Category: Solheim Cup

Angela Stanford named assistant captain for 2021 Solheim Cup

LPGA star Angela Stanford was named assistant captain for the 2021 Solheim Cup by captain Pat Hurst.

Angela Stanford was hitting balls in her new at-home hitting bay when Pat Hurst called on April 21. Stanford went back and looked up the date recently because keeping a secret for that long isn’t easy to do.

At last, she can tell the world that she’ll be by Hurst’s side in the role of assistant captain at next year’s Solheim Cup.

“I told (Hurst) it was kind of between tears and total excitement,” Stanford told a group of reporters, “and it was so hard because when you’re in quarantine, I was bouncing off the walls the rest of the night and there was nobody there to enjoy that with me.”

Assistant captains play a more visible role in the pod system, which three-time captain Juli Inkster put in place for the 2015 campaign and Hurst will continue. Each assistant is assigned a pod of players based on personality, and back then, Stanford was actually in Hurst’s pod. Stanford played a vital role in Team USA’s memorable comeback that year, earning the winning point against Suzann Pettersen in Germany.

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“That morning when I walked out on the putting green,” said Stanford, “I remember looking at my caddie and saying, ‘Hey, this is my turn. This is it. Let’s go.’ It felt so good from start to finish, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played in my life … it’s a memory that’s hard to put into words. I kind of get chills just thinking about it.”

A member of six Solheim Cup teams, the 42-year-old Stanford has six career LPGA victories, including the 2018 Evian Championship. Hurst and Stanford paired together in the 2007 Solheim Cup, defeating Iben Tinning and Bettina Hauert, 4 and 2, in foursomes. Stanford said Hurst took her under her wing early on in her LPGA career.

“Angela and I are pretty similar in a lot of ways,” said Hurst. “We both have a passion for the game. We love the red, white and blue, playing for our country. Angela, even playing for TCU, she’s just the biggest supporter of them, and she’s that way with representing the United States. That’s the way I am and that’s the way she is. … She’s level – she’s determined. I wouldn’t say level-headed; let me rephrase that.

“She wants to win. That’s … I see that in me.”

When asked about being a playing assistant at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, next September, Stanford said she’s at peace with whatever happens.

“I’m still a professional golfer and I’m still going tee it up and try to win golf tournaments,” she said, “and whatever that means in 2021, that’s what that means.”

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Pat Hurst named U.S. Solheim Cup captain for 2021

Pat Hurst represented the U.S. in five Solheim Cups (1998, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2007) and compiled a 10-7-3 record.

After three stints as assistant captain, Pat Hurst will step into the role of U.S. Solheim Cup captain for the 2021 contest at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, following in the footsteps of close friend Juli Inkster.

Hurst, a six-time winner on the LPGA, including the 1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational, competed on tour from 1995 to 2015. The mother of two currently works as an assistant coach at her alma mater, San Jose State.

In a letter posted on LPGA.com, the 50-year-old Hurst explained that she was in the car, waiting to a few errands with her husband, Jeff, when LPGA commissioner Mike Whan called and offered the job. Hurst said she might have stopped breathing for a bit while Whan talked.

“Deep down I hoped for that same opportunity,” said Hurst “A chance to take what I’d learned from Juli and put my personal touch on it.”

Hurst represented the U.S. in five Solheim Cups (1998, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2007) and compiled a 10-7-3 record.

She plans to continue using the pod system that Inkster adapted from Paul Azinger’s 2008 Ryder Cup stint.

Pat Hurst, Wendy Ward, Julie Inkster and Nancy Lopez at the start of the Opening Ceremony for the 2017 Solheim Cup at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. Photo by Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports

Hurst wrote that Inkster was the first person she called after getting off the phone with Whan. Inkster captained the U.S. to victories in 2015 and 2017 and came up short in a nail-biter last September in Scotland. Hurst told Golf Channel that Inkster would not be an assistant captain, wanting to give Hurst the chance to do it her own way.

“We’re two different people,” said Hurst, “but we’re also great friends who love and respect each other. I want to bring the best of what Juli brought and do it with my own personality. I think I’ve built a lot of trust with the players. I’ll have my own assistant captains and we will make sure players know that we’re there for them. We’ll take care of the details. We want them to go out, play, have fun and make birdies.”

On the European side, Catriona Matthew will return as captain after her triumphant run back home at Gleneagles.

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Catriona Matthew tapped for second European Solheim Cup captaincy

After leading the Europeans to a thrilling victory at Gleneagles, Catriona Matthew was reappointed as captain, and to no one’s surprise.

Catriona Matthew will attempt to pull off something two years from now that no European Solheim Cup captain has ever done: She’ll try to become the first captain to successfully defend the cup on U.S. soil.

Indeed, the 50-year-old Scot will try to become Europe’s first multiple Solheim Cup-winning captain.

Matthew will once again lead the European team when she takes the trophy to Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio in 2021. She led Europe to a dramatic 14 ½ – 13 ½ victory at Gleneagles this year.

Matthew, who counts three victories in her nine appearances as a player, was on the only Solheim Cup team to win the match in the United States. That was in 2013 when Liselotte Neumann captained the European team. The 2009 Women’s British Open winner fully understands the enormity of the task at hand.

“Winning the Solheim Cup in Scotland was a dream come true but backing that up with a win in America would be even better,” Matthew said.

“It’s always harder to win on U.S. soil, but I’m honored to be tasked with the mission. I was lucky enough to be part of the first European team to win on U.S. soil at Colorado Golf Club in 2013 and so know what’s possible.”

Suzann Pettersen holed Europe’s winning putt at Gleneagles and then announced her retirement from competitive golf. She would have been in the frame to lead Europe in Toledo, but will probably have to wait until the 2023 match.

The Norwegian was originally meant to take the role of vice-captain at Gleneagles along with Laura Davies and Kathryn Imrie, but swapped places with an out-of-form Mel Reid. Matthew announced that Pettersen, Davies and Imrie will return as vice captains.

“I’m thrilled that Catriona is returning as captain,” Pettersen said. “She’s a class act and obviously inspires all the players and team members around her. She’s not only a Solheim Cup legend, but she’s also a great leader, friend and mother. She had the faith in me to choose me as a wildcard pick, for which I will forever be grateful and she deserves all the credit.”

Said Davis, “Catriona was such a great captain that she deserves the chance to go and get the trophy back again.”

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