Chaos strikes Europe on eve of Solheim Cup
Catriona Matthew thought she would be Sorenstam’s vice-captain here before assuming the skipper’s role when the biennial contest against the americans moves to Gleneagles in 2019.
now the 47- year- old Scot, Britain’s finest player over the past 15 years, will make a ninth appearance when the contest begins tomorrow in place of Suzann Pettersen, who pulled out with a back injury.
Sorenstam, a self- confessed ‘numbers and analytical nerd’, admitted Pettersen’s withdrawal had thrown her carefully laid plans into chaos.
‘Suzann informed me on Saturday she might be struggling and there has been a lot of juggling since then, to put it mildly,’ said the Swede. ‘There was a Plan a in terms of pairings and then there were a lot of versions. They made fun of me in the team room, it was like which version are you going to send this time? But we’ve got our Plan B now, and we’ll stick with that.’
Pettersen went for a run on Saturday before she was supposed to go to a wedding, but ruptured a disc in her back. ‘i just thought i’d do a bit of exercise beforee sitting down all day but there was no wedding,ng, i can tell you that,’ she said.id
‘i’ve done everything i can since then to be ready and i was looking forward to playing with the rookies, because they’re absolutely ready for this stage. But it’s just not going to be 100 per cent on Friday morning, and there’s no point playing in a Solheim Cup if you’re not feeling right.’
Matthew has been a member of three triumphant teams and holed the winning point way back in 2003 in Sweden, when Sorenstam was a player herself.
Pettersen is a formidable competitor and only two members of her team have a better world ranking, but there are some grounds for thinking her misfortune might actually help Europe.
She found herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons when the match was played in Germany in 2015, following a piece of poor sportsmanship when she claimed a pivotal hole after her opponent alison Lee had assumed an 18-inch putt had been conceded. The americans, incandescent at the time, have never forgiven the norwegian and she was in for a hostile welcome here, with 200,000 people expected to attend.
Matthew practised with the team on Tuesday, and played the course a couple of months ago on a reconnaissance mission with Sorenstam.
‘it’s been a difficult few days,’ she conceded. ‘i’m gutted for Suzann, obviously, because playing in the Solheim Cup is the highlight of your career, but it is a tough week if you’re not 100 per cent. as for myself, it’s obviously a bonus at this stage of my career.’
Sorenstam will be hoping nothing else goes wrong, in what has been an unfortunate build-up for both ccaptains. never mind the old saying ‘ Beware ththe injured golfer’ — SSorenstam and her opposite number Juli inkster have been besieged by them.
The american side hhad barely been fifinalised just over a fofortnight ago when JesJessica korda pulled out wwith a forearm injury. aandd lleadingdi home player Lexi Thompson hasn’t practised yet because of a virus.
Europe also have two more players with question marks over whether they could complete 36 holes in a day: Charley Hull, who has been troubled with a wrist injury all season, and anna nordqvist, who has just recovered from glandular fever.
There is a gentleman’s agreement if a player is too injured to compete in the Ryder Cup singles. He is matched with a player from the other team whose name was put in an envelope before the start of the event and the game declared a half.
no such niceties in the Solheim. if a player is too injured to play in the singles, the point is forfeited. at the current rate of attrition there might be more points forfeited on Sunday than won.