Solheim Cup Controversy: Who is more at fault?

[BallStriker]

Laura Davies' opinions on this whole thing are priceless.......any doubt how she feels...LOL

[Golfingdad]

no it doesn't - it speaks to how she chose to deal with it - which was poor and not very sportmanlike

Apology for handling something poorly doesn't = taking blame

Seriously?  Did you read her apology?

[metbid]

Kind of like the fake throw/hidden ball in the glove trick in baseball....cheap, but it worked sometimes.  Maybe golf is supposed to be more ethical, but you should still not assume anything.

[rkim291968]

Don't want to sound sexist, but that would never have happened with men.

I disagree.

It had, and it will, if not a lot more.   Guys are more competitive on average than women.   There will be more guys who believe winning is everything, even above cheating.   Just watch all the professional contact sports and all the BS that is going on.  Since I know soccer, I will tell you that in a course of a professional match, there will be so many injury fakes, intentional fouls, grabbing shirts and body parts, trash talks, etc..  It was refreshing to watch some of the women's world cup matches this year where there were a lot less BS.    This win at all cost is more of a man thing than woman and I believe what SP did is repeated by men more often than not.

[Pete]

@mvmac yes I've seen her apology now and it does change how I feel about it. I obviously will never know the pressure and everything else that comes with that level of competition and who knows how I would react. Bit of an eye opener and I'm hoping it works to highlight how golf should be played and what happens when the winning at all costs attitude of other sports is adopted, even for a single incident. Good on Suzann for that and good on USA for the comeback.

[Pete]

I disagree. It had, and it will, if not a lot more.   Guys are more competitive on average than women.   There will be more guys who believe winning is everything, even above cheating.   Just watch all the professional contact sports and all the BS that is going on.  Since I know soccer, I will tell you that in a course of a professional match, there will be so many injury fakes, intentional fouls, grabbing shirts and body parts, trash talks, etc..  It was refreshing to watch some of the women's world cup matches this year where there were a lot less BS.    This win at all cost is more of a man thing than woman and I believe what SP did is repeated by men more often than not.

Sometimes I think what golf would be like if it was like soccer over her in Uk. Golf refs being the ones responsible for calling all penalties, and all the pro golfers always looking for ways to cheat without being caught or trying to con the ref repeatedly. Kicking balls out of the rough when the ref isn't looking. Inching the ball marker closer and closer to the hole until the ref tells you to stop. Calling it a par, instead of a bogey and hoping the ref didn't see one of the strokes. It sounds so ridiculous but that is what soccer is and is what golf hopefully will never be. In many ways I'm glad the incident caused such a fracas as it shows how out of place this kind of 'sportsmanship' is in golf.

[MoreorLes]

It makes me wonder if someone's equipment contract is expiring.  Who wants that kind of person and attitude plugging your irons, drivers and balls?  Unlikely she heard God's voice, maybe it was a voice from Beaverton Oregon and I  have seen SP on the LPGA Tour not the Ladies European tour.  I have not seen one image, or video that shows SP looking like a "gutted" individual or even slightly upset or concerned.  I at least respected the fact she owned her behavior.   Now what do you do if you are her teammates and Captain that supported her?

[jcjim]

If she thought she heard that the putt was given then that's what it was..there's a lot of noise in these matches. It's not like the putt was 3 feet with a break. I was 15 inches flat ground. It's pretty simple to me the Euros look bad in this and it's a little to much gamesmanship going on.

Anyway the cup is done for now but I can bet it's not over. Who knows

[InTheRough]

Kind of like the fake throw/hidden ball in the glove trick in baseball....cheap, but it worked sometimes.  Maybe golf is supposed to be more ethical, but you should still not assume anything.

meh...its more like a runner yelling "I GOT IT, I GOT IT" behind an infielder who is camped under a pop up to get him to let the ball drop.  the hidden ball trick is to catch people not paying attention, the other is an unsportsmanlike and cheap way to steal a run or a base hit

[mvmac]

Rocco's "solution"

[rkim291968]

Just for the record.  I don't think this 'issue' spurred on the American girls in singles.

I think they had the ability to win just as well regardless and don't want to credit the comeback to this offense.

No doubt that they had the ability but I think it motivated the US team to the next level.   Without the controversy, I don't believe the US would have won.

[Zeph]

I watched the LPGA video where SP is describing it. Total bollocks! Twice she says "we wanted to see the putt". Then don't walk away. This was a gotcha. Congrats you snagged someone in a rules violation that 99.9% of the time is "nah, don't worry about it"

Does any footage show Pettersen walking off the green? All I can find is Hull walking someplace, which could be to where Pettersen is standing, because she's still on the green. More likely it seems Hull considered the hole a tie, but never gave the word to Lee.

[mchepp]

I am happy to see that Petterson has recognized the mistake. I see it at a failure of both sides. Initially, if I take the given evidence that:

1. Lee thought she heard a concession and;

2. Petterson and Hull go running off to the next hole

If I had felt that both of the above criteria was met that the putt was conceded, even if I wasn't 100% sure. Heck if they went running off how could I even check if I heard a concession?

However, Lee should have fought to replace the ball and play it as the rule states under the 2 points I outlined above. Although I think it would have been silly to re-hit an 18 inch putt she should have been given that choice.

[boogielicious]

Rocco's "solution"

Is that his Mensa application?

[geezer]

Does any footage show Pettersen walking off the green?

None whatsoever.

[MrDC]

Pettersen can apologize all she likes, she was there and made her point in everyone's face, so stand by it, saying you're sorry now is really lame and screams damage control.

The only reason why Lee gets a pass here is because they opponents walked away, if they had simply stayed on the green like a respectable player should, this would not be an issue, this would never have happened, they F'ed up and it not only cost them face, but the tournament, because there was no doubt in my mind the US was coming out hard after that and would win.

[Scotsclaff]

One way to remedy this for future events. NO GIMMES!

[RH31]

I voted Petterson. She shouldn't have walked away if the putt wasn't really "good". Taking the cheap win only made it worse.