By Len Ziehm
WEST POINT, MISS. -- This week in golf isn’t all about the Ryder Cup. The LPGA Legends Tour will stage its premier team event, the ISPS Handa Cup, at the same time.
The Handa Cup isn’t as old as its male counterpart, but the U.S. teams in both are in precarious positions. The Handa Cup has been played every year since 2006. It’s not a biennial competition like the Ryder Cup, but like the Ryder Cup, the U.S. side dominated the competition early on. Now, however, it’s a different story.
After losing the first six meetings, the World Team managed a 24-24 tie in 2012 at Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla.
That wasn’t good enough to claim the cup, named after Japanese businessman and philanthropist Dr. Haruhisa Handa, but the World Team managed its breakthrough win last year, taking a 27-21 victory at The Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn.
That didn’t sit well with Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez, who was on the losing side as a player last year and will captain Team USA in this year's Handa Cup.
``My team is ready to win back the Handa Cup,’’ she said. ``We have a great team and we’re not going to let [the World Team] celebrate.’’
Sally Little, World Team Captain, isn’t so sure.
``It’s going to be a heckuva go,’’ said Little, of South Africa. ``Winning last year moved our team to the next level.’’
Like Lopez, Little is serving as captain for the first time. Sweden’s Pia Nilsson captained the winning European side last year, while Joanne Carner completed her second year directing the U.S. side. Kathy Whitworth handled those duties during the U.S. victory run from 2006 to 2011.
The captains aren’t the only thing that’s different this time.
Old Waverly, host of the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur, should be a more familiar venue for the U.S. players – especially Juli Inkster, who won the Women’s Open at Old Waverly. Inkster is making her Legends Tour debut at the Handa Cup concurrently with her Hall-of-Fame career on the LPGA. The Legends Tour is open to LPGA players who have reached their 45th birthday.
Joining Inkster on the 12-player U.S. team are Pat Bradley, Beth Daniel, Christa Johnson, Rosie Jones, Meg Mallon, Barb Mucha, Laurie Rinker, Nancy Scranton, Val Skinner, Sherri Steinhauer and Sherri Turner. Elaine Crosby is Team USA's co-captain.
The World Team features Helen Alfredsson, Jane Crafter, Laura Davies, Alicia Dibos, Wendy Doolan, Trish Johnson, Lorie Kane, Jenny Lidback, Liselotte Neumann, Allison Nicholas, Mieko Nomura and Jan Stephenson. Little’s co-captain is Canadian Dawn Coe-Jones.
Inkster is one of three U.S. players who weren’t part of last year’s team, the other two being Meg Mallon and Val Skinner. Australia's Doolan is the lone newcomer for the international side.
Tournament winners competing in the event are: Liselotte Neumann, who won the Walgreen’s Charity Classic; Rosie Jones, winner of the Wendy’s Charity Challenge; and Laurie Rinker, who won The Legends Championship. Trish Johnson also won the Ladies Scottish Open in August on the Ladies European Tour.
Players on both sides played practice rounds at Old Waverly on Thursday morning. The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Pro-Am will be held Friday afternoon.
Saturday’s team matches feature nine holes of alternate-shot competition in the morning, followed by a nine-hole, best-ball event Saturday afternoon. Sunday's competition will feature 12 singles matches. Singles pairings will be announced following Saturday’s play, with closing ceremonies to follow the conclusion of Sunday's singles.
)
)
)
)
