Sweating out the Solheim Cup

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Before the final round of the State Farm Classic, Emilee Klein had all of the symptoms: sweaty palms, dry throat, knots in her stomach, nausea and insomnia.

Klein was coming down with Solheim Cup fever.

With only one day remaining to qualify for the U.S. Solheim team and a leader board that was more cluttered than Oscar Madison's bedroom, Klein wasn't alone.

THE SHAG BAG Lost in the commotion of qualifying for the Solheim Cup team was Patricia Meunier-Lebouc's first LPGA Tour title. Two years ago the Frenchwoman knew all about Solheim hype, as a member of the European team. But because she is playing the LPGA Tour full time, she didn't have a chance to make this year's squad. ... Don't feel bad about Mi Hyun Kim's runner-up finish. She picked up an extra $100,000 for winning the season-long State Farm Series championship. ... More proof that Annika Sorenstam isn't motivated by money: The Swede skipped the State Farm despite being second in the State Farm Series standings. With triple points awarded, she fell out of the top 10 and received no extra cash. ... Beth Bauer saw her chance to win her first LPGA event splash in the pond on 16, but her fourth-place finish helped her build a comfortable lead in the Rookie of the Year race. Her closet competitor is Natalie Gulbis, who missed the cut. Gulbis has been under the weather with a stomach virus; Wednesday night she was in the emergency room hooked up to an i.v. because she hadn't eaten any solid food in five days. ... Janice Moodie and Danielle Ammaccapane probably would like to forget the past two weeks. Both missed qualifying for their respective Solheim Cup teams and both were DQ'd last Monday after finishing the First Union Betsy King Classic. The two played together Sunday in Kutztown, Pa., and inadvertently filled out the wrong scorecards. The mistake cost Moodie a top-10 finish and $40,000. ... Commissioner Ty Votaw traded barbs with sportswriter Christine Brennan on ABC's Nightline last Monday night, and the commish held his own. But the line of the night came from Jan Stephenson, about Tiger Woods' sex appeal: "If Tiger would disrobe there'd be a lot of people who'd like to see it, including myself." ... Longtime caddie Frank Chilton passed away last week in California at the age of 79. The always chatty Chilton looped for many Hall of Famers, including Amy Alcott, who once rewarded him by buying him a set of false teeth as a bonus.

"Wow, how about this Solheim Cup race!" said Heather Daly-Donofrio, leaping up on the practice putting green to catch a glimpse of the scoreboard, which was perched just past the bleachers on the 18th green.

Even though Korea's Mi Hyun Kim and France's Patricia Meunier-Lebouc were tied for the 54-hole lead, all eyes were on Klein, Nancy Scranton and Pat Hurst. Each member of the trio stood just outside the top 12, with a chance to pass No. 11 Kelly Robbins and No. 10 Kelli Kuehne, who both mysteriously took the week off, for automatic berths.

At that point, captain Patty Sheehan had no idea which 10 players were going to earn their way on to the U.S. squad -- which will face Europe at Interlachen Country Club in Minneapolis Sept. 20-22 -- let alone who her two captain's picks were going to be. The Hall of Famer knew only one thing for certain: "I'm going to have some wine at dinner," Sheehan joked. "And then we will have some discussions and probably more discussions. But right now anything could happen, so I don't have a clue whom I might pick."

In retrospect, Klein wishes she had had a few glasses of wine with dinner, too. Maybe that would have helped her get to sleep. Anxious to play the final round and worried that if she didn't make the team on points she would be skipped over once again, the 28 year old got only four hours of shut-eye.

Even though she was 13th in the pecking order heading into the final tournament, Klein didn't want to leave her fate in the hands of Sheehan. In 1996, just a month after winning two tournaments, including the Women's British Open, Klein was in a similar position (12th) after the last week of the Solheim race. Much to her disappointment, Judy Rankin, the captain that year, elected to take veterans Beth Daniel and Brandie Burton, Nos. 11 and 13 on the list.

"That was very hard," Klein said. "I know that I was young and it's hard to pick a rookie, but at the same time I had just won two tournaments playing great golf. To get skipped over really hurt."

It was the same kind of hurt that Dorothy Delasin probably felt after making a 10 on the par-5 eighth hole Friday with Sheehan observing. Sheehan told the 21-year-old, No. 12 in the standings, that the blunder would have no bearing on whether she makes the squad, but Delasin probably will still have nightmares about the hole for the next several months. Delasin ultimately was named as an alternate.

Danielle Ammaccapane also knows how painful it is to not make the team. She covered her face Sunday when Sheehan gave her the news. While the two were too far away to be overheard, watching Sheehan put her arm around Ammaccapane meant the news wasn't good.

Hurst thought she was going to get the same bad news. She needed to finish fifth or better at the State Farm to secure a spot on team. Despite a valiant effort, she placed ninth and stormed off into the clubhouse, where she ran into Sheehan.

"I was in the locker room having a meltdown when she came in," Hurst said. "I said to her, 'I hope I didn't just blow my chances of making the team.'"

Sheehan quickly relieved Hurst's worries by confirming that she was a captain's pick: "Just play well when we get there."

Klein avoided any uncertainty with a gutsy performance. Her defining moment came on the treacherous 16th, when she wielded her trusty 11-wood to put the ball inches from the hole, for a tap-in birdie. With a final-round 67 Klein leapfrogged Robbins, the other captain's selection, to finish ninth in the standings. Perhaps more important, Klein won the admiration of Sheehan.

"She showed a lot of moxie out there," Sheehan said of Klein. "She hit a lot of clutch shots, and she showed me she really wanted to be on the team."

Klein obviously was excited about the finally making the squad and having the chance to represent her country, but she said it probably wouldn't sink in until later in the evening. "Maybe after a couple of glasses of wine tonight," Klein joked.

No doubt Sheehan probably will be making a few toasts as well, because she knows it's the best remedy for Solheim Cup fever.

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.

 

Related information

Stories

France's Meunier-Lebouc picks up first LPGA win Klein earns Solheim spot; Hurst, Robbins added Last week's Inside the LPGA: Ochoa goes big-game fishing

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video