Since there is no LPGA Tour event this week U.S.A. Team Captain Nancy Lopez took hopefuls out for a practice round in Indiana where the U.S.A. will compete against Europe for the Solheim Cup. This biennial matchplay event is the LPGA’s answer to the PGA’s Ryder Cup and is considered to be one of the most prestigious events in women’s world golf.
It’s the U.S.A. versus the rest of the world. Will America dominate?
Excitement and tension were in the air as the younger golfers teed up for practice. As Lopez stated before heading out to Crooked Stick Golf Club, excitement will be transformed into jitters when the ladies start match play on September 9th.
“They’ll be humbled as soon as they get there” Lopez stated. “It will definitely humble you because no matter how good you are you still feel the nerves of playing for your country.”
There are twelve golfers per team. Ten golfers will make the team on points collected throughout the season and Nancy Lopez is allowed two captain’s picks. She won’t make her final decisions until August 28th.
The golfer who leads on points is 27-year old Miami native Cristie Kerr. Her win this season at the Michelob Ultra Open and a collection of eight top-ten finishes put her over the million dollar mark in earnings and gave her 727.5 points, over 300 points more than her nearest teammate. The second place honor with 416.5 points goes to Meg Mallon. Other veterans with a place on the team are Rosie Jones, Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst.
Younger American players who are high in points standings are Christina Kim, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis.
So who will Nancy Lopez select with her two captain’s picks? There are several players who could make the team. Wendy Ward, the seasoned pro who makes her home in Washington seems like a likely candidate. An early winner at the Takefuji Classic, Ward also has four top ten finishes out of sixteen starts this season and has earned just under $600,000.
She could also try her luck with Stacy Prammanasudh, an Oklahoma native who won her first event on tour this season at the Franklin American Mortgage Tournament but perhaps Lopez is looking for a little more experience. Lopez said it best, “It’s really the veteran players that will fight it out to the end”.
Teeing it up for the European Team (LET) will be shoo-in Annika Sorenstam who made the top of the list. Ludivine Kreutz, Laura Davies, Gwladys Nocera, Iben Tinning, Maria Hjorth and Veronica Zorzi are currently on the list with Catrin Nilsmark at the helm.
Hall-of-Famer Lopez also discussed amateur Michelle Wie who will not qualify for the Solheim Cup. Michelle has been trying to beat the guys on the PGA Tour with her last quest ending in an early defeat at the John Deere Classic.
“I don’t think she knows what she’s doing. I want her to play on the LPGA Tour. She has so much to offer the LPGA Tour.”
“I don’t think she can win on the PGA Tour. I don’t think she can beat the guys. I think she’s done a lot for golf, but I think she needs to play on the LPGA Tour. She hasn’t passed the physical yet, and that’s to play against the best on the LPGA Tour and win.”
Michelle has been outperforming LPGA professionals on the Tour in every event she gains exemption. Her most recent third place finish was at the Weetabix British Open, the final LPGA major of 2005. Her problem right now is winning. Where she seems to be able to get into a top-five position Wie has problems finishing in first place. But remember, she’s still only fifteen years old.
I think Michelle should be gaining confidence and winning tournaments where there is less pressure to give her more confidence. The U.S. Women’s Amateur won by Morgan Pressel would have been a tournament worth watching.
So as Michelle Wie heads back to high school this fall her comrades on the LPGA Tour will meet the women from the Ladies European Tour (LET) on the fairways of Crooked Stick to decide if the Waterford crystal trophy stays in the states or flies back home to Europe where it has been since 2003. My guess is that the U.S.A. dominates from the beginning and never lets up finally cruising to victory and keeping the cup for the next two years. Perhaps this humbling experience will transform some of the golfers into winners next season giving the viewing public more excitement and invigorating the sport of women’s golf.
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