2013 Golf Chic (pdf version) - Ladies European Tour

The 2013 Solheim Cup:Let battle commence!Captains Liselotte Neumann and Meg Mallonare ready for action in Denver, Colorado.The wait is nearly over… the 13th Solheim Cup is almost upon us and while in some waysit seems like only yesterday that Europe staged their brilliant fight back in Ireland, it hasbeen a long time coming, simply because it is such a mouth watering prospect.There is a special feel to the latestinstalment of the biannual Europe versusAmerica clash with Europe being the holdersand the match being held in America.There is the tantalising prospect that CaptainLiselotte Neumann and her team could endEurope’s search for a win on American soiland retain The Solheim Cup at Colorado GolfClub in Parker, a suburb of Denver.Can our ladies emulate the achievements ofthe men who retained the Ryder Cup in suchextraordinary circumstances in Chicago ayear earlier?The over riding feeling after a marvellousweek at Killeen Castle in Ireland is that yes,the gargantuan feat can be achieved if eachand every member of the 12-woman Europeanteam believes strongly enough.The US Team lead the series 8-4 and hasnever lost on home soil, so the experiencedall Swedish trio of Neumann and her vicecaptains Annika Sorenstam and Carin Kochwill have a huge bearing on the outcome.Neumann, a veteran of six Solheim Cups,marked her debut year on the LPGA tour bywinning the US Open way back in 1988. Allthree European captains are world classgolfers and great friends with tremendousexperience of playing in The Solheim Cup,having played a combined total of 18 times.The Swedish trio featured in the winningEuropean team of 2000, while Sorenstam andKoch proved to be a great combination assuccessful foursomes and four ball partners2002 and then again when they won theirfoursomes match together in 2003. It willtake all of their experience and guile to winthis time in Colorado. However, if anyone can,it is those three. Standing in between themand the Cup will be US Captain Meg Mallon,one of the most respected and popularAmerican players and a former vice captain in2009, who sank the winning putt for the USteam in 2005.She has chosen the patriotic Dottie Pepperas one of her vice captains. Pepper wasa mainstay of the American team whichdominated the early contests in the 1990sand since retiring from the LPGA in 2004, shehas worked as a regular commentator for TheGolf Channel, with an extensive knowledgeof the US golfers, which could help theAmerican team.The fact that Pepper slipped up and calledthe American team ‘Choking freaking dogs’when she thought that The Golf Channel hadcut to a commercial during live coverage ofThe 2007 Solheim Cup in Halmstad, Sweden,will have zero impact on the matches fromAugust 16-18 according to Captain Mallon.The ‘Dottie’ she knows bleeds red, white andblue and US team standout Paula Creamer haseven said that she’s looking forward to pickingher brain on how it is to be so competitiveand feisty and learn from her. It will be aninteresting team room! It will also be intriguingto see who comes out on top in the captaincystakes, but ultimately the performance of the12 players on each team will decide the result.Both teams will be announced on Sunday4th August after the conclusion of the RicohWomen’s British Open at the Old Course in StAndrews, Scotland.The fourth major championship of the seasonwill serve as the final chance for Americanand European players to earn points for The2013 Solheim Cup after two years of battlingfor a place amongst the top 24 players fromEurope and America and both Captains willbe on hand to announce their teams onSunday evening.5051