Dowling named Curtis cup captain

Ireland's Claire Dowling has been confirmed as captain of the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team for the match against the United States at Ganton near Scarborough on June 24-25 next year.

The 41-year-old, formerly Claire Hourihane, has won four caps, including the 1986 match in which the Americans were beaten on home soil for the first time.

``The Curtis Cup has always been the pinnacle for every amateur golfer and the same applies to the captaincy - I'm absolutely delighted to have been invited,'' she said.

Dowling is a member of the same Copt Heath club in Birmingham as Walker Cup captain Peter McEvoy. She gets her first taste of the captaincy when she leads the team against the Continent of Europe in the Vagliano Trophy at North Berwick on July 23-24.

America won back the Curtis Cup last year, but it was only their third success since 1984

TRW