Solheim Rookies shine at the Open
EUROPE’S Solheim Cup captain Annika Sorenstam believes the weight has been lifted from her team after a fine collective performance in the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns yesterday. Korean Kim In-kyung took the trophy but was pushed hard by England’s Jodi Ewart-Shadoff, who clinched her Solheim place in style with a final round 64, which left her two strokes back in second place. She was one of three members of Sorenstam’s side to finish in the top five, as 21-yearold Georgia Hall from Bournemouth and Germany’s Caroline Masson finished tied third. The Solheim Cup will take place in Des Moines, Iowa next week, and the two teams were finalised after proceedings in Scotland. Sorenstam leant heavily on youth for her picks in selecting little-known rookies Madelene Sagstrom from Sweden and Emily Pedersen from Denmark. They will take their place in a team featuring five players from England. Alongside Hall and EwartShadoff will be Charley Hull, Mel Reid and Florentyna Parker. Sorenstam’s American counterpart Juli Inkster also went with youth, ignoring the claims of Solheim veterans Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressell for Angel Yin, 18, and Austin Ernst, 25. The home team will be led by the formidable Lexi Thompson, with help from Solheim regulars Stacy Lewis, Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie. Sorenstam needed a strong showing from her team at Kingsbarns to instil confidence and she got it. For both EwartShadoff and Hall it was comfortably their best finish in a major, and they can now look forward to their Solheim debuts. ‘I didn’t have much confidence going into this event after missing the cut last week but I’ve got plenty now and I’m looking forward to taking on the Americans,’ said Ewart-Shadoff, and Hall added: ‘I think I was about five when I first stood over a putt and said, “This is for the Solheim Cup”. It feels great to make the team.’ As for the women’s Open, it was hard not to begrudge Kim her success, five years on from missing a putt of no more than 12 inches to win a major. ‘A lot of my team helped me along the way to enjoy golf again and love what I do,’ said the 29-year-old. ‘Winning this trophy feels great.’