Plan B
Wednesday morning, eight-time Solheim Cup veteran Suzann Pettersen released a statement that she would not be competing in this year’s matches. Pettersen irritated a ruptured disk during a morning run on Saturday and has been undergoing treatment in the days since in hopes of feeling well enough to compete in this year’s event.
“It is the biggest highlight of my career. It is different. It is very special,” Pettersen said during Wednesday’s press conference. “So, to not be able to play, it is what it is. But I think the most important thing here is to think about our team, what the team needs.”
The move forces Sorenstam to shift from her original plan to Plan B, which includes assistant captain and alternate Catriona Matthew swapping roles with Pettersen, who will now serve as an assistant for the remainder of the week. Pettersen said she hadn’t put much thought into what her role would be as an assistant captain, but Sorenstam joked about already having a to-do list ready for her.
“It’s been a lot of juggling, to put it mildly,” said Sorenstam. “I had a plan, I called it plan A. And then we started a plan B. Needless to say we have had a lot of plans back and forth. And when Suzann and I spoke this morning, I kind of threw out plan A, and now we’re sticking to plan B.”
Laughing Pod
There isn’t a group that seems to be having more fun this week than the Team USA pod of Michelle Wie, Danielle Kang, Lizette Salas and Angel Yin. Originally scheduled as two press conferences, the group arrived at the media center and made an executive decision that they would all be speaking together. The group laughed and joked during their entire 30-minutes with the media. Rookies Kang and Yin are taking the matches in stride but anxious to experience the first tee they’ve heard so much about.
“It's definitely exciting to be here. What I'm looking forward to is the vibe that I get that everyone talks about that experience that they have at Solheim, the first-tee experience, the fan vibe, everything that's supposedly really amazing about Solheim,” said Kang. “I can't wait for the singing to happen because I haven't heard any songs yet. I can't wait for that to happen for me to experience what everyone talks about.”
Player Driven
Tuesday, Team USA captain Juli Inkster revealed she will once again be employing a pod system for this year’s matches, breaking her team down into three groups of four players each, based on personality. Wednesday, Team Europe’s Annika Sorenstam wasn’t as forthright in revealing her potential match-ups, but did disclose who this week will be determining the pairings.
“I can tell you that the pairings, they’re 99 percent players’ choices. I want them to be happy and if you have happy players, there’s hopefully good golf,” Sorenstam explained. “As far as whom they want to play with, it’s up to them.”
Switching It Up
Wednesday, assistant captain Catriona Matthew stepped in as the alternate for Team Europe and replaced Suzann Pettersen. Matthew came of short of playing her way on to the team this year and was well outside the automatic qualifying at 28th in the LET Point Standings. This week, Matthew will make her ninth Solheim Cup appearance and look to add a few more victories to her impressive 15-10-8 record.
“I probably thought this was my, probably one of my last chances of getting on the team. Obviously I was disappointed when I didn’t, but I’m very excited to be playing now,” said Matthew who will use Pettersen’s caddie and fellow Scot this week at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.
“You couldn’t bring someone else in at this late stage. He’s seen the course and he’s worked for me before. So, two Scots now on the team."
Let’s Get Started
The pairings for the Friday morning Foursome matches will be announced during Thursday's opening ceremony airing on Golf Channel between 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Preview all the matches on LPGA.com as soon as they’re announced.
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