2015 The Solheim Cup
Golf Club St. Leon Rot, Germany
Wednesday Pre-Tournament Notes
September 16, 2015
The Solheim Cup has featured its share of challenging weather over the years and Wednesday at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany was no different.
With rain falling throughout the day - heavy at times - and cooler temperatures, it made for some less than ideal practice conditions for both the European Team and Team USA. Still the two squads were both out on the golf course, weathering the conditions, and getting plenty of opportunities to get a feel for how things likely will play when they tee it up for the first set of matches on Friday morning.
“Obviously it’s nicer to play in sunshine, but everyone has still got a smile on their face and had a good time playing today,” said Team Europe Captain Carin Koch.
The rainy weather once again caused the long golf course to play even longer, but both teams have managed to get enough time on the golf course over the past two days. So much so that Team USA Captain Juli Inkster said that if the rainy weather persists for Thursday’s practice day and conditions get worse, she already has some alternate plans in place.
“It looks like it’s going to rain tomorrow so I’ve got some charades planned and some Heads Up, Seven Up,” Inkster said. “We’re going to have indoor activities. Everybody is going to bring their box lunch and we’ll have fun.”
THE ROOKIE
Alison Lee used eight short months to play well enough on the LPGA Tour during her rookie year to achieve one of her biggest goals of the year: play in the Solheim Cup. She’s only the second player in U.S. Solheim Cup team history to play her way onto the team by points or ranking in their rookie season, joining Paula Creamer.
“I’ve said this many times before, but when I turned pro in December, I made -- making Solheim Cup one of my top priorities, one of my top goals for the year,” said Lee. “Playing in three Junior Solheim Cups in the past, and having friends like Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson, who I played with in the Junior Solheim Cup, actually playing in the actual Solheim Cup, it was definitely on the top of my list to make it on the team.”
“And I was really hoping for a captain’s pick, but I was playing really well in the last few events to make it on the team through rankings,” said Lee. “It was just amazing.”
The 20-year old from Valencia, Calif. has recorded six top-10 finishes this season including her last three starts. She started the year ranked No. 483 in the Rolex Rankings and ascended to No. 27 to earn her spot on the team. Her teammates have taken notice not only of her play but the way she carries herself with such a tight-knit group.
“I’ve been overly impressed,” said Angela Stanford. “First impressions usually last the longest. And the thing that I keep thinking about this kid, nothing phases her. And she’s just good…My highest compliment from her is that she’s not arrogant. I think she knows she’s good and she knows what she’s capable of, but she doesn’t make you feel like you’re smaller than her. She handles it really well. And that’s been a joy. It’s been a lot of fun to be around her because I think she appreciates being here and she wants to be here and that’s been cool to see.”
Lee was hit with some symptoms of food poisoning last night and this morning but said she feels significantly better and should be more than ready by Friday’s opening matches.
“I wasn’t in the best shape last night or this morning,” said Lee. “But I definitely feel a lot better than I was this morning. So just a little rest today and maybe a little tomorrow, since it’s going to be raining and I’ll be ready.”
A Leg Up
Michelle Wie is taking in every moment of this Solheim Cup perhaps a little more than her previous three appearances. That’s because the Hawaii native knows how close she was to having injuries force her to miss the opportunity to represent her country at this year’s Cup.
Wie’s lingering health issues have been a storyline throughout the 2015 LPGA season, as she’s battled bursitis in her left hip and a sore left ankle. The injuries caused Wie to limp through many rounds and sometimes to even withdraw from events due to the pain. One person who admitted to being very concerned about Wie’s health was Team USA Captain Juli Inkster, who checked in with Wie so often that she joked Wie is now in her favorites list on her phone.
“Juli and I have had a lot of talks this year,” Wie said with a laugh. “I would come back from the doctor and get a call from Juli Inkster….There are some conversations when I talked to Juli, honestly I told her I don’t know if I could play or not.”
The good news for Wie is that she is here and feeling better than ever. Thanks to some treatment and her continuous rehab, Wie does not seem concerned at all about injuries impacting her this week. She said she played 36 holes in a day prior to the Evian Championship last week and would be willing to play five matches if that is what her captain wants.
“It really has been night and day,” Wie said of how she is feeling. “I played last week with no pain, knock on wood. And this week, too. So every day I’ve been really diligent about my rehab routine. That has been my number one priority. And I have a good routine going. I feel great as soon as I check off all of that stuff. I feel really good this week. I’m excited to be here. I’m just ecstatic to be here.”
ALL TOGETHER NOW!
The European Team says the light-hearted nature of the group has always helped lead to success on the course. In the past two Solheim Cups, the Europeans have outscored the Americans in foursomes (9 points to 7 points) and four-ball matches (9.5 points to 9.0 points) and claim their chemistry plays a huge part. Azahara Munoz who is making her third appearance said that every player on the team would be perfectly fine being paired with any other teammate.
“The captains have been asking us, all of us, who do you want to play with,” said Munoz. “And I think the good thing of our team is no one cares. You might really want to play with someone, like I played with Catriona in Ireland and I loved it. I might say I’d love to play with Catriona, but I really don’t care who I play with. I get along with everybody. That’s pretty huge, when you have 12 players on the team that you can just pretty much set them up however you want to. I think that’s pretty good for us. And having a good team environment really helps.”
Munoz said the atmosphere in the team room and at dinners has been exactly what she expected: light, fun and lots of laughing. Munoz, Catriona Matthew and Caroline Hedwall were the winners of a short game contest on Tuesday and received photo booth accessories for their prize. Munoz thought it would be more appropriate for a losing team.
“We had these exercises on the course and that was our prize,” said Munoz. “I don’t know if I want to win again, though. But it was fun. We always have a great time in the locker room. And those diners are fun, and we had a good time. And we know how to make fun of each other, so that’s good.”
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 - Inches of rain expected on Thursday at Golf Club St. Leon Rot
2 - LPGA Tour rookies who have earned a Solheim Cup spot through points or rankings - Paula Creamer and Alison Lee
267.175 - Average driving distance for Carlota Ciganda, Team Europe’s longest hitter
270.111 - Average driving distance for Brittany Lincicome, Team USA’s longest hitter
QUOTABLES
“I don’t think so. I really don’t. People say, on paper. Well, paper doesn’t play. So it’s match play, anything can happen. I think on paper people say we are better. And I mean that’s -- that might be factual, because you can look at numbers. But when you get out on the course it’s golf and it’s match play, and absolutely anything can happen. And you can’t put on paper somebody’s heart. It’s hard to say there’s a favorite or not.”- Angela Stanford on the ‘who’s the favorite debate’
“I think obviously there’s a lot more hype about it, more media coverage. I think when I played in my first one, I felt as though it was huge. But when you look back, they have got bigger and bigger, just more -- bigger crowds, stands are bigger. There’s just more media attention. So you just try to not get too hung up on all that and just concentrate on what you’re doing.”- Catriona Matthew on how The Solheim Cup has grown over the years
“I’m not scared of the nervous feeling. I really enjoy it and I think that’s the challenge, that’s why I practice. I’ve always felt that way.” - Caroline Hedwall when asked if she’s a player who thrives under pressure
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