The USA won the Curtis Cup after a historic performance by the college star
On Sunday, Los Angeles added a new Farah to walk with fame.
Her name was Farah O’Keefe, and she was making the long, arduous walk from the 17th green to greet her teammates after the best week of her life. And while he looked the formidable professional who had swept Great Britain and Ireland to a five-point lead and a dominant victory at Bel-Air Country Club, it was the fist pump after his putt on the 17th to win the trophy that told the story.
O’Keefe, a junior at the University of Texas and one of the best golfers in the world, led the Americans to victory in the 44th Curtis Cup – a biennial playoff competition that serves as women’s golf’s counter to the Walker Cup. All week, she looked like a freshman at the NCAA individual title and the US Women’s Open … and she’ll certainly waste little time on her way to the LPGA whenever her time in Texas is over.
“A lot of golf. I’ve played a lot of golf in the last month and a half. It’s really ridiculous, since the SECs,” O’Keefe said Saturday. “This is what I love to do, and this is my passion. Even though my body hurts and everything is starting to wear out, I still enjoy it, and I think I run on a little adrenaline.”
In the end, he finished 5-0-0, good for a top-billing American side that showed no shortage of young talent, including rookie star Asterisk Talley. O’Keefe’s Americans defended Saturday’s recent GB&I charge with a strong finish in the Sunday Singles, winning six of the last eight games to take a 13-7 victory and extend the American team’s long-standing dominance in the all-important final day format. As the Curtis Cup went to a three-day format, the Americans beat GB&I 46.5-23.5 in one session. The Americans have also won four of the last five cups.
“I think it was all about perspective,” Talley said. “You feel the adrenaline out there, so you don’t get too tired. But when you do, you’re just like, man, it’s always good to be out there with friends and family. I think it’s good to play golf every day for a living. You always have to put that in perspective. Not everybody gets to do that. You have to be thankful.”
In the end, there was much to be thankful for on the US side after the victory to bring the trophy back to American soil. Only the top two bills on the GB&I side, Sophia Fullbrook and Patience Rhodes, were able to deliver victory on the final day as the American wave entered Bel-Air, and as Farah O’Keefe was awarded as the undisputed winner of the tournament. The excitement reached the club room of the American team, which was still buzzing even as evening fell on Hollywood.
“I’m so tired in the month,” said Jasmine Woo, another American winner. “I don’t know how I feel right now.”
On Sunday night and for the next two years at least, the answer is clear: He can feel like a champion.
