Just over one year ago, the LPGA Tour came to Inverness Club during a very different time in its history. With the world reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, the club hosted the 2020 Drive On Championship, the Tour’s return to competition after a 166-day absence. Danielle Kang emerged the victor, capturing a one-stroke win over Celine Boutier for the first of back-to-back wins in Toledo. She does nothing but rave about her return to Inverness, one of the most renowned tracks in the country.
“It was softer last year and the greens were still fast, but any time we come here, even when we got here for the team practice, the golf course was still in really great shape,” said Kang. “Hats off to those that keep this golf course up to absolute birdie level.”
With no fans or structures on site in 2020, the Inverness footprint was markedly different from this week’s Solheim Cup. The massive grandstand that surrounds the first and 10th tees seats 3,000 fans. The Meijer Pavilion, with views of more than half the golf course, accommodates 6,000. And more than 100,000 fans are expected to pass through the gates to see Kang and her American compatriots work to take back the Solheim Cup that they lost to Team Europe in 2019.
Kang is certainly up for the challenge and thrives on the energy. In her 2017 debut for Team USA in Iowa, she pumped up the crowd before every tee shot, calling for the music to be louder and the fans to be rowdier. She’s ready to head to the first tee on Saturday, ready to represent the Red, White and Blue and do whatever she can to get that crystal trophy back in American custody.
“The energy that the spectators have brought are incredible. Even today, we were just walking to the first tee and I was waving through the crowd and they were all shouting already, and it's Thursday,” she said. “I'm just really excited to see how many people are going to (have) the fairways filled up. If I recall Des Moines, I just saw red everywhere. I remember the flags being red, and I couldn't see where the flags were because the background was red. I can't wait to see that again and people chanting U-S-A.
“Any time that we can represent our country is just such an honor. It's a sporting event where we can all come together and just work for one goal. I'm just really excited.”
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