The Tasman Cup was an amateur women's team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand from 1933 to 2016. [1] From 2007 to 2012 it was played as part of the Trans Tasman Cup. [2] In 2016 the trophy was contested using scores from the two qualifying rounds of the Australian Women's Amateur.
The first contest was held at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne in 1933. It was played on 1 September, after the qualifying rounds of the Australian Women's Amateur but before the start of the match-play stage. [3] Four singles were played in the morning and two foursomes in the afternoon. Australia won 3 of the 4 singles matches but after lunch three of the five Australian players were unable to play in the foursomes because of illness, and they had to concede the second foursomes match. New Zealand won the foursomes match that was played and the match was tied at 3 matches each. The result was decided on holes won and, with the conceded match being scored as a 10&8 win, New Zealand won by 13 holes to 8. [4] The second contest was held at Titirangi in 1934, Australia winning all six matches. [5] It was not played in 1935 but returned in 1936 and was played annually until 1954, except for a long gap from 1939 to 1948 because of World War II. From 1936 the order of the matches was changed, with foursomes in the morning and singles in the afternoon. The 1936 the match was played in Adelaide the day after the final of the Australian Women's Amateur, which had involved two of the New Zealand team. [6] However, Australia regained the cup, winning a close match at the final hole. [7] New Zealand won the cup at Napier in 1937, taking three of the four singles matches, and retained it in Sydney in 1938, again winning three singles matches. [8] In 1938 match was, as in 1933, played after the qualifying rounds of the Australian Women's Amateur. [9]
The contest resumed at Invercargill in 1949 with Australia winning after taking both the foursomes matches. [10] The 1950 match in Brisbane was played between the quarter and semi-finals of the Australian Women's Amateur [11] with Betty Kernot as manager. [12] The match was a tie with each team winning a foursomes and two singles. The result was decided, as in 1933, on holes ahead in those three matches, Australia winning by 11 holes to 9. [13] At Auckland in 1951 New Zealand led after the foursomes but Australia won three of the four singles, to retain the cup. [14] The 1952 match in Melbourne resulted in a tie. New Zealand won both foursomes but Australia won three of the four singles. Both teams were a total of 9 holes ahead in their three wins, so there was also a tie on countback, Australia retaining the cup as defending champions. [15] There format was revised in 1953 with five singles matches being played instead of four. Australia retained the cup in 1953 and 1954 winning 5–2 and 6–1, winning all five singles matches in 1954. [16] [17]
In 1955 the New Zealand Ladies' Golf Union suggested that it became a biennial event and it was played on that basis from 1956. [18] The 1956 match at Ngamotu resulted in a tie. Unlike previous ties, the result was not decided on holes won. As in 1952 Australia retaining the cup as defending champions. [19] Australia won the 1958 match in Melbourne 7–0 and won again at Christchurch in 1960 by 5 matches to 1 with one match halved. [20] [21] The 1962 match in Adelaide was very close. With the score level at three matches each, the result was decided by the final match. Gail Corry won the last three holes against Pat Bull to win her match and give Australia the cup. [22]
From 1964 the match was extended to two days. In 1964 matches were extended to 36 holes with two foursomes on the first day and five single on the second. the teams were level after the first day but Australia won three of the five singles matches to retain the cup. [23] From 1966 matches were reduced to 18 holes with the number of matches increasing. Two sets of foursomes were played on the first with two set of singles on the second. There were two foursomes and four single matches in each set of matches. Australia led 3–1 after the foursomes but New Zealand tied the match after the morning singles. Australia won two of the afternoon singles and halved the other two, to win the match 7–5. [24] At Wellington in 1968 New Zealand won for the first time since 1938. They led 3–1 after the first day foursomes and extended the lead after the morning singles. The afternoon singles session was tied, New Zealand winning the cup by a score of 7½–4½. [25] Australia regained the cup at Pymble in 1970, by the same score. They led 6–2 after the second day morning singles and although New Zealand won the final session, Australia won by three points. [26] The 1972 match at Christchurch produced a close finish. Australia led narrowly after the foursomes and with both singles session level they won by a single point, 7½–4½. [27] In Adelaide in 1974, Australia had their biggest win at that time, winning 10–2. New Zealand halved two of the foursomes matches and won one of the eight singles. [28] The next match was played the following year, 1975. New Zealand led after the first day but Australia again dominates the singles and won the match 8–4. [29]
The format was changed in 1977 so that there were foursomes on both mornings and singles in the afternoon. Australian won 9½–2½. [30] The next match was played at Rotorua in 1978. Australian led 5–1 after the first day but New Zealand won five of the six matches on the second day to tie the contest. [31] The next match was played at Southport in 1981. Australia led 4½-1½ after the first day and won narrowly 6½-5½ after a New Zealand fightback. [32] Australia won more convincingly 8½-3½ at Russley in 1983 and won a one-sided match 11-1 in Melbourne in 1985. [33] [34] The Junior Tasman Cup was first played in 1983. [35] The 1987 contest in Wellington result in a tie. The teams were tied after the first day and still tied after the second. Australian won three of the afternoon four singles to tie the match. [36] There was another close match at Lake Karrinyup in 1989, Australia winning 6½-5½. [37]
From 1995 to 2003 the contest was extended, with three foursomes and six singles matches each day, returning to the earlier format in 2005. From 2007 to 2012 it was held as part of the Trans Tasman Cup, which also included men, boys and girls matches. It was played annually from 2007 to 2010 and finally in 2012. New Zealand won in 2007 and 2009, Australia winning in 2008, 2010 and 2012. [1] A final event was held in 2016 using scores from the two qualifying rounds of the Australian Women's Amateur, New Zealand winning by four strokes. [1]
Year | Venue | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1933 | Victoria Golf Club | New Zealand | 3 (13) | 3 (8) | Australia | [4] [38] |
1934 | Titirangi Golf Club | Australia | 6 | 0 | New Zealand | [5] |
1936 | Royal Adelaide Golf Club | Australia | 3½ | 2½ | New Zealand | [7] [39] |
1937 | Napier Golf Club | New Zealand | 4 | 2 | Australia | [8] [40] |
1938 | The Australian Golf Club | New Zealand | 4 | 2 | Australia | [9] [41] |
1949 | Invercargill Golf Club | Australia | 4 | 2 | New Zealand | [10] [42] |
1950 | Royal Queensland Golf Club | Australia | 3 (11) | 3 (9) | New Zealand | [13] [43] |
1951 | Auckland Golf Club | Australia | 3½ | 2½ | New Zealand | [14] [44] |
1952 | Kingston Heath Golf Club | Tied | 3 (9) | 3 (9) | [15] [45] | |
1953 | Wanganui Golf Club | Australia | 5 | 2 | New Zealand | [16] [46] |
1954 | Brisbane Golf Club | Australia | 6 | 1 | New Zealand | [17] [47] |
1956 | New Plymouth Golf Club | Tied | 3½ | 3½ | [19] [48] | |
1958 | Royal Melbourne Golf Club | Australia | 7 | 0 | New Zealand | [20] [49] |
1960 | Christchurch Golf Club | Australia | 5½ | 1½ | New Zealand | [21] [50] |
1962 | Glenelg Golf Club | Australia | 4 | 3 | New Zealand | [22] |
1964 | Manawatu Golf Club | Australia | 4 | 3 | New Zealand | [51] [23] |
1966 | Kingston Heath Golf Club | Australia | 7 | 5 | New Zealand | [52] [24] |
1968 | Wellington Golf Club | New Zealand | 7½ | 4½ | Australia | [25] |
1970 | Pymble Golf Club | Australia | 7½ | 4½ | New Zealand | [53] [26] |
1972 | Christchurch Golf Club | Australia | 6½ | 5½ | New Zealand | [54] [27] |
1974 | Kooyonga Golf Club | Australia | 10 | 2 | New Zealand | [28] |
1975 | Auckland Golf Club | Australia | 8 | 4 | New Zealand | [55] [29] |
1977 | Royal Perth Golf Club | Australia | 9½ | 2½ | New Zealand | [30] |
1978 | Rotorua Golf Club | Tied | 6 | 6 | [31] | |
1981 | Southport Golf Club | Australia | 6½ | 5½ | New Zealand | [32] |
1983 | Russley Golf Club | Australia | 8½ | 3½ | New Zealand | [56] [33] |
1985 | Victoria Golf Club | Australia | 11 | 1 | New Zealand | [34] |
1987 | Wellington Golf Club | Tied | 6 | 6 | [36] | |
1989 | Lake Karrinyup Golf Club | Australia | 6½ | 5½ | New Zealand | [57] [37] |
1991 | Mount Maunganui Golf Club | New Zealand | 6½ | 5½ | Australia | [58] |
1993 | Brisbane Golf Club | Australia | 9 | 3 | New Zealand | |
1995 | Waitikiri Golf Club | New Zealand | 10 | 8 | Australia | |
1997 | Royal Hobart Golf Club | Australia | 10½ | 7½ | New Zealand | |
1999 | Russley Golf Club | Australia | 10½ | 7½ | New Zealand | |
2001 | Victoria Golf Club | Australia | 14 | 4 | New Zealand | |
2003 | Royal Adelaide Golf Club | Australia | 16 | 2 | New Zealand | |
2005 | Titirangi Golf Club | New Zealand | 7 | 5 | Australia | |
2007 | Royal Canberra Golf Club | New Zealand | 6½ | 5½ | Australia | [59] |
2008 | Royal Wellington Golf Club | Australia | 7 | 3 | New Zealand | |
2009 | Royal Canberra Golf Club | New Zealand | 7 | 5 | Australia | [60] |
2010 | Royal Wellington Golf Club | Australia | 9½ | 2½ | New Zealand | [61] |
2012 | Peninsula Golf Club | Australia | 10 | 2 | New Zealand | [62] [63] |
2016 | Metropolitan Golf Club & Peninsula Kingswood CGC | New Zealand | 458 | 462 | Australia |
A number of matches were scored on the basis of two points for a win and one point each for a halved match. For consistency, with the exception of 2016, matches in the table above are scored as one point for a win and half a point each for a halved match.
The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and "Great Britain and Ireland". The same two teams originally contested the Ryder Cup, but unlike that competition, the Curtis Cup has not widened the Great Britain and Ireland team to include all Europeans. Many women who have gone on to become stars of women's professional golf have played in the Curtis Cup.
Margaret Ann Masters was an Australian professional golfer. She won one title on the LPGA Tour in 1967, having been named Rookie of the Year two years earlier.
The Trans Tasman Cup was an amateur team golf event played between Australia and New Zealand. It was played annually from 2007 to 2010 and finally in 2012. It was made up of four different contests: men, women, boys and girls. Each of the four contests had been held previously, but these events were the first time they had been held together with an overall winner. The overall result was determined by the combined score from all four contests. It was held by Golf Australia and New Zealand Golf. Australia won all five events.
Barbara Amy Bridget Jackson is an English amateur golfer. She won the 1954 Girls Amateur Championship, the 1956 English Women's Amateur Championship and the 1967 Canadian Women's Amateur. She played in three Curtis Cup matches, 1958, 1964 and 1968.
The Australian Women's Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It was first played in 1894 and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, it became a 72-hole stroke play event in 2021, having last been played as a stroke play event in 1927.
The Kirk-Windeyer Cup was an amateur team golf tournament, played between New Zealand and individual states of Australia. It was played annually from 1927 to 1930, then in 1932 and, finally, in 1934. New Zealand and New South Wales played in all six contests but the other states only entered occasionally. New Zealand and New South Wales each won the event three times.
The Sloan Morpeth Trophy was an amateur team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand. It was contested irregularly from 1947 to 2016. The trophy was presented by Sloan Morpeth in 1956. From 1993 to 2005 the two countries played each other as part of the Four Nations Team Championship, a competition which also involved Canada and Japan, while from 2007 to 2012 it was played as part of the Trans Tasman Cup. In 2016 the trophy was contested using scores from the two qualifying rounds of the Australian Amateur.
Veronica Anstey was an English amateur golfer. She played in the 1956 Curtis Cup. A car accident curtailed her playing career.
The Australian Women's Interstate Teams Matches were an amateur team golf competition for women between the states of Australia. From 1933 it was contested for the Gladys Hay Memorial Cup.
Janette Sneddon Wright is a Scottish amateur golfer. She won the Scottish Women's Amateur Championship in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1973. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1954, 1956, 1958 and 1960.
Angela, Lady Bonallack was an English amateur golfer. She was twice a finalist in the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship and won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1958 and 1963. She played in six successive Curtis Cup matches from 1956 to 1966. She was married to Michael Bonallack.
Diane Jane Bailey was an English amateur golfer. She had considerable success as a junior winning the 1961 Girls Amateur Championship and the British girls stroke-play title in 1959 and 1961. She played in the 1962 Curtis Cup team before retiring from competitive golf. She made a return in the late 1960s and played in the 1972 Curtis Cup. Later she captained the team, in 1984, 1986 and 1988.
Julie Pauline Hall is an English golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship twice, in 1990 and 1995, and the English Women's Amateur Championship three times. She played in five Curtis Cup matches from 1988 to 1996. She turned professional in 2011 to follow a career in golf tuition.
Elizabeth Price was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1959 and twice a losing finalist. She was three times runner-up in the English Women's Amateur Championship and won the Spalding Women's Open Stroke Play twice. She played in six successive Curtis Cup matches from 1950 to 1960.
Ruth Porter was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career which included winning the 1956 Girls Amateur Championship and the 1958 British Girls' Stroke-play Championship. She won the English Women's Amateur Championship three times between 1959 and 1965, and played in the Curtis Cup in 1960, 1962 and 1964.
Sally Barber is an English amateur golfer. She won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1978 and was twice a runner-up. She won the German women's championship in 1958 and played in the 1962 Curtis Cup. She is the sister of Michael Bonallack.
Ada Mona MacLeod was an Australian amateur golfer. She won the Australian Women's Amateur in 1921, 1926, 1927 and 1932 and won the Victorian Women's Amateur Championship five times between 1925 and 1933.
Dorothea Train Sommerville was a Scottish amateur golfer. She won the 1958 Scottish Women's Amateur Championship and was a member of the 1958 Curtis Cup team.
Phyllis Helen Wylie was an English amateur golfer. She won the 1934 English Women's Amateur Championship and played in the 1938 Curtis Cup.
Edith Betty Kernot was an Australian golfer. She was twice the Australian national women's amateur golf champion, in 1937 and 1938.