CURTIS CUP

June 14, 2026

Catriona Matthew

Sophia Fullbrook

Patience Rhodes

Bel-Air Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Joined by the Great Britain & Ireland team after the final day at the Curtis Cup. Catriona Matthew, Patience Rhodes, and Sophia Fullbrook, who both achieved four points during a fantastic week for them.

Catriona, first, obviously disappointment, but out on the course today?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Obviously we're disappointed. You're always disappointed when you lose. We came here with high hopes wanting to retain the cup that we won at Sunningdale two years ago. They fought their hardest. Very proud of them. They did their best. Each and every one of them battled out there in every single match, and that's all you can do.

THE MODERATOR: GB&I were up in four, USA were up in four. It was in the balance.

CATRIONA MATTHEW: Just kept refreshing and refreshing my phone to follow the scores. I think just round about the turn, it looked like we were really going to do it. We were just pushing the right way, and then the momentum just started switching to the Americans on the back nine.

They did so well. We came in really as underdogs. Americans were highly ranked in the World Rankings, their team. So to push them so hard, it's just a shame the actual final score looks like that. It's so much closer than the final score actually shows.

THE MODERATOR: Sophia, how did you feel out there? Were you leaderboard watching, keeping an eye on it?

SOPHIA FULLBROOK: I tried to not do as much as possible, but when you come through on 10, there's a massive one there, and there's not much you can do to avoid it. I saw that we were up in a few games, so spirits were high. Obviously things happen and yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Patience, obviously defeat, but four points out of five, you must be really proud of your efforts?

PATIENCE RHODES: Yeah, all the matches were really close. I think everyone should be proud of themselves. Whether they got four points, three, two, everyone tried their hardest. Matches can go either way, even if you're playing amazing. So yeah.

Q. I know it's been a pretty rough year from your injury to coming back and then doing 4-1 this week. How proud are you of what you've been able to fight for this week and what you've been able to accomplish on the golf course?

PATIENCE RHODES: Yeah, it's crazy to think about four, five months ago. I was barely able to walk in so much pain, and now to be here with the team and play five rounds, I'm just really proud. Obviously getting my golf swing back, that was a bit scary. I didn't think I was going to be able to get it back.

I'm just so happy to be out playing golf again. There's a lot worse things going on in the world, so yeah.

Q. Sophia, I don't know if you knew in the match ahead of you Patience was 4-down at one point. How much was her flipping that match and turning it around, were you able to pay attention to that at all?

SOPHIA FULLBROOK: I kind of did. I thought I heard wrong on the par-3, and then I like looked through my rangefinder, and I was like, oh, no. I had trust in Patience.

The back nine is so tough. It can go either way. I think definitely making pars there is key, so yeah, I knew she could do it.

Q. Catriona, you've been through the highs of the Curtis Cup and now some of the lows in this competition. When you think back, what are some of your fondest memories of being captain of GB&I?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: I think getting to know the girls. We had so much fun with the girls. There were 13 of us, unlucky 13 maybe, in our kind of team. It really is getting to know them. We all had a great time, and they tried their hardest.

We gave it everything. We prepared well. They battled out there in every single match. As I said, all the matches were close, especially today coming up 17, 18. They really could have gone either way.

Q. Catriona, you got off to a pretty tough start at the start of singles. There was quite a lot of red on the board early. What does it say about the character of the team that they were able to get in position they showed later?

CATRIONA MATTHEW: I think it really shows the heart of the team. They really went out -- I keep saying it. They battled. Heads never went down. They're always trying to win the next and get back into the game. For that, they can be very proud.

Q. Sophia and Patience, just a lot maybe the rankings of the U.S. side and some of the names of that side, for you to claim four points this week, how much confidence does that give you?

PATIENCE RHODES: Yeah, it gives us a lot of confidence, but obviously match play is so different. It can go either way. Rankings out there didn't mean anything to me. I think that's a great mindset to have.

Yeah, obviously everyone playing this is a great golfer. It can go either way.

SOPHIA FULLBROOK: I completely agree. I think that's the fun of match play that rankings mean nothing. It's hole by hole, and it's great fun.