: I think you have to look at a few things. You know, what the position of the match is, perhaps a little bit how the players are playing. I think with only eight singles -- obviously in the Solheim you've got 12 singles. There's a little bit more leeway where you put people and perhaps a bit more strategy.

I think eight singles, we've got to win early, and we've got to, I would say, probably go out strong.