St. Louis’ best will be leading America’s finest at St. Louis Country Club in 2014 when the United States Golf Association brings the biennial competition between female amateur teams from the USA and Great Britain and Ireland.

Ellen Port, a five-time USGA Champion will captain the 2014 Curtis Cup Team in the 38th playing of the Matches. “Ellen is one of the great USGA amateur champions of the modern era,” said Dot Paluck, chairman of the USGA Women’s Committee. “She has well represented the United States in past Curtis Cup Matches, and we are proud to have her as captain of the 2014 Team.”

Port won the 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2011 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs and the 2012 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. She is one of two women to win both championships, joining renowned career amateur and two-time USA Curtis Cup Captain Carole Semple Thompson, and the 11-year span between her third and fourth Women’s Mid-Amateur victories is a championship record. She was runner-up at the 2002 Women’s Mid-Amateur, and is a record four-time Women’s Mid-Amateur stroke-play medalist (2000, 2001, 2002, 2010). Port has 58 Women’s Mid-Amateur match victories, the most in championship history, and has also competed in the U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and USGA Women’s State Team championships.

Port is an eight-time Missouri Women’s Amateur champion, most recently in 2012, the most in championship history. She is a 12-time St. Louis Women’s Metropolitan Amateur Champion, most recently in 2010, and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Port also won the 1994 Women’s TRANS National Golf Association Amateur Championship.

Port will be following the path of another legendary amateur from St. Louis, Jim Holtgrieve. It’s not everyday two amateurs from the same city will be leading the countries top amateur teams in International competition. Holtgrieve will be representing the United States in 2013 in his second stint as Walker Cup Captain.

Great Britain and Ireland won the most recent playing of the Curtis Cup Match, capturing five Sunday singles matches to take a 10.5 to 9.5 victory in 2012 at The Nairn Golf Club in Nairn, Scotland. It was GB&I’s first title since 1996 and seventh in Match history. The USA now holds an overall 27-7-3 record.

The 2014 Curtis Cup Captain will be a guest on The Back Nine Radio Show with Dustin Ashby and Dr. Tobin Lingafelter at 9am CST on 101.1 ESPN (www.101sports.com).

(Photo – USGA President Glen Nager)

Listen to USGA Vice President – Tom O’Toole on The Back Nine Radio Show

The United States Golf Association is making a change effective 2015 to their annual championship schedule. USGA Vice President and Championship Committee Chairman, Tom O’Toole Jr. alongside John Bodenhamer, Managing Director of Rules, Competitions and Equipment Standards appeared on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive to announce the introduction of a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Championships will be contested for both Men and Women with the handicap requirement for the Men established at 5.4 and 14.4 for the Women. Two-Player teams will qualify at various Sectional Qualifying sites throughout the country to determine a field size of 128 Men’s teams and 64 Women’s teams. The low 32 teams in both the Men’s and Women’s championships will advance to Match Play after 36 holes of Stroke Play Qualifying at the National Championship.

Also unique for the USGA will be the timing of when the Four-Ball Championships will be conducted. John Bodenhamer commented on Golf Channel, “The plan is to conduct the championships in the spring, anywhere from late March to late May. “We’re excited to expand our championship calendar into the spring season which we think will appeal to a new demographic of players.”

If hosted in the period of late March until late May, the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship will likely discourage the top collegiate players from participating. The NCAA has strict rules around players competing for teams, other than their college program, during the competitive golf season. A recent trend at the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links has been the influx of top college players dominating the field. True lifelong amateur golfers quickly became the minority in these two USGA National Champinoships.

Regional Amateur Associations across the country have experienced success in hosting Four-Ball Championships. The Missouri Golf Association has hosted a Four-Ball Championship since 1989. Interestingly enough, current Walker Cup Captain, Jim Holtgrieve and Bridgestone Golf Representative Jim Mason captured the title at Bogey Hills Country Club. Holtgrieve and Mason would repeat as champions in 1990 when the competition was hosted in Springfield, MO at Hickory Hills Country Club. University of Missouri’s Jace Long and Nick Wilson teamed together to win the 2012 MGA Four-Ball Championship at Silo Ridge.