2015 Solheim Cup: From Hi-Jinks to Golf

The two years of waiting are finally at an end.  The preliminaries — the practice rounds, the smack talk, the news conferences, and the locker room hi-jinks — are behind us and it’s just about time to get down to the serious business of match play competition.  The 14th edition of the Solheim Cup tees off in about 12 hours.

Captain Juli Inkster is taking her team into the competition focussed on the serious business of reversing the fortunes on the United States team.  Inkster’s stripped away the 2013 peripherals — face paint, tattoos, nail polish and ribbons — in favor of a singular emphasis on playing golf.  Although she’s not revealing the details, Inkster will be using the pod system employed by U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger in his 2008 victory at Valhalla Golf Club.

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The pod system — much discussed in the very public post-mortem press conferences of the losing United States 2014 Ryder Cup team — groups like-minded players with similar personalities who spend the week both on and off the course together.

Team Europe is taking notice and despite Charley Hull’s locker room hi-jinks of Wednesday, Carin Koch’s dozen is as ready as Team USA to deliver some serious golf.

The Europeans will be coming into the three-day grind looking for an unprecedented third successive victory.  Every member of the European team is highly experienced and skilled at match play in general and at the Solheim Cup specifically. The Europeans are hoping to build on the team chemistry which helped them to win 18-10 in 2013, when Caroline Hedwall became the first player in Solheim Cup history to win five points out of five in the match, when Anna Nordqvist recorded that historic ace, and when that audacious teenage rookie, Charlie Hull, defeated veteran Paula Creamer.

Read More: 2015 Solheim Cup Team Europe Profiles

While the Americans, as a team, outrank the Europeans in the world rankings, they’re coming into the 2015 Solheim Cup bearing the burden of defeat in 2011 and 2013.  Yet the United States team feels ready for the challenge. Stacy Lewis, the top-ranked player on Team USA summed up the team’s sentiments at her Wednesday press conference:

"“There’s no pressure. There’s no stress at all. I don’t know it’s just been great so much. Juli is super competitive, and that I think more than anything is what separates her from the other captains I’ve played for is how competitive Juli is.”"

Read More: 2015 Solheim Cup Team USA Profiles

Play begins Friday morning with four alternate shots matches followed by four best ball matches Friday afternoon.  The format is repeated on Saturday, with alternate shots matches in the morning and best ball matches in the afternoon.  Then on Sunday all players from both teams will take the field for 12 singles matches.

Despite rain early in the week weather should not figure into the equation. The weather forecast for St. Leon-Rot is occasional showers and partial sun Friday and Saturday and clear skies on Sunday, with temperatures in the 60s throughout the three days of play.

Keeping in mind that Germany is 10-14 hours ahead of the United States on the international clock, Golf Channel will provide live coverage of all three days of the 2015 Solheim Cup: Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19, 2am-noon; Sunday, 4:30-11am, all times ET.

Follow ProGolfNow on Twitter @ProGolfNow for ongoing updates of all matches.

Next: Morgan Pressel, A Class Act

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