Pettersen-Sorenstam Sagas Wiped Clean from LPGA Website

As of yesterday, there was no remaining hint on the LPGA’s front page of the scandals that rocked last weekend’s Solheim Cup in Germany. On Monday, there had been a link to European player Suzanne Pettersen’s apology for not conceding, after the fact, an 18-inch putt she was, of course, not required to concede. Nonetheless, Pettersen had brusquely walked off the green before her American opponent had putted, likely creating confusion that led to Alison Lee believing she had conceded it. Having picked up without a valid concession, the Americans lost the hole.

Annika Sorenstam did her part to add to the general consternation being again accused of improperly giving advice to European players during competition. She faced similar accusations in 2013 and has something of a record of ignoring rules or, at least, inexpedient points of etiquette. Not helping are her occasional Irked Princess-style complaints (more than a decade later, she was still miffed over having to replay that silly chip shot at the 2000 Solheim). She ended her career on a rather inauspicious note. Despite understandable frustration with the demeaning random drug tests the tour was performing, she seemed however to simply take exception to the fact that she was subjected to one of them. All in all, “magnanimous” is not the descriptor word that immediately comes to mind.

When it comes to sharp Solheim Cup jabs, who could forget Dottie Pepper’s year 2000 insistence that the Euros should in essence “know their place” since most of them would have been “bagging groceries” if it weren’t for the LPGA Tour.

Reviving the Playing Captaincy for 2016 Ryder Cup Rebirth: Mickelson for Captain?

Has the drama associated with the team captain become an indispensable part of these international team golf competitions? If not, perhaps the restoration of the practice of having a playing captain would boost U.S. morale. With a playing captain, the American players might become a true team instead of independent agents who must be herded by a captain who is not of their own choosing and represents an arbitrary appendage to the team. The American downfall appears to have begun here at Oak Hill C.C. in Rochester in 1995. They were cocky then, too, come to think of it.

Saturday Handa Cup Pairings at Old Waverly Will Reveal Strategies of Lopez and Little

With the Handa Cup’s kickoff tomorrow at Old Waverly G.C., we will likely learn of the Saturday morning team pairings this evening. If the respective captains, Nancy Lopez and Sally Little, have a bold strategy for the day’s play, it may be evident in the pairings.

It would be difficult to resist the temptation to pair Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas for the sake of both sheer intimidation and tradition, a tradition that began at the first Solheim Cup at Lake Nona in 1990. The pairing of Nicholas and Davies defeated Lopez and Pat Bradley in the very first match. However, Sally Little may wish to spread the talent around and use Davies in a different pairing with a less experienced partner. Davies has been maintaining her hectic golf schedule and it can probably be assumed that Davies and Juli Inkster are the two top players this year. Both have been keeping their games sharp in regular tour play. I’ll predict Davies and Neumann. Liselotte’s short game would complement Laura’s distance.

A playing partner to keep the great Jan Stephenson from getting too hard on herself might be another Little goal. I would go with Alfredsson and Stephenson and then Nicholas and Trish Johnson, who just won on the LET thus becoming the oldest winner ever on either the LPGA Tour or LET. Crafter’s putting might pair well with Wendy Doolan.

On the American side, Lopez might be enticed by the idea of Inkster-Daniel and Jones-Steinhauer pairings out of the gate as power-pairings to score a quick couple of points Saturday morning.

Perhaps Captain Lopez will also put Pat Bradley and Sherri Turner out together. Their experience and wisdom would be complementary and, personality-wise, it would appear to be a comfortable combination. Sherri’s distance would also complement Pat’s iron play and short game.

Why keep speculating though? We shall soon know.

 

8:54 PM Update: Well, as it turned out, Inkster-Mallon will be the U.S. Team’s power-pairing for Saturday’s morning and afternoon matches. The World’s power-pairing will be Laura Davies and Trish Johnson in both Saturday matches. It appears that Captain Lopez is playing the same U.S. pairings in the afternoon while Sally Little “mixed it up” a bit more by reshuffling some of her pairings.

Nicholas is paired with Coe-Jones in the morning and Helen Alfredsson in the afternoon. Assistant World Captain Coe-Jones is apparently substituting for Jan Stephenson who is not scheduled to play Saturday. (There is no mention of this on the Legends Tour site.)