2013 Golf Chic (pdf version) - Ladies European Tour

St Andrews, the Home of Golf, will bea fitting location as it hosts its secondRicoh Women’s British Open. It wasthe site of former world number oneLorena Ochoa’s first major triumph in2007 before she retired fromthe game.“It is great and very fitting that I willannounce the European Solheim CupTeam at St. Andrews, the Home ofGolf, after the completion of the RicohWomen’s British Open,” said Neumann.Mallon said of St. Andrews: “It’s oneof my favourite places to play on theplanet. Seeing the tournament finishthere and having the teams finalisedthere will be very special. It’s goingto be an intense hour or so around thefinish of the tournament.”Players earn points for top-20 finishesat official LPGA Tour events, and onlyU.S.-born players are eligible for theU.S. team. U.S. players began earningpoints for the 2013 Solheim Cup atthe 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open,and all players will earn 1.5 times thepoints in 2013, with points doubledat majors. The top eight players inthe U.S. Solheim Cup standings willautomatically qualify for the team,two more will qualify based on theirposition in the Rolex Women’s WorldGolf Rankings, and Mallon will selectthe final two team members.On the Ladies European Tour, pointshave been available since the 2011Lacoste Ladies Open de France.Four players will qualify through theEuropean Solheim Cup points, fourmore through their Rolex ranking andthe final four will be captain’s picksby Neumann.While it’s too early to guess at thepicks, it is almost certain that SuzannPettersen will line up in Colorado.The feisty Norwegian who was ateam leader at Killeen Castle in 2011,inspiring the European team fightback after a pep talk with CarolineHedwall and Azahara Munoz on a golfbuggy after a weather delay.The highest ranked European player,Pettersen earned three pointsincluding a crucial singles victoryin the third last match on Sunday.One down with three holes to play,Pettersen birdied the last threeholes to earn a one-hole victoryover Michelle Wie. However, it washer words which were so powerfuland inspired the two young rookies,Caroline Hedwall and Azahara Munoz,in the last two singles matches.In the second last singles, CarolineHedwall, two down two to play againstRyann O’Toole, won the last two holesfor a vital half point. Azahara Munozthen had the honour of clinching thevital point in the final match with aone-hole win over Angela Stanford. BothMunoz and Hedwall must be prospectsfor selection this year along with theever reliable Catriona Matthew.On the American side, Stacy Lewis,Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer andAngela Stanford look to be shoe-ins,while experienced Solheim Cup starsMorgan Pressel and Michelle Wie willbe hoping to secure their spots withimproved results this season.In addition to the star studded list ofplayers competing, almost anyonewho is anyone in the world of golfon both sides of the Atlantic willbe there. Former European captainssuch as Alison Nicholas, CatrinNilsmark, Dale Reid, Pia Nilssonand Mickey Walker are likely to becheering on the teams along withpast US Captains such as NancyLopez, Beth Daniel, Rosie Jones andPattie Sheehan.The American fans’ support will roararound the Rocky Mountains andEurope may need to employ winningCaptain Alison Nicholas’ tacticsif they are to be successful. In1997 the diminutive English playerpulled off one of the great Europeanvictories when she went head tohead against the home favouriteNancy Lopez to clinch the USWomen’s Open.“I used to pretend they wereshouting for me! In fact, I used thecrowd as a great motivational tool.In the end, they didn’t bother me atall”, revealed Nicholas, the captainin 2009 and 2011. “Obviously I wasup against their great favourite butevery time there was a cheer I saidto myself it was for me!”The chants of ‘USA, All The Way’,will only be silenced if Europe canwin the Cup and fitness could provea key factor in Denver, known as theMile High City because it truly is amile above sea level.With its inland location on the HighPlains in the south western UnitedStates, Denver has more than 300days of sunshine a year. The climate,and closeness to the mountains,earned Denver a reputation as anactive, outdoor oriented city. Forinstance, many residents spend thewinter skiing and in summer theygo hiking, climbing, kayaking andcamping. It also means that touristscan easily take advantage of oneday excursions to the gold rushtowns in the Rocky Mountains tospend time shopping, exploring andtaking in the amazing scenery.Staged within some of the moststunning landscape in America,the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshawdesigned Colorado Golf Club, whichopened in 2007, will be a fabulousvenue to showcase the talent ofEurope and America and crowdstotalling around 100,000 areexpected over the three days.This match will be watched bymillions all over the world ontelevision and with Sky Sports’ livecoverage UK based fans of women’sgolf will not miss a shot from thefirst tee until the last putt.While the question on everyone’slips will be: ‘Can Europe win forthe first time in America?’ there’s afirst time for everything a messageEuropean Solheim Cup captainLiselotte Neumann might want torelay to her team on the eve of the2013 tournament.This will be the 13th edition ofthe Solheim Cup and, one way oranother, it’ll be unlucky for some butfor the next few months Neumannwill have designs only on makinghistory for Europe.5253