Seul-Ki Park, PGA (Winchester CC) qualifies for inaugural United States Women’s PGA Cup Team
Source: PGA of America
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (August 29, 2019) – The United States Team has been determined that will compete in the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup – a first-of-its-kind team competition for women PGA Members from around the world. The international showcase event is Oct. 22-26, at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, in Austin, Texas.
The U.S. Team was determined following a two-year points system that concluded Tuesday with the 2019 LPGA Teaching and Club Professional National Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Earning team berths were: Joanna Coe of Lutherville Timonium, Maryland; Ashley Grier of Springfield, Pennsylvania; Seul-Ki Park of Winchester, Massachusetts; Alison Curdt of Reseda, California; and Brittany Kelly of Indianapolis, Indiana.
They will be part of a field featuring five PGA governing bodies: Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, Sweden and the United States. The Women’s PGA Cup is conducted as a 54-hole, stroke-play event, with each team’s lowest three scores counted after each round. The winning country will be the team with the lowest 54-hole aggregate total.
“I am excited to see our team finalized and can now prepare for the wonderful opportunity that lies ahead in the first Women’s PGA Cup,” said U.S. Team Captain Suzy Whaley, the president of the PGA of America. “It is my honor to serve as captain and to have a talented team representing their respective PGA Sections and home facilities. We anticipate a great week of golf and a rare chance to build friendships with PGA Professionals from around the world.”
Whaley is a PGA and LPGA Member, a PGA Master Professional and the PGA Director of Instruction at The Country Club of Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She also is the PGA Director of Instruction for Suzy Whaley Golf in Palm Beach Gardens.
Coe is the reigning PGA Women’s Stroke Play Champion, and a PGA Assistant Professional at Baltimore Country Club, while Ashley Grier is a PGA Assistant Professional at Overbrook Golf Club in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Coe and Grier tied for 51st and 71st respectively, in last May’s PGA Professional Championship. Park is a PGA Assistant Professional at Winchester (Massachusetts) Country Club. Curdt is a PGA/LPGA Master Professional, the PGA Director of Instruction at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, California, and national vice president of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals Division. Kelly, a PGA Assistant Professional at Woodland Country Club in Carmel, Indiana, clinched her spot on the team by finishing tied for 12th in this week’s LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals National Championship.
Each national team in the Women’s PGA Cup will be composed of five players and one Captain, who also may be a playing or non-playing captain at the option of the respective country.
The Women’s PGA Cup does not include a purse. Rather, each team will vie for the honor of winning the Cup, and bask in the pride that comes with representing one’s country in a distinct and unique international competition.
Those eligible to represent their country in the Women’s PGA Cup must be Members in good standing with their respective Professional Golfers Association (PGA). They must also be active in the game, be it as a teacher, coach or working as Club Professional/Assistant. Tour professionals who primarily compete for a living are not eligible to participate.