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The LPGA has grown by leaps and bounds lately, with a lot of fresh faces infusing much-needed energy and charm into women’s golf. But just when you think the ladies are about ready to achieve new heights, along comes the poorly planned Solheim Cup to sink their stock.
In case you didn’t know, the Solheim Cup is the LPGA’s version of the men’s Ryder Cup, which is arguably the biggest and best event in golf. Sadly, the Solheim Cup never has created that type of hype or momentum.
Expect more of the same this weekend when a team of U.S. all-stars attempts to defend the coveted Solheim Cup hardware against the underdog Europeans in Halmstad, Sweden. Chances are we’ll all be snoozing when the coverage begins at 11 p.m. on Thursday and Friday nights, and midnight on Saturday.
Despite 26 hours of live coverage on The Golf Channel, which includes three-hour segments that will re-air “the most compelling moments’’ of each of the three days, Sweden is too remote of an outpost to entice most American television viewers. If anything, fans of the Yankees will get most of their Solheim Cup info from the Internet.
As if bad TV times weren’t enough, the Solheim Cup also must compete against the conclusion of the FedEx Cup, now officially nicknamed the “FedUp Cup,’’ as well as the NFL and college football. Yeah, it doesn’t look good for the Solheim Cup despite having such good-looking players as Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis and Cristie Kerr.
Too bad, really, as the 10th edition of the Solheim Cup appears better than ever -- on paper! Despite missing the top two players in the world in Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa and Karrie Webb of Australia, four Americans are in the top 10 – Kerr (No. 4), Creamer (No. 7), Morgan Pressel (No. 8) and Juli Inkster (No. 10) – along with Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam (No. 3) and Suzann Pettersen (No. 5).
The U.S. team also has some savvy veterans in Sherri Steinhauer, Laura Diaz and Scottsdale’s Pat Hurst, who is playing in her fourth Solheim Cup. The only weak links for the Americans appear to be rookies Nicole Castrale, Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Prammanasudh.
Chances are U.S. captain Betsy King, also of Scottsdale, can live with that inexperience. But she might end up regretting her one and only major mistake in not adding the fiery Christina Kim, who she passed on with a captain’s pick.
The Euros are, by their own admission, a little shallow in the depth department. That’s because six members of the squad were selected off the European Ladies Tour money list, which translates into such unknown commodities as France’s Gwladys Nocera, Becky Brewerton of Wales, Bettina Hauert of Germany and Sweden’s Linda Wessberg.
Or as European veteran Laura Davies spun it: “The U.S. will start out as the favorites, but they have only won once (in four times) in Europe. If the two teams were playing in America, it would be a very one-sided affair . . . but if we get off to a good start we will put them under a lot of pressure.’’
Never underestimate the wisdom of the big Brit, who is the only player in the history of the Solheim Cup to play in all nine events. That Davies’ 20 1 /2 all-time points are second only to Sorenstam’s record 21 1 /2 all-time points also commands respect.
Personally, I like the Euros’ chances based on history and fortitude. Then again, I’m the guy who picked the U.S. guys to win the last Ryder Cup, so my opinion might not be the best measure of these trans-Atlantic clashes.
What I do know is that the Solheim Cup, which was named after PING founder Karsten Solheim, always has been better than the paltry TV ratings it has garnered. Who can forget King and Davies screaming at each other on the green in 1992, or Davies and Sorenstam pounding a punching bag with Dottie Pepper’s face on it in ’96, or Sorenstam breaking down in tears in 2000, when the Americans made her replay a chip-in birdie because they claimed the Swede went out of turn?
Last time around, when the U.S. laid a 15 1 / 2-12 1 / 2 licking on the Euros on American soil, it also got a little crazy. Creamer got it going before the matches even started by guaranteeing victory -- then drubbing Davies, 7 and 5 – and Kim wore red-white-and-blue war paint and was totally insane in her role as the “Ugly American.’’
Chances are the storylines and great theater still will be there this weekend, when the Euros eke out another close encounter. But instead of women’s golf seizing the moment with prime-time, heat-of-the-battle action, the Solheim Cup will be reduced to ice-cold replays.
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