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Monday, August 17, 2009 – Practice Day!
 We had an inch of rain overnight, so that delayed our practice tee times this morning. Most players played nine holes, but Paula Creamer played 18. This afternoon, I arranged spa treatments for the players. They got manicures, pedicures and massages. It's going to be a long week, so I figured a little pampering on Monday wasn't bad. From here on out, it's work, work, work.
The golf course is in fantastic shape. The rain will obviously make it play longer. It was setup to play hard and fast and the rain will change that, so we will have to adjust our games in the practice rounds. Tonight, we have a welcome reception that everyone will attend and we'll have a quiet team dinner to get ready for tomorrow.
Come out this week to watch us!
Beth
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| Meg Mallon, Nicole Castrale, Gov. Pat Quinn from Illinois, and Beth Daniel. |
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The captain's picks have been made and I'm sure everyone will be discussing them for the next couple of weeks. I can honestly say that the 72 hour period of trying to decide who the picks were going to be was one of the most difficult experiences that Meg, Kelly and I have had in the past two years. There were so many scenarios of who could play their way onto the team in the final week because of the double points at the British Open. It's very difficult to tell players that they will not be on the team, but the three of us feel like we've made the two best choices for our team this year.
Our entire team flew to Chicago on Monday morning following the Sunday evening announcement of the teams. We had two great practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday and everybody was very relaxed and the stress was off. We had a lot of fun and got a lot of work done in our preparation for the upcoming event. Our Tuesday night team dinner was extra special because we surprised Paula Creamer for her birthday. She had no idea it was coming. They made a great pink and white cake for her with a white chocolate Solheim Cup in the middle. Morgan Pressel went out and bought lots of balloons and Paula tied them to the cart for her Wednesday practice round.
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| Beth Daniel and Nicole Castrale live on NBC Chicago's Morning Show. |
The entire team loved Rich Harvest Farms and we are very excited to be back there in under two weeks. The staff at RHF took fantastic care of us, so good in fact that some of the players were asking if Jerry and Betty Rich would adopt them. Everyone has gone back home now to rest up and practice.
Meg Mallon, Nicole and Craig Castrale and I did a few media things in downtown Chicago on Thursday morning including meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn and some kids from the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois in Grant Park. Gov. Quinn will be speaking at the Opening Ceremony and we are looking forward to seeing him again. Our entire team will return to Rich Harvest in just over a week and we hope to see you there cheering on Team USA.
Go USA!
Beth
Thursday, July 30, 2009
It's the week of the RICOH Women's British Open and I make my captain's picks on Sunday. Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins - my assistant captains - are both here at Royal Lytham and we are currently pouring over stats and looking at every possible scenario that could happen this week. The bottom line is that anyone positioned 11 through 21 on the points list could knock Natalie Gulbis out of the 10th spot. The only player in the top 21 that is not here in the British Open field is Allison Fouch. At this point, players in the one through eight positions on the U.S. points list are locks to make the team. The rest will have not only the stress of playing Lytham in a major championship, but also the pressure of trying to make the U.S. Solheim Cup Team. We are going to have to wait until the tournament is finished to know the final standings. At this point, we have narrowed it down to several players who we are looking at for captain's picks, but nothing is definite yet. This will be my toughest week as a captain because I will have to inform some players that they will not be on the team. I think that is the captain's hardest job.
Once the picks are made, the team will fly to Chicago for a couple days of practice and bonding. During that time, the team will fulfill many of their pre-tournament obligations like being fitted for uniforms, signing autographs for sponsors and meeting with the Chicago-area media. It will be a busy few days, but it will be fun for us to be all together. After the practice, the players will go home for about a week and a half and then they will be back at Rich Harvest Farms for the event.
Stay tuned for my two captain's picks on Sunday and the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms. Single-day tickets are still available by visiting www.solheimcup.com. Come cheer us on!!
Go USA!
Beth
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Prospective U.S. Solheim Cup Team at Rich Harvest Farms. |
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
After a late finish at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola on Sunday, eight U.S. players got up at 4 a.m. on Monday morning to fly to Chicago for a practice session at Rich Harvest Farms. After breakfast at the club, everyone teed off. I was there along with Assistant Captains Meg Mallon and Kelly Robbins. Course designer and owner Jerry Rich was checking out the action as well. The eight players all loved the golf course and really enjoyed themselves, especially after playing golf when four went horseback riding and four of us went fishing. Mr. Rich keeps two stocked lakes on property. Christina Kim hooked a bass three times, but never landed the fish. She got a little too exited and scared it off.
Click here to see more photos from the U.S. Solheim Cup Team Practice at Rich Harvest Farms>>
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Beth Daniel catches a fish at Rich Harvest Farms. |
We all got together for dinner at the club on Monday night to discuss the day. All in all, it was a great experience for everyone. It was nice for the eight players to be together and see The Solheim Cup venue. The only negative to our visit was when we found out that several American players did not make it through the U.S. Women's Open qualifier that afternoon in Maryland.
Five of us had a putting contest in the dark on Monday night on the Rich Harvest Farms practice putting green. No one made a putt, so there were no winners! We all used Kristy McPherson's belly putter.
There are five tournaments left until I make my picks following the RICOH Women's British Open and two of those are major championships. In the meantime, I will be watching my players and I have tentative plans to be at the Wegmans LPGA and the U.S. Women's Open. I will also be commentating for the Golf Channel at the Evian Masters in France the week before the British Open.
Tickets are still available to come to the 2009 Solheim Cup in August! >>
Go USA!
Beth
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I was talking to Carol Mann last week and she convinced me to write a Captain's blog to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be the U.S. Solheim Cup Team Captain. I'd like to give you an idea of what the captain goes through in preparation for The Solheim Cup. For the last year, I've been working with the Solheim Cup team on preparation for the event. That has included several trips to Ashworth in Carlsbad, Calif. for input in the design of the team's clothing. I saw the finished product during the Sybase Classic and I'm very pleased with what they designed for us.
Just in the last month, we have begun to finalize food menus for tournament week. We put these together along with the folks from PROM catering and the Rich Harvest Farms chefs. They include everything from our team meals to snacks the players will have the entire time we are there. The last two weeks, we have been preparing for the upcoming U.S. practice sessions at Rich Harvest Farms, which will take place on Monday, June 15 at Rich Harvest Farms. For many players, this will be their first look at the course. We will have at least eight prospective team members on-site. I'm excited for them to play the course for the first time and to get their impressions of it.
This week's McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola will be a pivotal event in the making of our team. All majors this year are worth double points, and with three of them remaining before the team is selected, anything can happen. The RICOH Women's British Open is the last tournament that counts toward our points list. I will make my two captain's selections following that event.
In the coming weeks, I will be sharing some of my duties with you. If you have questions, please send them to feedback@lpga.com. Be sure to come cheer on the U.S. Team at Rich Harvest Farms, Aug. 17-23. Tickets are still available! >>
Go USA!
Beth
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