'Europe's Ryder Cup heroes can inspire us': Huddersfield's Lily Hirst on Curtis Cup challenge
LILY HIRST was cooking tea at her family home in Huddersfield when the call came in that alters the course of her season and could potentially change the trajectory of her career.
It was from Catriona Matthew, the legendary captain of successful European Solheim Cup teams, and more appropriately for Hirst - the 23-year-old amateur golfer with bags of England experience - leader of this year’s Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team.
“I was in the kitchen and when her name popped up on my phone I was ‘oh my gosh, I have to stop everything I’m doing and pick this up straight away’”, remembers Hirst.
“I’d actually just come home from Germany.
"She’d been messaging me the last couple of tournaments, I didn’t really think much of it and then she texted me on the Monday of that week saying she was really impressed with my scores and she’d been watching.
“Then on the Wednesday evening she rung me with the news I’d been hoping for. It was such an emotional week.”
Matthew was calling to say Hirst was one of her captain’s picks for GB&I’s Curtis Cup match against the United States of America at Bel-Air Golf Club in Los Angeles on June 12-14.
It is the pinnacle of the amateur game and could open plenty of doors for Hirst as she looks to turn professional later this year.
Representing GB&I is something that has driven her since she watched Matthew’s team win the match at Sunningdale in September 2024.
“I was actually in Arizona at the time watching it on a dodgy box,” says Hirst. “Watching them win two years ago was the moment I thought ‘this could be a goal of mine’.”
By that stage she was coming to the end of four years in the American collegiate system, first in San Antonio and then at the University of Kansas.
Since graduating, a player who learned the game at Outlane Golf Club before moving to Huddersfield where she is still a member, has dedicated herself to the amateur game.
“I’m over the moon,” she says of the Curtis Cup call that was merited after a win and three other top-five finishes in the four individual tournaments leading up the captain’s picks.
“That was my main goal of the year. I knew I had to play pretty solid and consistent in the remaining events of the year and I’ve done that.
“What I’m most proud of is that I earned my spot as a captain’s pick, I’ve worked so hard for it and obviously it’s come true, my dream has become a reality.”
Now comes the challenge of trying to win the Curtis Cup, which behind enemy lines is no mean feat. The last time the GB&I team won on American soil was in Kansas 40 years ago.
“I think we can take inspiration from the European Ryder Cup team,” says Hirst of Luke Donald’s all-conquering heroes.
“That’s what I’ve been explaining to the non-golfers, it is like the Ryder Cup and to win away is very difficult.
“We’re the underdogs going into it and it’s just like the European team were. You gain confidence from those guys.”
And the vast experience captain Matthew brings to the team room is another advantage.
“I’m meeting her at a tournament at St Andrews this weekend, I already feel like she’s so approachable,” says Hirst.
“I’ve heard so many good stories about her, watched her interviews when she’s been at the Solheim Cup captaining. It’s cool to have someone with so much experience.
“It almost feels relaxing knowing you’ve got somebody who has been through that before.”
And despite her being a captain’s pick in the eight-strong GB&I, Hirst is eager to put her hand up to say she is ready to go to war for her captain and her country.
Having spent four years honing her skills on the US collegiate circuit, Hirst is right at home playing Stateside, so Bel-Air - even though it is new territory for her – does not daunt the Yorkshirewoman.
Hirst explains: “Being back home I’ve found it’s harder playing European courses than it is American courses.
“Because I’ve spent four years out there I know what to expect, I know what the grass is going to be like, I know what the weather is like.
“And I’m comfortable in the team environment.
"When you play for England you’ve got six other girls that you need to look out for as well.
“Playing with a partner that has your back and you have their back, I really enjoy that.
“You can’t let one bad hole define your round, you’ve got to keep fighting because you don’t know what your team-mates are doing.”
Win or lose, June’s Curtis Cup is a shop window for Hirst, who still hopes to turn professional by negotiating the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School in the autumn.
“This is such a good stepping stone for getting my name out there, finding sponsors and putting my name on the map,” she says.
“It shows I’m committed to it and I’ve worked so hard to achieve this goal that when I turn pro I won’t stop there.”