Solheim Cup
American and Euro captains opt to send out their rookies early in Solheim Cup opener
Scott Taetsch
GAINESVILLE, Va. — There is no waiting for this year's four Solheim Cup rookies to make their debuts. Both U.S. captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen are sending their two first-time players out in foursomes Friday morning, with their approaches to pairings arriving at a similar conclusion to get the rookies going early.
Pettersen went with her instincts, feeling there was no point in having Olympic silver medalist Esther Henseleit and three-year LPGA veteran Albane Valenzuela sit around and wonder what the experience is like. Lewis pointed to its model's analytics that rookies Sarah Schmelzel and local Virginia native Lauren Coughlin's games fit the format well at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
"On our side and on the U.S. side, we call them rookies," Pettersen said. "I think they're quite handling the situation fairly well. They're kind of a bit of that sassy confidence between them, which I like."
The biggest shock came from the end of European stalwart Leona Maguire's ironwoman streak. The Irishwoman had not missed a session in her two prior Solheim Cup appearances, going a dominant 7-2-1. Like anyone on the bench, Maguire expressed disappointment to Pettersen when told she would not play, but the Euro leader wanted not to overextend her best Solheim Cup player. Pettersen had Maguire, Linn Grant, and Emily Pedersen play all five sessions at the hilly Finca Cortesin last year, but was non-committal about anyone playing every sessions this go around.
"It's not a sprint," Pettersen said. "There's lots of matches that will be played. I'm sure you will see her [Maguire] on the course, but it's just kind of how it all pieced together this time around."
Charley Hull and Henseleit will have the opening tee shot in the first pairing, as the Euros still hold the Cup. Pettersen explained teaming them together since they're close friends, hoping Hull continues to light it up in the Solheim Cup with her 12-7-3 overall record. The Englishwoman dealt with a neck injury during last year's Solheim and avoided the possibility of playing hurt again after recently recovering from hurting her shoulder in a freak accident.
Lewis is leaning on the World No. 1, Nelly Korda, and 2023 U.S. Women's Open champion Allisen Corpuz in the opening group for the Americans. Lewis pointed out the pair gelled in their two foursomes victories last year, but that philosophy didn't stick for Thompson and Megan Khang, the other tandem in Spain that was part of the Americans’ opening 4-0 sweep. Both open the Solheim Cup on the bench, with the combinations from Lewis's analytics not working out to having the pair play together.
"I don't think you're going to see that pairing, but we could potentially still have it," Lewis explained.
Lewis's analytics system had a loud surprise last year when it sent the then much-maligned Thompson, who had missed five of six cuts going into the matches in Spain, in the first session. Their pairings model ended up with a subtler surprise stateside, the U.S. sending out its four worst performers from 2023 in Friday foursomes. Ally Ewing, Jennifer Kupcho, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang, with 13 LPGA titles and three majors among them, combined for three points and a brutal 2-10-2 record in Spain.
That may not have been entirely what the analytics suggested, as part of the challenge for the 39-year-old Lewis making pairings was the varying golf balls on the team. Eight of her players play Titleist, with Andrea Lee and Zhang using Callaway, Thompson using Maxfli, and Korda using TaylorMade. The first two pairs will have someone use a golf ball they're not used to, while the last two groupings play Titleist.
"Quite a bit of feedback on golf ball, that was the main thing there," Lewis said. "But I wanted them to be comfortable with who they were playing with as well. It was a two-way street. I kind of got us at a starting point, and then we rolled from there."
Kupcho and Ewing, at least, have on-paper success that requires no deep statistical dive to understand sending them out in the first session -- the pair dominated the two foursomes rounds in the DOW Championship, the LPGA's team event, to the tune of nine under par during their runner-up effort.
In Pettersen's media conference Tuesday, she emphasized getting off to a quicker start for the Euros, with the 4-0 sweep in Spain a wakeup call that remains fresh on the team's mind a year. The Euro leader responded by injecting two winning pairs from last year into the opening session lineup. The caveat is that they won in four-ball, not foursomes, and have no Solheim Cup experience together in alternate shot. Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark halved a Friday afternoon four-ball match, while Carlota Ciganda and Linn Grant swept their two four-ball matches.
After Pettersen eloquently explained how close the Solheim has been in recent years, that "A teams" can clash and come down to a chip in or hole out, and that you can play good golf and still lose, she simply crossed her fingers when asked what she hopes goes differently for the team in the opening session this go around.
"Maybe half a point more than we got in last year's Friday morning session would be great," Pettersen said.
FRIDAY MORNING FOURSOMES
Match 1: 7:05 a.m. (EDT)
Nelly Korda/Allisen Corpuz, U.S. vs. Esther Henseleit/Charley Hull, Europe
Match 2: 7:17 a.m. (EDT)
Rose Zhang/Lauren Coughlin, U.S. vs. Celine Boutier/Albane Valenzuela, Europe
Match 3: 7:29 a.m. (EDT)
Ally Ewing/Jennifer Kupcho, U.S. vs. Emily Pedersen/Maja Stark, Europe
Match 4: 7:41 a.m. (EDT)
Lilia Vu/Sarah Schmelzel, U.S. vs. Linn Grant/Carlota Ciganda, Europe
Not playing
U.S.: Lexi Thompson, Megan Khang, Andrea Lee, Alison Lee
Europe: Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom