We must all club together
didn’t know how many points she had won!
“We also have some motivational videos and showed one the other night. It was nice, the players’ families giving good luck messages. None of them knew about it so it was a big surprise and they really liked that one. A few tears were shed.
“We’re just here to keep them loose, keep them relaxed. Once Friday comes it’s stressful enough.
“You can try to tell someone who has never been on that first tee what it’s like but you never know how you’re going to react until you get there and experience it. We’re just trying to help them and give them advice.
“But they are all good players. I’m sure they will cope with it. It’s just telling them to enjoy it – if you don’t enjoy this you’re doing the wrong thing.”
Matthew insisted her preparations have been plain sailing but the same can’t be said about the Americans, who were forced to draft in Ally McDonald yesterday after wildcard pick Stacy Lewis had to withdraw with a back injury.
It’s nothing the European captain hasn’t seen before. Two years ago she had to dig the clubs out to play after originally being named as a vice captain following Suzann Pettersen’s late injury.
Matthews said: “It’s tough for them and disappointing.
“We were in the same situation last time with Suzann. I feel sorry for Stacy. You have that elation of being picked and then not being able to play because you are BY MICHAEL GANNON AMERICAN captain Juli Inkster admits her Solheim Cup preparations have been thrown into turmoil after losing a player – and a set of clubs.
Team USA were rocked after Stacey Lewis was forced to withdraw from the Gleneagles showdown with a back injury – with rookie Ally McDonald drafted in as a late replacement.
But there was another blow after ace Angel Yin’s clubs and clothes failed to land in Scotland with the rest of the team.
Inkster’s side are still heavy favourites but the skipper confessed it is a major blow losing a key player on the eve of the event.
She said: “It’s just a hard decision because I picked Stacey because she is one of our leaders and I really wanted her to play.
“But I feel I have the best of both worlds now as I have a healthy player and I have Stacey helping us out.
“It’s disappointing for her but I said 10 years from now it’s going to be a little blip in your life. You’ve got a lot more Solheim Cups.”
Lewis revealed she was gutted to miss out but is ready to roar Team USA on from inside the ropes.
She said: “The girls have been great and they’ve helped me through it.
“It’s just disappointing because this is my favourite tournament. But I’ll be sticking around and watching.
“I’ll be by Ally’s side through the week.”
Losing Lewis has left the Americans with a half a team injured, it’s unlucky for them. But Ally is a good, solid player so they have an able replacement there.”
Matthews is up for the fight but is well aware the US are overwhelming favourites to win a third consecutive Solheim.
Her vice captain is having none of it and Solheim Cup legend Davies said: “It’s very important we win it.
“We don’t want the Americans to do this three-peat they keep talking about.
“We are 2-1 outsiders but I think that’s a good bet. The American team is incredibly good. But it’s on home soil and a bit chillier, which evens it out a bit.
“The world rankings have a lot to do with the odds but home soil outweighs most things.
“We’ve done most of our of first-timers at the Solheim Cup looking to win for the first time on Scottish soil following defeats in 1992 and 2000.
Inkster said: “We’ve got six great rookies. They don’t know that we’ve never won in Scotland, unless you guys tell them.
“And I think that’s what’s great. If you’re a rookie, it’s a lot easier to play away for your first Solheim because you’re really not expected to win and you can go out there and play a little looser.
“You don’t have the US crowd pumping you up and you just rely a lot on your team-mates and your team.
“We are all very excited to see how they do because it can be so nerve-racking out there.”
Inkster is hoping Yin’s gear turns up today so she can kick-off her own preparations.
She said: “It has been hard. I’m not going to lie. It has been hard on Angel because she wants to get out there.
“She’s 20. She wants to be out there and be with her team-mates.
“So I do feel for her because we’ve all been in that spot where we’ve lost our clubs.” winning on home soil – it’s had a huge bearing.
“Everyone says we want a bit of rain for the Americans. No, we want beautiful weather so the galleries are our 13th man out there cheering us on.
“Scotland is a great place for the galleries, they love their golf and hopefully we’ll put on a show for them.”
Davies wants to whip up the home fans into a frenzy but the skipper won’t get caught up in the storm.
The English star added: “To me it’s just the calmness. Beany (Matthew) has always been calm. But she’s a fierce competitor, make no mistakes about it.
“She wants to win this more than anyone. She has put a lot into the last two years.”