For a nation that takes such pride in sporting achievement, the United States has become worryingly accustomed to bruising experiences on golf courses.
Last weekend’s Walker Cup success for Great Britain & Ireland continued the trend of US teams losing to what in black and white would appear to be inferior opposition. Time and again, from amateur to professional and male to female, the United States discover their golfing collective does not reflect individual ability.
And so to the 14th playing of the Solheim Cup, near Heidelberg in south-west Germany. Juli Inkster’s USA side are seeking to avoid what would be a third defeat in a row. Her approach has been of the back-to-basics variety; no face-painting, hair ribbons or butt-bumping will be permitted in the ranks. Weight of expectation extends beyond this event.
“Pressure is what you make it,” said Inkster. “We are going to have to play very well to beat them and everybody in my team knows that. We have an opportunity to right the ship and what we do with that is up to us. I don’t think I have to stoke any fire with them. They are all competitive golfers. They are all professionals. If they didn’t have competitiveness in them, they wouldn’t be in this sport.
“Golf is a funny game; you get momentum and things happen really quickly. I think sometimes you try too hard. It’s not like they ever go out there and try to lose; sometimes the other team just plays better and makes more putts.
“The Solheim Cup only happens every two years so there is a lot of pressure to get things done at that time. I think sometimes we don’t handle that well.”
Carin Koch, Europe’s captain, is seeking to retain a winning formula. “We are just riding a good wave,” she said.
Inkster’s cause has not been helped by a bout of food poisoning incurred by her only debutant, Alison Lee, which at the very least will rule her out of Friday morning’s foursomes. Lee had been due to partner Michelle Wie in match two, with her place taken by Brittany Lincicome. By afternoon, Lee had not eaten for 48 hours and had been placed on an intravenous drip.
“She just can’t shake off this stomach bug,” Inkster said. “I would be a little worried to send her out. We have just got to see how it evolves.
“What I am worried about is her strength and being able to handle not only the mental aspect but also the physical aspect. It is definitely a disruption but a lot of teams have played with a man down and been successful.
“She is young. I hope she bounces back. I don’t want her heave-hoing on the golf course, that’s not fun. I want to put her out there when I feel like she can succeed and not have to play through what she has now.
“I know she wants to play. I know I want to get her out there. She is a great player.”
Koch offered little sympathy. “I have had a stomach bug before, I have played without eating for a few days,” the Swede said. “If you have to play, you go out and play.
“Of course all of us are hoping that she will be fit to play at some stage before Sunday. She is young. When you are young, you recover pretty fast.”
Koch has mixed and matched her multinational team other than pairing two English players, Charley Hull and Melissa Reid, for the opening session.
“I knew they would like to play together,” she explained. “Seeing them in practice, they have a lot of fun together. They have games and personalities that go together. It was an easy one for me.”
An omen? On ThursdayYesterday morning, at St Leon-Rot’s 3rd hole, Hull produced her first ever hole-in-one.
morning’s foursomes Nordqvist/Pettersen v Pressel/Creamer (USA); Hull/Reid v Wie/Lincicome (USA); Icher/Munoz v Kerr/Thompson (USA); Gal/Matthew v Lewis/Salas (USA)
