The American, British and Irish flags fly in front of the lodge at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort earlier this week. All three flags will be raised and national anthems for the three countries performed at the opening ceremonies for the Curtis Cup on Friday. World Photo by Lou Sennick.

BANDON - After months of helping plan the Curtis Cup matches this week, Kathleen Pope can't wait for the event to get started.

That start comes Friday night in the opening ceremony, to be held in the original practice area between the ninth and 10th holes on the Bandon Dunes course.

“It's going to be awesome,” said Pope, one of the main Curtis Cup coordinators for the resort.

The ceremony, which is open to the public and starts at 6 p.m., will be short, but filled with pageantry.

“It's really very inspiring,” said Maggie Giesenhagen, the United States Golf Association director of the Curtis Cup.

The players and captains for both the United States and Great Britain & Ireland teams will be introduced during the ceremony, along with other dignitaries coming to the resort for the event. The pairings for the opening matches on Saturday will be announced.

But the highlight will be the flag-raising ceremony, when the Oregon National Guard Marching Band will play the national anthems for all three countries involved.

The pageantry will be highlighted by the setting, Giesenhagen said.

“You can see and hear the ocean,” she said.

The entire ceremony should take little more than half an hour. Among those expected to speak is Tom Doak, the architect for the Pacific Dunes course where the actual matches will be played.

The closing ceremony, sometime around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, will be held in the same location.

In between, the public is encouraged to come out to Pacific Dunes for the rounds on Saturday and Sunday. There is no fee for admission and fans will have a chance to get a close look at many of the finest female amateur golfers in the world.

Unlike PGA and LPGA events, where the entire area of play is roped off, only the tees and greens are roped off during the Curtis Cup.

“The spectators can follow right down the fairways with the groups,” Giesenhagen said. “I really think this would be a great opportunity for families to bring their children out. You couldn't ask for a better setting.