ND's Anderson to golf for Team USA in Curtis Cup

• Amy Anderson

Amy Anderson

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FARGO — Amy Anderson’s rise to prominence in the amateur golf world reached a new plateau this week.

The North Dakota State junior has been selected as one of eight golfers who will represent the United States in the 2012 Curtis Cup next June in Scotland.

“Everybody knows I love wearing green and gold, and (love) representing the Bison,” said Anderson, a 19-year-old from Oxbow, N.D. “But to be able to put on the Red, White and Blue, represent your country that so many people fought for, have died for — to be able to put on those colors and represent the U.S. is going to be huge.”

Anderson was picked with Duke junior Lindy Duncan, Louisiana State University sophomore and defending NCAA Division I champion Austin Ernst, UCLA junior Tiffany Lua and Alabama senior Brooke Pancake. Three more team members will be selected at a later date.

Bison coach Matt Johnson said Thursday that Anderson has been mentioning her desire to be part of the United States Curtis Cup team since 2009.

It was a high priority.

However, it wasn’t something Anderson had any control over.

The team is selected by the United States Golf Association, which sanctions the event.

“This is a huge honor,” Johnson said. “It’s the women’s amateur golf version of the Ryder Cup. It shows how far Amy has climbed in the world of golf. She is basically at the peak of amateur golf right now. It’s very exciting to see, and something we can all be very proud of here at North Dakota State.”

Anderson put herself on the national radar with several standout performances at NDSU, and several more in the summer during the last three years.

She earned the title at the 2009 U.S. Junior Girls Amateur, she won Summit League Golfer of the Year honors in her first two seasons with NDSU, she won the stroke-play qualifying round of the Women’s Western Golf Association Amateur Championship and she finished 63rd at the U.S. Women’s Open last year.

The U.S. Women’s Open finish might have been what catapulted Anderson onto the team.

“This accomplishment is a lifetime achievement award for an amateur,” Curtis Cup captain Pat Cornett said Thursday. “They can go on and be wonderful amateurs the rest of their careers or go on to professional golf. I think it’s the top accomplishment beyond winning a USGA event. It’s good for North Dakota.”

Anderson admitted that she will have to re-tool her game to play the traditional Scottish links course at The Nairn Golf Club.

A links course is usually on a coast with no water hazards and few trees.

The openness of links courses makes wind a major factor. But Anderson has dealt with wind before in North Dakota.

“There will definitely be shots that I have to learn for that (course) that I have never used before,” said Anderson, who will skip next year’s U.S. Open to play in an international tournament in the Czech Republic.

The Curtis Cup is a biennial international amateur golf competition consisting of six alternate-shot foursome matches, six four-ball matches and eight singles matches over three days.

The United States has won seven straight Curtis Cup championships, and leads the series 27-6-3 since 1932.

Anderson said several members of her family will make the trip to Scotland to watch her play.

“It’s blown my mind,” said Anderson, who admitted Thursday that she has never traveled out of the United States. “I didn’t expect this at all. I never expected to win the Junior Amateur, I never expected to lead the U.S. Open. I have been so blessed.”

Hotzler is a sports reporter for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

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