It is upon us once again - the biannual competition between the best players from the United States and the best players from Europe. For two years, players have been attempting to play well in order to make their respective teams, and now they head to Germany in hopes that all of that work leads to good fortune.
The History:
This will be the 14th playing of the Solheim Cup. The United States has the advantage, 8-5, but the trend has been towards Europe. They have won twice in a row, including their first ever win on US soil. Their most recent meeting was an absolute rout at the hands of Europe in Colorado by the score of 18-10. Europe has won four of the six matches that has taken place in Europe, but the last time the Solheim Cup was play in Continental Europe, the US walked out with a 16-12 victory in 2007 in Sweden.
The Course:
St. Leon-Rot Golf Club in Germany. There is not a lot of trouble off the tee, so the big hitters will be at an advantage. Players will need to make birdies in order to win matches. This will be the first big international golf event to be held in Germany. Many are hoping that the Solheim Cup's success will lead to Germany being awarded the Ryder Cup in 2022. Germany's Caroline Masson said that the course was "in the best condition I have ever seen it."
The Teams:
Team USA:
Juli Inkster, the most prolific American Solheim Cup player of all time, was called upon to try and stop recent trends; namely, Europe thrashing the Americans, especially in fourball and singles matches. Many expected Inkster to make changes among her players, but she never got that opportunity - of the ten players that automatically qualified for the team, nine of them were on the team in 2013. Inkster then called upon a couple of veterans to round out her team. Below are the Team USA members, along with their records.
- Cristie Kerr: 12-14-4
- Alison Lee: Rookie
- Stacy Lewis: 2-5-1
- Brittany Lincicome: 5-7-2
- Gerina Piller: 0-2-1
- Morgan Pressel: 8-5-2
- Lizette Salas: 0-1-2
- Angela Stanford: 3-11-3
- Lexi Thompson: 1-2-0
- Michelle Wie: 6-5-1
- Paula Creamer (Captain's Pick): 12-6-5
- Brittany Lang (Captain's Pick): 5-4-2
All eyes are going to be on Paula Creamer, who had to rely on a captain's pick for the first time in her career. Creamer enters missing four straight cuts, and her form has been bad all season, but she also has the best Solheim Cup record of any active American player and many consider her the emotional leader of the team. The smart strategy may be to have her ride the bench for most of the week, but Inkster insists that Creamer will get her share of the action. Asked if she was concerned about her recent form, Inkster said "Match play just seems to bring out the best in Paula. I'm not worried. She's one of my best 12 players and I'm going to play her."
Keys To Victory:
In the end, Paula Creamer won't sink Team USA if she doesn't play well. With a course that doesn't penalize wild shots off the tee, Team USA will need to rely on their big hitters, of which they are not in short supply, to create scoring opportunities. Lexi Thompson, Brittany Lincicome, and Michelle Wie need to be among the players who have winning records this week, and Stacy Lewis, the top ranked American in the world, needs to turn around her Solheim Cup fortune and walk out with a winning record.
Team Europe:
After hitting a home run with Liselotte Neumann two years ago, Team Europe turns to another Swede to lead them - Carin Koch. While Inkster needed to rebuild Team USA, Koch is trying to keep them together. It was a more difficult task than expected, as many of the players from the winning 2013 team have experienced good form in recent months. Still, Koch and Team Europe is playing with house money, as all the pressure to win is square on the shoulders of Team USA. Below are the members of Team Europe, as well as their Solheim Cup records.
- Carlota Ciganda: 4-3-1
- Sandra Gal: 0-2-1
- Charley Hull: 2-1-0
- Azahara Munoz: 4-3-1
- Gwladys Nocera: 5-3-2
- Anna Nordqvist: 6-5-1
- Suzann Pettersen: 14-9-6
- Melissa Reid: 1-3-0
- Caroline Hedwall (Captain's Pick): 7-1-1
- Karine Icher (Captain's Pick): 3-3-1
- Caroline Masson (Captain's Pick): 2-1-1
- Catriona Matthew (Captain's Pick): 12-9-8
Juli Inkster picked a struggling Paula Creamer based on Solheim Cup success alone, and Carin Koch did the same thing by picking Caroline Hedwall, who went 5-0 two years ago but has struggled mightily since. Team Europe, while have the youngest player in the matches (Charley Hull, 19), is also the older of the two teams, boasting two players in their 40's while Team USA doesn't have any. Melissa Reid, Gwladys Nocera and Sandra Gal are the only players to return to the Solheim Cup after playing in the matches previously, but not in 2013. After entering the 2013 matches with six rookies, Team Europe doesn't have a single rookie in 2015.
Keys To Victory:
Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda haven't experienced a defeat in team competitions in their professional careers - Munoz was a member of the 2011 victorious Solheim Cup team, both were a member of the 2013 team, and both were a member of Spain's winning International Cup team last year. Look for both players to play a lot and play well. Koch selected Hedwall as a match play specialist. Hedwall has had a terrible season, so the pick was a gamble for Koch. She needs to play well. Sandra Gal and Caroline Masson will have a very raucous home crowd behind them, and if they are able to feed off that energy, there won't be an American player that will want to face them.
Prediction:
Team USA is entering with a ton of question marks. Creamer has had a rough season, Michelle Wie has struggled with injuries all season, Angela Stanford hasn't played well in Solheim Cups lately, and with the exception of Lexi Thompson, no one is really entering with a ton of momentum at their back. They also have the only rookie in the matches, Alison Lee, who is a complete unknown in terms of how she will play with the pressure on her.
Luckily for Team USA, they aren't going up against an International Team. If they had to go toe to toe with a team lead by Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, Hyo Joo Kim, and Shanshan Feng, they would get smoked. Against Team Europe, however, they have the far superior team.
Team USA is embracing an "underdog" feel, but that is not quite accurate. While Team Europe has won the last two, and they have the home course advantage, Team USA has the players. Team USA enters with two players inside the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings, and every single one of their players inside the top 50. Europe, however, has only one player inside the top 10 (Suzann Pettersen, 8th) while eight of their players are ranked 50th or worse. One of their players, Caroline Hedwall, is ranked outside the top 100.
A European player hasn't won a major since Suzann Pettersen's Evian win in 2013. Only Pettersen and Anna Nordqvist have won on the LPGA Tour this season. Team Europe has won a combined four major titles, compared to Team USA, which has a combined ten majors. Mo Martin, one of the players passed over by Team USA, would have easily qualified for Team Europe based on her Women's British Open victory last season.
It is still the Solheim Cup, and anything can happen. Team USA has entered with a superior team on paper and gotten beat before, but Team Europe still had players entering the event that were playing well. None of Team Europe's players are entering in form. While Team USA are not the underdogs, the fact that they think they are will fuel them. Team USA will give Team Europe a taste of their own medicine - a decisive victory on home soil.
Final Margin: Team USA 18-10