Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Captains back rookies to get off to flying start in Gleneagles Solheim Cup
EUROPE captain Catriona Matthew and opposite number Juli Inkster backed their rookies to get off to a flying start as the opening session of the 16th Solheim Cup began today.
Inkster, who can become the first captain to win the biennial contest three times in succession at Gleneagles, picked five of the six debutants on her side for this morning’s foursomes, while Matthew sent out two of her three rookies in the first two games.
“We wanted to try to get as many rookies out as we could the first day, the first morning,” Matthew said. “It’s just that it’s a long hang-on if they wait to go any later and they’re all keyed up, ready to go.
“Both sides are wanting to get off to a good start. Being the home side I think doing that would really get the crowd into it so we’re really going to go out there and do that and get some blue on the board and get a good start.”
English rookie and wild card Bronte Law partnered Spain’s Carlota Ciganda against Morgan Pressel and Marina Alex in the opening match, with former Women’s British Open winner Georgia Hall and France’s Celine Boutier up against Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare.
G e r m a n y ’s C a r o l i n e Masson and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff took on sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda in match three, with Charley Hull and Azahara Munoz up against Megan Khang and Annie Park in the final contest.
“They actually asked me to play together and I wasn’t too keen on it,” Inkster said of the Korda sisters, whose father Petr won the men’s singles title at the Australian Open in 1998.
“But the more I thought about it, it would be stupid not to play them. It’s not often you get two sisters on one team. They should have t he right to play together.”