Anna’s timely boost for Europe . . . but Beth will still root for the USA
Catriona Matthew’s confidence about Europe retaining the Solheim Cup will have been given a timely boost by events at Carnoustie last weekend.
To see Anna Nordqvist lift the Women’s Open to play her way
on to the team, and England’s Georgia Hall and Nordqvist’s fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom finish in a tie for second came at just the right time for Matthew.
With the match at the Inverness Club in Ohio starting next Saturday, Europe’s Scottish captain will attempt to lead her players to only a second victory on American soil in nine matches.
Beth Allen has a foot in both camps. The Edinburgh-based American learned her game in California, but she has spent the majority of her professional career on the European Tour.
She counts Matthew as a close friend and knows her steely determination will come across to the European team.
“Before last week, I would have said that the US had an enormous advantage,” Allen told The Sunday Post.
“But the Europeans played so well at Carnoustie. Anna was not on the team and she would normally have been a shoo-in, so when a player like that shows form, it spurs the team on, while Georgia played very well, too.
“Catriona was quietly confident anyway but she’ll be really glad a lot of players are in form. That makes a huge difference for Europe.
“But all of the players who were with at Gleneagles will be eager to win it for her again.
“One of Catriona’s big strengths is that she lets everyone get on
with their own game. She knows they are good players and the girls respond to that.
“I’ve spoken to her about there being hardly any European supporters in the crowd and they will use that to fire themselves up.
“They will definitely want to silence any loud American cheers.”
With home advantage and hardly any visiting fans, the US would be favourites anyway, even before the disparity in the world rankings.
They have the world No. 1 in Nelly Korda and four other players in the top 20. At 16, Nordqvist is the sole European.
But Allen, who has been working on TV at the Curtis Cup and will be commentating on the world feed next weekend, insists that favouritism towards the Americans in team events is often misplaced.
“Matchplay is totally different,” she argued.
“The Europeans play much more golf like this as youngsters in their amateur days. You need different tactics and a different mindset – to be more aggressive.
“I compare it to learning a foreign language. If you’re taught it at a young age, it becomes ingrained whereas it’s harder to pick it up when you’re older.
“It’s awkward, especially in foursomes, if you only play it once every two years.
“Growing up and learning the game in America, I considered myself a good player but the only matchplay experience I got was in the US Women’s Amateur.
“The majority of Europeans have the best of both worlds in playing both strokeplay and matchplay.”
But for Allen, the 2016 Order of Merit winner on the Ladies European Tour, the million-dollar question is where her affinities lie.
“I like to think it’s win-win for me,” she reasoned.
“I live here and my wife is performance director at Scottish Golf. But I said on commentary on Thursday I would be supporting America and I got a text straight away from Catriona!
“But it’s hard to root against the European players. I’ve seen them all grow up and achieve what they have. I remember playing in Morocco with Charley Hull when she was 17.
“Plus, I was so pleased for Catriona at Gleneagles in 2019. That was brilliant for her and Scotland.
“It will be hard to top the climax when Suzann Pettersen holed the winning putt, although hopefully it will be comparable next weekend.
“But I can tell you when it comes to the Ryder Cup, I’m a diehard American!”