Sunday
Aug232009
Americans rally for Solheim Cup victory
Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 7:53PM
Writing from Sugar Grove, Ill.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
There was a point early Sunday afternoon at Rich Harvest Farms when the European team not only had the lead in the 11th Solheim Cup Match, but appeared ready to score a dominating victory over the hosts from the United States.
Every match was on the course. The Europeans led in five of them and were all square with the Americans in three others. If every match ended as it stood, the visitors would win the Cup by a one-point margin.
Then, as European captain Alison Nicholas put it, "Unfortunately, the momentum changed in about a half-hour and went the Americans' way."
There, the momentum stayed.
Here, the Cup stays. The American rally, a barrage of birdies spurred on by roar after roar from the gallery of about 30,000, brought the U.S. LPGA team a 16-12 victory in the biennial match for the coveted crystal.
The big 3-up lead held by big Laura Davies? It evaporated, Brittany Lang fighting back for a half point against the freewheeling Brit by winning the last two holes.
The 2-up lead France's Gwladys Nocera held over captain's pick Juli Inkster with five holes to play? It vanished, wiped out by three straight birdies from the 49-year-old veteran, who scored a half point and then announced her Solheim Cup farewell.
Lang and Inkster were in the middle of the lineup. The first three Americans out, Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford and Michelle Wie, won their matches – Wie finished the week an undefeated 3-0-1, the 19-year-old crafting the best record of any American – to break the 8-all tie that existed after Saturday's matches, and rev up the Americans in the gallery.
Then the comebacks commenced. The combination of results and racket broke the momentum of the Europeans, and then their hearts.
"It was tough, especially when they were rallying," said England's Janice Moodie, who halved her anchor match with Natalie Gulbis, squandering a 3-up lead on the Floridian with five holes to play. "You hear cheers, and then nothing when you hit a good shot. So you think, 'Silence is golden.' "
There were several thousand European fans on hand, and they could be heard from start to finish. But the Americans outnumbered them by about 8 to 1, not that it mattered in the early going.
"Most of the day, it didn't look like it was gonna happen," U.S. captain Beth Daniel said. "But on the 12th, 13th, 14th holes, they turned this thing around. Juli Inkster's comeback was pretty darn gutsy, and our first three players were huge.
"The halves by Inkster and Lang were huge at that part of the day," Daniel allowed. "If we don't win those two halves, we don't win the Solheim Cup."
They built on the foundation stablished by the first three Americans in the lineup. They, like the others, were greeted on the first tee by an atmosphere that combined an Ohio State-Michigan football game with the F.A. Cup Final, all of it taking place during the first lap of the Indianapolis 500.
Angela Stanford knocked off Wales' Becky Brewerton 5 and 4, putting the first point on the board with Brewerton winning only one hole. Creamer broke a tie with Suzann Pettersen by winning the 10th, 12th and 14th holes.
Wie played a monumental match with Sweden's Helen Alfredsson, building a 3-up lead before seeing Alfredsson square the match with a rally. Wie then won the 15th hole with a birdie and the 16th with a par, hanging on for a 1-up triumph.
"Helen's the best, so tough to beat," Wie said.
Wie authored the shot of the day, and in response to a brilliant one. Alfredsson had hammered her second shot on the par 5 second hole to within four feet of the cup. Wie, with 213 yards left, hit her second to within three feet. The crowd, which applauded Alfredsson's fine shot mildly, went wild for Wie.
"That second shot was the best shot I've ever hit ever," Wie said. "Helen, she stuck it. She was playing great."
Alfredsson missed the eagle putt, after which Wie made hers to go 1-up. A birdie on the par-3 third followed, and another birdie on the par-4 sixth put Wie three holes ahead.
Then Alfredsson rallied, winning the eighth, ninth and 11th holes to square the match. Wie answered with a birdie to win the 15th, and used a par to win the 16th to go dormie 2. Alfredsson won the 17th with a par to keep the match alive, but matching pars at the last brought Wie the victory.
"She's a great, fantastic player," Alfredsson said.
Wie's win was the third point on the board. Then Catriona Matthew posted Europe's first win – and one of only two on the day – by knocking off Kristy McPherson 3 and 2. But the halved match by Lang, Brittany Lincicome's win over Sophie Gustafson and the halved match by Inkster went up in an 11-minute span.
"I kept talking to myself," Inkster said of her mindset when she was 2-down. "It's two holes. If you can't win two holes, you don't belong here."
The holes were won. The U.S. suddenly led 13-10 on the scoreboard, and had a 15 1/2-12 1/2 edge when incomplete matches were considered.
Yogi Berra's axiom aside, it was over before it was over. Morgan Pressel's 3 and 2 victory over Anna Nordqvist, which came about when Nordqvist missed a 10-foot par-saver on the 16th hole, made it official a few minutes after Christina Kim walked to the 17th tee dormie 2, assuring the U.S. of another half-point. She ended up beating Spain's Tania Elosegui 2 up.
The news of the American victory – the third straight for the Yanks – spread around the course quickly. Kim was actually one of the last two know. She figured it out when she saw Wie waving a big American flag by the 18th green.
"It's the most unbelievable thing in the world," Kim said, choking back tears.
"I knew we had the half-point from Christina going dormie," Pressel said. "It was awesome."
In short order came the group hug on the 18th green, and the closing ceremony, where each member of the American team held the crystal high. After that, the celebration was expected to continue in the lodge adjacent to the practice range. This time, Daniel, who admitted to waking at 4:11 a.m. the last few mornings, might still be up at that hour, and have plenty of company.
"We'll be good until tomorrow morning," Pressel said. "We'll be tired tomorrow."
– Tim Cronin
Sunday, August 23, 2009
There was a point early Sunday afternoon at Rich Harvest Farms when the European team not only had the lead in the 11th Solheim Cup Match, but appeared ready to score a dominating victory over the hosts from the United States.
Every match was on the course. The Europeans led in five of them and were all square with the Americans in three others. If every match ended as it stood, the visitors would win the Cup by a one-point margin.
Then, as European captain Alison Nicholas put it, "Unfortunately, the momentum changed in about a half-hour and went the Americans' way."
There, the momentum stayed.
Here, the Cup stays. The American rally, a barrage of birdies spurred on by roar after roar from the gallery of about 30,000, brought the U.S. LPGA team a 16-12 victory in the biennial match for the coveted crystal.
The big 3-up lead held by big Laura Davies? It evaporated, Brittany Lang fighting back for a half point against the freewheeling Brit by winning the last two holes.
The 2-up lead France's Gwladys Nocera held over captain's pick Juli Inkster with five holes to play? It vanished, wiped out by three straight birdies from the 49-year-old veteran, who scored a half point and then announced her Solheim Cup farewell.
Lang and Inkster were in the middle of the lineup. The first three Americans out, Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford and Michelle Wie, won their matches – Wie finished the week an undefeated 3-0-1, the 19-year-old crafting the best record of any American – to break the 8-all tie that existed after Saturday's matches, and rev up the Americans in the gallery.
Then the comebacks commenced. The combination of results and racket broke the momentum of the Europeans, and then their hearts.
"It was tough, especially when they were rallying," said England's Janice Moodie, who halved her anchor match with Natalie Gulbis, squandering a 3-up lead on the Floridian with five holes to play. "You hear cheers, and then nothing when you hit a good shot. So you think, 'Silence is golden.' "
There were several thousand European fans on hand, and they could be heard from start to finish. But the Americans outnumbered them by about 8 to 1, not that it mattered in the early going.
"Most of the day, it didn't look like it was gonna happen," U.S. captain Beth Daniel said. "But on the 12th, 13th, 14th holes, they turned this thing around. Juli Inkster's comeback was pretty darn gutsy, and our first three players were huge.
"The halves by Inkster and Lang were huge at that part of the day," Daniel allowed. "If we don't win those two halves, we don't win the Solheim Cup."
They built on the foundation stablished by the first three Americans in the lineup. They, like the others, were greeted on the first tee by an atmosphere that combined an Ohio State-Michigan football game with the F.A. Cup Final, all of it taking place during the first lap of the Indianapolis 500.
Angela Stanford knocked off Wales' Becky Brewerton 5 and 4, putting the first point on the board with Brewerton winning only one hole. Creamer broke a tie with Suzann Pettersen by winning the 10th, 12th and 14th holes.
Wie played a monumental match with Sweden's Helen Alfredsson, building a 3-up lead before seeing Alfredsson square the match with a rally. Wie then won the 15th hole with a birdie and the 16th with a par, hanging on for a 1-up triumph.
"Helen's the best, so tough to beat," Wie said.
Wie authored the shot of the day, and in response to a brilliant one. Alfredsson had hammered her second shot on the par 5 second hole to within four feet of the cup. Wie, with 213 yards left, hit her second to within three feet. The crowd, which applauded Alfredsson's fine shot mildly, went wild for Wie.
"That second shot was the best shot I've ever hit ever," Wie said. "Helen, she stuck it. She was playing great."
Alfredsson missed the eagle putt, after which Wie made hers to go 1-up. A birdie on the par-3 third followed, and another birdie on the par-4 sixth put Wie three holes ahead.
Then Alfredsson rallied, winning the eighth, ninth and 11th holes to square the match. Wie answered with a birdie to win the 15th, and used a par to win the 16th to go dormie 2. Alfredsson won the 17th with a par to keep the match alive, but matching pars at the last brought Wie the victory.
"She's a great, fantastic player," Alfredsson said.
Wie's win was the third point on the board. Then Catriona Matthew posted Europe's first win – and one of only two on the day – by knocking off Kristy McPherson 3 and 2. But the halved match by Lang, Brittany Lincicome's win over Sophie Gustafson and the halved match by Inkster went up in an 11-minute span.
"I kept talking to myself," Inkster said of her mindset when she was 2-down. "It's two holes. If you can't win two holes, you don't belong here."
The holes were won. The U.S. suddenly led 13-10 on the scoreboard, and had a 15 1/2-12 1/2 edge when incomplete matches were considered.
Yogi Berra's axiom aside, it was over before it was over. Morgan Pressel's 3 and 2 victory over Anna Nordqvist, which came about when Nordqvist missed a 10-foot par-saver on the 16th hole, made it official a few minutes after Christina Kim walked to the 17th tee dormie 2, assuring the U.S. of another half-point. She ended up beating Spain's Tania Elosegui 2 up.
The news of the American victory – the third straight for the Yanks – spread around the course quickly. Kim was actually one of the last two know. She figured it out when she saw Wie waving a big American flag by the 18th green.
"It's the most unbelievable thing in the world," Kim said, choking back tears.
"I knew we had the half-point from Christina going dormie," Pressel said. "It was awesome."
In short order came the group hug on the 18th green, and the closing ceremony, where each member of the American team held the crystal high. After that, the celebration was expected to continue in the lodge adjacent to the practice range. This time, Daniel, who admitted to waking at 4:11 a.m. the last few mornings, might still be up at that hour, and have plenty of company.
"We'll be good until tomorrow morning," Pressel said. "We'll be tired tomorrow."
– Tim Cronin
Reader Comments