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• Scottish Golf coach not concerned by Curtis Cup omissions
• Rick Valentine hails ‘really good improvements’ in women’s setup
• “It’s a shame no Scots are in the team,” said Gabrielle Macdonald

SCOTTISH GOLF | RICK VALENTINE | GABRIELLE MACDONALD

Scottish Golf’s national women’s competition coach Rick Valentine says he isn’t concerned at the fact no Scots were selected in this year’s Curtis Cup team and expects it to be a completely different story when the 2018 match comes around.

Five English players and three Irish players make up Aberdeen lawyer Elaine Farquharson-Black’s eight-strong squad for the match against USA at Dun Laoghaire next month and Valentine, who is also the Director of Golf at Loretto School in Musselburgh, admitted that this year’s match has come too soon for some of his Ladies Squad.

“I think we’re making really good improvements,” Valentine told bunkered.co.uk at a sponsorship announcement between Loretto and Scottish Golf, which will see the school continue their investment in Scottish Golf’s youngest age group national championship.

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“These things go in cycles. We’re seeing a lot of players move up the world rankings. Yes, we missed out on the Curtis Cup this year but looking towards the World and European Championships this summer, I’m very much expecting us to improve on what we’ve done the last few years and I think it’s only a matter of time before we get into that environment of players making those teams.”

Two Scots – Eilidh Briggs and Gemma Dryburgh – made it into the Curtis Cup for the 13-7 defeat against the USA at St Louis, and aspiring amateur Gabrielle Macdonald admitted that although it’s a shame there won’t be any Scottish representation at Dun Laoghaire, the ladies can take inspiration from the Scottish Men’s Squad, who have enjoyed both team and individual successes over the past year – with trio Ewen Ferguson, Grant Forrest and Jack McDonald making it into the 2015 Walker Cup squad after no Scots were selected two years earlier.

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2015 Walker Cup - Day Two

“This year’s Curtis Cup team was picked a lot on the world rankings so there would’ve been a few who might have had a chance of getting in but I think overall, it was to be expected,” she said. “It’s obviously a shame there are no Scots in the team but these things do go in cycles.

“There are a lot of good players in the men’s squad right now. I play at the same club as Grant right now so it’s good to be able to practice with him when he’s home and I think since amalgamation, we get a lot more chances to interact with the men and that should inspire us to achieve some of the success which they have had over the past couple of years.”

Curtis Cup :: Bounce back for 2018?

Do you agree that there is no need to be concerned and that success is just around the corner for members of Scottish Golf’s Ladies Squad? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

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