|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Smoldering rivalry? Europeans have last laugh against 'almighty' Americans
Just when everyone was crying that the Solheim Cup wasn't competitive, the Europeans win and make the bi-annual event interesting. The Europeans' so-called upset, 14 1/2 to 11 1/2, at Loch Lomond in Scotland on Sunday may be the shot in the arm that the event needs to move to the next level. Prior to the start of the tournament, writers, fans and players insisted the United States' opponent should be comprised of players from all over the world -- not just European players -- to make it fair. While I think Korea's Se Ri Pak and Australia's Karrie Webb deserve a place to showcase their talent, the Solheim Cup may now have the rivalry it needs to get everyone fired up.
If you'll recall, very few people cared about the Ryder Cup (the men's version of the Solheim Cup) until the Europeans won two consecutive competitions in the 1980s ('85 and '87). Since then, the Ryder Cup has become the most anticipated competition in golf. Now that the Europeans have knocked off the almighty Americans for the second time in six events, maybe the Solheim Cup will get the same respect that the world gives the Ryder Cup. Maybe this will also help the Europeans lose their second-best status, even though that was the motivation for their victory this year. "We're always the underdogs," said Europe's Alison Nicholas. "We're always told we're no good, and I think that inspired the team." To ensure that the Europeans remain strong, Dale Reid needs to become the permanent captain, Annika Sorenstam should always have a spot on the team and the match should always be played in sloppy conditions in Scotland. In her heyday Reid was considered a pretty tough competitor. She played on three Solheim teams and even beat Dottie Pepper one year in the singles competition. Reid's experience in the event has allowed the players to feel as though they can relate to her. "Reidy is the first captain on our team, certainly, who has ever played in the Solheim Cup," said Laura Davies. "She knew what we wanted to do and she knew what we did not want to do, more important -- and perhaps that's not been what we've had in the past. She's laid back, and I think that's what we like about her. " While Reid took much criticism, even from myself, for her captain's selections (by the way, those captain's picks earned 3 1/2 points on Sunday, which was the difference in the match), she proved to be the true-grit leader that the Europeans needed. She thought attacks by the media provided more fodder for the team, and thanked the scribes after the win. "It was mostly you guys (the media) ... thank you," said Reid about the negative press. "You inspired this team this week. They showed you guys that they can play right." Reid described her position as a babysitter. Instead of being controlling, she allowed each player to be her own person. She allowed Catrin Nilsmark to sing on the team bus, Davies to blast the Americans, Helen Alfredsson to play hurt, and most important, Sorenstam to speak her piece. On the eve of the first match, the normally soft-spoken Sorenstam stood at the team dinner and gave a speech that was reminiscent of Knute Rockne, which surprised the whole team, including Reid. "She's so geared up for this it's unbelievable. I've never seen Annika try to spur the team on," said Reid. "She stood up and said she felt it was a very important week for everybody and one of her most important weeks. She talked about how many tournaments the whole table had won -- well over 100 -- and how much money they had won, probably enough to buy half this island. And she said, 'Let's go out and do it.' " The next morning, the Europeans did go out and do it. For the first time in history, they swept the morning matches to get off to a 4-0 start and started believing they could win. The other key for the Europeans was the home-field advantage. Not just playing across the pond but playing in a pond. After several days of rain, Loch Lomond turned into a water adventure park, and the only ones having fun were the Europeans. With the colder-than-normal temperatures, the Americans were undoubtedly out of their element. But the biggest factor in the European victory was probably pride. One thing I know about the likes of Alfredsson, Davies, Trish Johnson and Nicholas is they don't like to lose at anything. I don't care if it's cards, cricket, soccer or tiddlywinks, they will do what ever it takes to win. And what makes matters even worse is when you have to face your enemy week-in and week-out and you only have one shot every two years to turn the tables. "We're sick of being beat, to be honest," said Johnson. "We all play over there [in the U.S.]. Ninety percent of the team plays in the States all year long. It's not much fun every two years going back to play there when you know what they're thinking." Well, who has the last laugh now? I'm sure the Europeans will enjoy every minute of it for the next two years.
Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, is a longtime caddie on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
