These generous donors protected Walker and Curtis Cups’ futures

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Over the course of the histories of the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup Matches – biennial team events founded in 1922 and 1932, respectively – there are countless moments and triumphs that evoke the special nature of each event. But there’s one in particular that comes to mind for 77-year-old Carol Semple Thompson, whose illustrious amateur career includes a staggering 122 USGA championship starts.

Twenty-four years ago, in 2002, Thompson was competing in what turned out to be her 12th and final Curtis Cup, which pits the top female amateurs from the United States against their counterparts from Great Britain & Ireland – just as the Walker Cup does on the male side. The match was held in Thompson’s home state of Pennsylvania, at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, a mere 13 miles from where she grew up in Sewickley.

Then 53 years old, Thompson played in the second match out in Sunday afternoon singles. The USA Team held an 8-4 lead heading into the final session. But in match play, anything can happen, and GB&I claimed the first two points of the afternoon. Thompson’s opponent was 21-year-old Vikki Laing of Scotland. The two arrived tied on the 18th green, where Thompson faced one of the most consequential putts of her storied golf life: a 27-foot birdie putt for the win.

What happened next was an appropriate cap to Thompson’s World Golf Hall of Fame legacy. With a packed hometown gallery watching, she drained the putt to secure a record 18th Curtis Cup match victory for herself and clinch the overall match for the USA – a landmark moment for not only Thompson, but the Cup itself.

“That was definitely an out-of-body experience,” Thompson recalls nearly a quarter-century later. “With that putt, I was able to make sure that we had halved the overall match. And then we went ahead and won it outright, but it was a big deal because I just never expected to make a long putt like that on the 18th green in my hometown.”

Over the decades – and through various match formats – the Walker and Curtis Cups have served to highlight the raw emotions of golf competition in its purest form. The USGA’s mission includes supporting these historic amateur match-play events, which are contested every other year, in addition to the 15 championships it conducts annually. But unlike major championships such as the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally, the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup are smaller-scale events that generate little or no revenue. With the aim of combatting the significant expenses involved in staging the Cups, the USGA outlined a bold proposition to protect their futures: endowment.

In 2023, the USGA launched an initiative to raise $20 million from a select group of donors, and pledged to fully match those gifts. That financial base would secure the Cups’ futures in perpetuity. These initial donors are referred to as the Keepers of the Cups.

“We’re a mission-driven organization that raises money through a variety of ways, but we had never really thought about it this way before,” says Chris Fraser, the USGA’s chief philanthropy officer. “We weren’t sure what kind of reception we were going to get, but the message resonated even more than we had expected.”

The initial goal was to secure 20 donors within five years, but it only took 18 months. And the generosity has continued to flow. The Keepers of the Cups all understand and deeply appreciate the sportsmanship and international fellowship fostered by these historic competitions, and the critical importance of securing their future funding.

“My wife, Susan, and I have always been interested in supporting amateur golf,” says George Wyper, of Darien, Conn. “Within the game of golf, there is no higher ideal. Locally, we have always supported caddie programs, but as we aged, we looked more to support the development of players. In our minds, the key characteristics of golf – integrity, competitive focus, strong character – are lifelong attributes to success. We have supported the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup as epitomizing the finest examples of what young golfers can aspire to.”

Fellow Keeper Thomas Laffont, of Santa Monica, Calif., agrees.

“In a world where the economics of golf are being transformed, where we read about how much money the top players are making, the Walker Cup is kind of the opposite of that,” he says. “It’s about amateur golf and competition. It’s about country, not the individual. It’s about honoring the history of the game.”

As valued stewards, the Keepers of the Cups are welcomed to be an integral part of the Matches themselves. The Walker Cup and Curtis Cup are intimate by design. The venues are carefully selected, Top-100 world mainstays like Seminole, Merion, Pine Valley and the National Golf Links of America, to name a few. And unlike a major championship, you won’t find extensive gallery ropes or numerous restricted areas. The on-course action is refreshingly accessible. Keepers enjoy a VIP-level experience, complete with special events and opportunities to meet the players and team captains.

While the various benefits are abundant and appreciated, the Keepers are quick to point out that the real joy of their giving lies in supporting the game they love and taking part in the USGA’s mission to protect and preserve it.

“As a Keeper of the Cups, I chose to make a personally significant contribution because it was a way to make a legacy-type endowment,” says Robert Whittenberger, of Pipersville, Pa. “I have long been an emotional supporter of amateur golf and national team events. Formally supporting them is a way for me to make a material financial contribution. I see this donation as something of which my son would be proud once he is old enough to understand.”

Keepers Sanjay and Julie Meshri, of Tulsa, Okla., took up golf as adults and attended their first Walker Cup at St. Andrews in 2023. The more they learned about the history of the Cups, the more interested they were in helping to preserve their legacies.

“We had such an amazing time, just getting to walk close to the players and seeing how incredibly skilled they are,” Sanjay says. “You just don’t get that close in other tournaments. It’s really good to feel like a long-term steward of the game.”

Another unexpected bonus for the Keepers: newfound friendships across the globe.

“We’re making friends from clubs in Great Britain and Ireland. Just watching how everyone treats each other is wonderful,” Sanjay says. “It’s been an amazing experience, and we didn’t have expectations other than we just wanted to support it.”

Many Keepers emphasize the satisfaction they feel in joining with others who share their values.

“Being a major gift donor to the USGA Foundation puts you in an exceptional group of people,” says Whittenberger. “Major gift donors all love the game of golf, have the resources to make a major gift and have a generous and charitable orientation that is uncommon. I’m proud to be a member.”

Both the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup are named for their founders: former USGA president George Herbert Walker, grandfather and eponym of President George H. W. Bush and great-grandfather of President George W. Bush; and sisters Harriot and Margaret Curtis, who combined to win four U.S. Women’s Amateurs and were lifelong philanthropists.

Walker Stapleton and Curt Curtis are among the living relatives of these founders, and in the case of Curtis, the last remaining. As Keepers and staunch supporters of the amateur game, they take the Cups’ legacies seriously.

“I have the distinction of being absolutely the worst golfer of all the Curtises,” Curtis says with a laugh. “But I am a major supporter of amateur sports, so when I heard about the Keepers of the Cups, I just thought it was a terrific idea, and a no-brainer for me.”

“I thought it made a ton of sense to both be supportive of amateur golf and do something that would give the USGA the financial stability to run these competitions to the best of their ability and with the greatest amount of success, and not to worry about variability of costs,” said Stapleton.

A recurring motivating theme shared by the Keepers is the idea of golf as a lifelong pursuit, with the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup exemplifying the foundation of that ideal.

“The first President Bush (41) used golf in a lot of the diplomacy he conducted in Maine, specifically at Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport,” Stapleton says. “And President Bush (43) still spends most of the summer in Maine, and you can find him multiple times a week at Cape Arundel. That’s kind of our family course, and through generations of family members, it’s really brought people together.

“I think the underlying philosophy is that golf starts with the amateur game, with introducing kids at the earliest possible age and exposing them to all the great lessons that golf teaches, from patience to dealing with frustration, to perseverance and tenacity,” he continues. “Those are the irreplaceable values that are required to have a successful round of golf. I think the great mission of the USGA is to spread the game as far as possible and be as inclusive as possible, because that will ensure that the game is in great shape for generations to come. This effort from the Keepers of the Cups is an important first step in creating an endowment structure to support the preeminent amateur events in the game.”

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There are no outsized purses on the line for the Curtis and Walker Cups – just the pure, unadulterated glory of partnered and head-to-head match play, and the natural camaraderie that blossoms therein. Competitors over the years have included nearly every star you can imagine before they turned professional, from Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler on the men’s side to Nancy Lopez, Juli Inkster, Michelle Wie West and Lexi Thompson on the women’s.

There is perhaps no more ringing endorsement for the preservation of the Cups than the testimonies from those who have competed. For Carol Semple Thompson, the Curtis Cup and Walker Cup have meaning that goes far deeper than the competition itself.

“I think that amateur status in general is under attack,” she says. “There are so many changes going on with the NIL and college golf, and the college players don’t think about amateur golf anymore. They’re all headed toward trying to make a living playing golf. Being an amateur means playing for the love of the game rather than the love of making money at it, and I’m afraid we’re going to lose that completely in the future. So that makes these two teams even more important.”

Stewart Hagestad has played on five USA Walker Cup Teams and is one of the increasingly rare few who resisted the lure of professional golf. He retains a deep appreciation for the generosity of the donors who enable amateur golf to continue to thrive.

“A lot of the people who are involved in the Walker Cup have become really close friends and mentors who I look up to in a lot of ways because we have this amazing shared love and passion and appreciation for all things golf,” says Hagestad, 35, a three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. “So the fact that all of these different folks have the desire, and have written the check, to be part of the Keepers of the Cups is pretty remarkable.”

Like Hagestad, 48-year-old Meghan Stasi is a lifelong amateur, and she shares the USGA record of four U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur championship titles with Ellen Port. Stasi competed on the 2008 USA Curtis Cup Team and served as captain for the second time in this year’s Curtis Cup at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, a memorable victory for the USA. It’s difficult to overstate the meaning and prestige associated with being named to a Curtis Cup Team.

“There are only eight players on the team, so it’s an extremely hard team to make,” she says. “There are only 222 players that ever have played on the USA Curtis Cup Team. So to know that you’re part of that history is just so special, and I don’t think any player should ever take that for granted.

“It’s the most incredible experience,” she continued. “Golf is a one-person game, but this week, you’re playing for your team, you’re playing for your country, and nothing gets better than that.”

Another cherished aspect of the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup is the chance to witness the ascendant talent of players who are perhaps not yet household names.

“It’s history in the making,” says Stasi. “And it’s having the opportunity to meet the best players in the world at an amateur level.”

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As a nonprofit, every dollar the USGA generates is reinvested into its initiatives. Television rights, ticket sales and corporate sponsorships for major championships like the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open account for the overwhelming majority of the USGA’s revenue, but funds generated from the USGA Foundation and Members Program are also an important aspect of the USGA’s financial outlook. In addition to conducting national championships, there are numerous other worthy endeavors the USGA supports, from the recently launched U.S. National Development Program (USNDP) and Pathways internship program to long-standing partnerships with First Tee and LPGA/USGA Girls Golf – not to mention its work in agronomy, sustainability, governance, handicapping and more.

While there are already existing endowment opportunities on a smaller scale for programs within the USNDP and Pathways internships (formal, immersive employment experiences devoted to the development of hard skills, mentorship and leadership training for young people interested in working in golf and other sports), the hope is for those programs to one day be fully endowed, too. In the competitive events realm, the success of the Keepers of the Cups endowment model has prompted the question: Can it work for other championships? It is certainly under consideration, with more details to come. Future endowment initiatives could potentially target championships like the U.S. Adaptive Open, which launched in 2022, or the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur.

“The Keeper program wasn’t just about fundraising for the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup or the USGA,” says Laffont. “It was also a reminder of why we’re into golf in the first place: the camaraderie, the friendships. I hope that it’s something that we can continue to do in other venues. There are all these interesting championships that live under the USGA umbrella that deserve to be recognized and are reminders to all of us of why we love the game so much.”

Ultimately, the Keepers of the Cups initiative has been a valuable proof of concept for the USGA.

“The Keepers have blazed a trail that we believe is going to ultimately allow us not only to protect the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup going forward, but to do so much other good for the game,” Fraser says. “They were willing to step forward in a very meaningful way. They’ve shown us what’s possible.”

Thanks to the generosity of these 31 trail-blazing Keepers of the Cup, both the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup’s longstanding mission – facilitating camaraderie, goodwill, understanding and friendly rivalry through the game of golf – will continue to be amplified for generations to come.