ARMORE, PA. – It’s difficult to look at this year’s U.S. Curtis Cup team and think there’s a problem with women’s golf in this country. After all, there are some potential world-beaters on this squad. Just look at world No. 1 Rose Zhang.
If recent history is any indication, however, only one or two players from the eight-player roster at Merion will go on to win on the LPGA. In the past 20 years, 11 out of 69 American Curtis Cup players have won on tour.
USGA CEO Mike Whan had a front-row seat to what the rest of the world has produced in women’s golf as LPGA commissioner. As he championed LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, which exploded under his tenure, only one American, Stacy Lewis, has been LPGA Rolex Player of the Year since the 1990s. Only three Americans – Nelly Korda, Cristie Kerr and Lewis – have been No. 1 since the Rolex Rankings debuted in 2006. The last American to win Rookie of the Year: Paula Creamer in 2005.
Not long after Whan took the helm at the USGA, he told Golfweek that it was “embarrassingly past time” for the United States to have a development program. After all, every other country has one.
“My mom said that’s the one thing holding Americans back,” said Emilia Migliaccio, whose Swedish mother was an elite amateur, playing on the same Arizona team as Annika Sorenstam.
At last week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, a pair of Swedish national coaches were on hand in North Carolina, looking after both the amateurs and professionals in the field. LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad phoned Patrik Jonsson the week before the event and asked for help with a caddie. Jonsson flew in a retired Sophia Gustafson, a five-time winner on the LPGA, to guide the promising young player. Lindblad tied for 11th.
The Swedish national team hosts camps in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the south of Spain during the fall and winter, where other European countries come together for competition. What started out as a program for juniors and amateurs has been expanded to include professionals.
There’s even housing for young pros to share in Arizona, a hub of sorts, with access to practice facilities and like-minded dreamers.
“It’s not a holiday apartment,” said Katarina Vangdal, who oversees both the men’s and women’s national programs for Sweden.
Pia Nilsson, co-founder of Vision54 and a former Swedish national coach, once told Golfweek that there’s so much golf knowledge available in the U.S. that young aspiring players don’t know how to access.
“When there’s too much competition and no sharing,” she said, “you’re not taking the full advantage of it.”
Whan recently hired Heather Daly Donofrio as the USGA’s Managing Director of the new developmental team for U.S. players – both men and women. A two-time LPGA winner, Daly Donofrio most recently served as Chief Tour Operations Officer for the LPGA.
“This is the best thing that could happen for junior golf in the U.S. right now,” said NYU men’s and women’s golf coach Katie Rudolph. “There’s not another initiative we need. We need to start to prepare our kids to get to the next level.”
Prior to NYU, Rudolph spent a decade as Chief Operating Officer for the First Tee of Metropolitan New York. She’s also the longtime private coach of Megha Ganne, who makes her Curtis Cup debut this week.
Ganne, who will be a freshman at Stanford this fall, said there’s no rallying support for American players at big events like there is for international players.
“The strength of the game is there,” said Ganne, “but the other teams have a united force. They have each other to lean on or a coach or an assistant, people telling them more information about the golf course and practice rounds. Even figuring out the basics like hotel rooms and where we’re going to eat that you’re always on your own for, which is harder than you think.”
While additional resources are key, particularly for those who have the raw talent but don’t have the financial means to put the rest of the puzzle together, there’s a human element there, too.
“Everyone wants to feel like they’re a part of something,” said Vangdal.
Anna Nordqvist, a three-time major champion, has worked with Jonsson since she was a teenager. They still come together to bounce ideas and break down stats. Nordqvist also likes to attend camps with young Swedes to pass down what she’s learned.
Migliaccio would like to believe that the culture on the LPGA among American players could become more cohesive week-to-week in the coming years. While she doesn’t have plans right now to turn professional, she has talked about this subject with Curtis Cup teammates Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck, who compete together at Stanford.
“I think when you get on a team, even if you’re someone who prefers to be by themselves, you realize how beneficial being on a team is, “said Migliaccio.
“We’re only uplifting each other. Rose and Rachel are so passionate about it. They want to make sure that when they’re the veterans on the LPGA, that a rookie can come up to them and feel OK with saying hello and asking for advice or playing a practice round.”
The idea of belonging to a national team doesn’t have to end after this week.
