It was a brutal day at Gleneagles with high winds, rain and low temperatures testing the mettle of both teams. Team USA came out narrowly on top taking the afternoon fourballs by 2½ matches to 1½ after the morning foursomes had been shared. So, it is all tied at 8-8 ahead of the twelve singles today and the Americans, given their past record in singles, must be viewed as the favourites.
You couldn’t write the script. It all came down to the last putt on the last green and standing over that putt was none other than, controversial captain’s pick, the superb Suzann Pettersen. With nerves of absolute steel Pettersen stroked the putt right into the centre of the cup and the crowd went wild. Your writer’s children wondered what was going on with their father shouting at the television – “Unbelieveable, totally unbelievable”.
Europe take a slender lead into day two of the 16th Solheim Cup at Gleneagles. After Europe took the morning foursomes by a score of 2½ matches to 1½, an exciting rollercoaster of an afternoon ended in the fourball matches being shared to leave Europe with an overall lead by 4½ matches to 3½.
The teams were introduced, the crowds were bedecked in the colours of the teams and Sharleen Spiteri and Texas hit the stage to liven up proceedings. First points in the fashion stakes probably went to Europe with their mid length coats and Solheim Cup tartan scarves winning it out over the the not quite so flattering short jackets of Team USA. A real spectacle indeed and here are some of the best images.
The players in the afternoon fourballs are on the back nine. The target time for the matches is four and half hours and they are on five hours and forty-five-minute pace. It seems that the men’s game is not the only one plagued by slow play problems.
The haggis has been piped in, the Solheim tartan is out in force and the smiles are out, for the meoment. Countdown to the Solheim Cup has begun and may the best team win. This year, of the twenty four players taking part nine of them are rookies, three on Team Europe side and a record six joining Team USA.
The Solheim Cup is just three weeks away and Team USA captain, Juli Inkster, used her picks to add some experience to her rookie Solheim Cup line up last night. This will be Stacy Lewis’ fifth Solheim Cup and Morgan Pressel’s sixth.
Following the Ladies Scottish Open the first eight players have been confirmed for the 2019 European Solheim Cup team. This afternoon the Team Europe captain Catriona Matthew will break some hearts and delight others as she makes her four captain’s picks. But GolfPunk have it covered, so you can relax Catriona as these are the picks!
Well we nearly got the final line up right in that we predicted three of the four captain’s picks. European Captain Catriona Matthew went for France’s Celine Boutier, English stars Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Bronte Law and Norway’s Suzann Pettersen.
With the Solheim cup a month away they have the Solheim tartan, they even have a tartan fairway what they don’t have is a home player. Yesterday, Carly Booth may have answered Catriona Matthew’s prayers and give the Team Europe captain the excuse she needed to select a fellow countrywoman for the team.
With all of the majors now done and dusted, attention in the women's game turns to The 16th Solheim Cup which will be played on the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles from 13th to the 15th of September. Here is your GolfPunk guide to all thing Solheimy.
GolfPunk will be donning their tartan trews on the opening day of the Solheim Cup at Gleneagle for #TartanFriday. Catriona Matthew has been working with Abacus Sportswear of Sweden to produce the official Solheim Cup tartan for Team Europe and the results are as they say north of the border ‘pure tidy’.
