Who is really the underdog at this year’s Solheim Cup?
What the Europeans hope to achieve this week in winning their third consecutive Solheim Cup is something Team U.S.A. has done twice before. So can the Americans really claim to be the underdogs? They’ve won eight of the 13 matches, and yet they’ve lost the previous two.
Ask either team and they’ll point the finger at themselves.
It’s a title both teams have claimed this week perhaps in a bit of gamesmanship, possibly to eliminate some pressure or maybe to turn the media’s attention in the other direction. Some claim to own underdog status based on the numbers. Others, say back-to-back losses couldn’t possibly make Americans the favorites.
“I think on paper people say we are better,” Team U.S.A’s Angela Stanford told the media Wednesday. “That may be factual, because you can look at the 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.”
“Obviously world rankings-wise, their average would be certainly a lot higher than ours,” said Team Europe’s Catriona Matthew. “They’re going to go in here as favorites. They pretty much every year go in as probably the bookmaker favorites.”
“We’ve lost the last two, so we’re definitely the underdogs,” said American Brittany Lang. “They have some great players, and watching what they’ve done on the big stage the last two Solheim’s is pretty impressive. The answer would be yes, absolutely we are. And we’re going to have to play really good.”
While Europe may have won the previous two meetings, Suzann Pettersen says the matches were much closer than they might have appeared in Ireland in 2011 and Colorado in 2013. Team Europe’s 18 to 10 point victory over Team U.S.A. in 2013 wasn’t really a blowout, but a matter of a few breaks going Europe’s way says Pettersen.
“We’ve had some putts lipping out in our favor,” Pettersen said. “In Ireland, they all went in instead of kind of missing, and that is the tipping point. So even though the final number could be quite big, there’s usually never a walk in the park for one of the teams. Even Colorado, it was, at the end it looked like it was an easy kind of win for us, but it was pretty intense coming down to certain matches.”
The difference maker in 2013? Pettersen says it was just practice.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have the luck on our side. The more you practice, the luckier it gets,” said Pettersen. “So I guess we just practiced a little bit harder than the Americans.”
With practice, the strength of both teams has only continued to improve in the Solheim Cup. The Americans dominated early in the history of the event with three consecutive wins between 1994 and 1998 and again between 2005 and 2009, but Europe has turned the tables, looking to win their third straight Cup for the first time in the history of the event.
“The Europeans have gotten a lot better. Their last two teams were amazing,” Stanford said. “It all comes down to who gets the ball in the hole the fastest and they have lately. It should be hats off to them. It shouldn’t be we’re playing bad. We’re not playing bad. They’re just playing a little bit better.”
“There’s pressure whether you’ve won two in a row or lost two in a row,” said Stacy Lewis. “I think there’s pressure on the Europeans, just like there’s pressure on us. I don’t think that’s an issue. I think it’s more the pressure we put on ourselves.”
There’s a lot on the line for both teams this week in breaking a losing streak or making history with another win. Either way, each team will be feeling the pressure come Friday morning, harnessing the motivation that comes with playing as an underdog.
“Keep saying it,” said Stanford. “Keep saying that we’re supposed to be the underdogs, we’re not supposed to win. I think it puts logs on the fire. I think it’s just a mentality thing.”
May the best underdog win.
Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings
Rank | Name |
---|---|
3 | Stacy Lewis |
4 | Lexi Thompson |
8 | Suzann Pettersen |
12 | Anna Nordqvist |
14 | Brittany Lincicome |
15 | Cristie Kerr |
20 | Michelle Wie |
23 | Morgan Pressel |
26 | Azahara Munoz |
27 | Alison Lee |
32 | Lizette Salas |
35 | Angela Stanford |
37 | Gerina Piller |
41 | Brittany Lang |
42 | Sandra Gal |
48 | Paula Creamer |
50 | Charley Hull |
54 | Carlota Ciganda |
55 | Catriona Matthew |
58 | Karine Icher |
64 | Gwladys Nocera |
81 | Caroline Masson |
85 | Melissa Reid |
117 | Caroline Hedwall |