When it comes to future U.S. Solheim Cup captains, Team USA has a deep pool of candidates.
When it comes to future U.S. Solheim Cup captains, Team USA has a deep pool of candidates. So deep, in fact, that it might be some time before we see some big names take the helm.
Stacy Lewis recently named a record four assistant captains for the 2024 Solheim Cup, adding Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome into the fold. Morgan Pressel and Angela Stanford return as assistants after working with Lewis last year in Spain.
What does the Solheim Cup committee look for in choosing a captain? Past Solheim Cup experience is a must. While winning a major isn’t a requirement (i.e. Rosie Jones), it’s definitely preferred.
And given how much the Solheim Cup has grown over the years, experience as an assistant captain will surely be seen as a vital component.
The list of players who should be given the honor is so long, in fact, that it’s hard to see how someone like Dottie Pepper gets back into the fold, though it’s certainly possible.
Here’s a list of decorated players who are likely to get the nod in the coming years:
The winner of the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open will get $1.8 million. The runner-up will earn more than last year’s champ.
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. – Stephanie Meadow finished third in her professional debut at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open on Pinehurst No. 2. She earned $285,102 for her efforts, a massive sum for a recent college graduate.
“I had a rough time in ’16 and ’17,” said Meadow of the years immediately following her father Robert’s death. “That money carried me through that.”
The U.S. Women’s Open purse has long had a life-changing impact, not just for winners, but for many like Meadow, who cash the biggest checks of their careers. Some, like her, won’t yet be tour members.
This week, that will likely happen more than ever with an historic $10 million purse on the table thanks in large part to the addition of ProMedica, the championship’s first presenting sponsor.
Brittany Lang echoes the thoughts of many of her peers when she says playing on the LPGA was never about the money. When she won this championship in 2016, she remembers walking in the parking lot with her mom and brother and asking, “What do you win for this? I don’t even know.”
It was always about the dream.
“Now that I’m close to hanging it up,” said Lang, “and I have a daughter, and you start thinking about money and you play worse.”
Lang made $810,000 when she won the Open at CordeValle.
The winner of this week’s championship will earn $1.8 million. The player who finishes runner-up will earn $1,080,000. That’s more than last year’s winner, Yuka Saso, who earned $1 million.
“Honestly, the thought of a $10 million purse just absolutely blows my mind to be perfectly honest,” said former major champ Karen Stupples. “I don’t even know how to think about money in those terms and how – what it means going into your bank account, what the potential is there in one big chunk, even for like a 30th place or a 40th place.”
Even those who miss the cut this week will receive $8,000, double last year.
Matilda Castren hoists the trophy during the final round of the 2021 LPGA Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, California. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Early on in her career, Matilda Castren had three seasons in which she lost money. She gave herself a five-year span to earn her LPGA card and make it.
“I remember looking at my bank account and there was $10 left,” said Castren. “OK, I just have to survive until next month, and then I know I’m getting a check. That’s a really common thing. I think a lot of people don’t realize it. People just think you’re living your dream playing golf every week. It’s really not as simple as that.”
Castren, 27, won seven times in college at Florida State and competed on the Epson Tour until earning her LPGA card for the 2020 season through Q-School. In 2021, she won LPGA Mediheal Championship to become the first player from Finland to win on tour. She earned $225,000 for her victory.
“It just felt so surreal,” she said, “just logging into my mobile app and seeing all the zeroes.”
A now-engaged Meadow would like to buy a house in the near future, but must weigh the risk of parting with a large chunk of money against the possibility that she might get injured or go through another rough patch where little money is coming in.
“I think the older you get,” she said, “the more you realize how lucky the (PGA Tour) guys are.”
How big is $10 million? Consider that next week’s purse at the ShopRite LPGA Classic is $1,750,000. There are 15 events on the LPGA schedule with purses that are less than $2 million.
“We don’t start playing golf for money,” said veteran Carolina Masson. “That’s not the incentive, that’s not the reason. But when you come out here, especially as a young player, money is an issue because you need a lot of money to do what you do for a full season.
“Playing for this kind of money is huge; it gives so much opportunity.”
Considering she has just two victories in 16 LPGA seasons, Brittany Lang certainly brings her best to this major.
The theory is a sound one – Brittany Lang, who already has one U.S. Women’s Open title under her belt, was reared in Texas, the state where this year’s event will be held starting Thursday. She’s certain to have an edge in terms of familiarity, right?
Not necessarily.
Although Lang graduated from McKinney High School, just outside Dallas, she didn’t spend much time at Champions Golf Club, which sits northwest of Houston.
But just because she hasn’t frequented the club founded by famous Texans Jackie Burke, Jr. and Jimmy Demaret, Lang isn’t stressed as she heads into her 16th U.S. Women’s Open.
“I am not super familiar with this golf course. I have been here. My caddie, however, is. He grew up playing here a little bit, which is helpful. I was supposed to come down and play it, and something was bothering me, my arm was bothering me, and I wasn’t able to come down,” Lang said.
“But I saw it today and it’s pretty straightforward.”
[vertical-gallery id=778079668]
The 2016 champ, who edged Anna Nordqvist in a playoff at the Bay Area’s CordeValle Golf Club, said she’s modified her approach when it comes to majors. There might have been a day when Lang would have stressed about a new or unfamiliar course, but this week she tried to get some rest to prepare for the rigors the Open throws at players.
“I didn’t play (Monday). I just drove up. Yeah, I was tired after Dallas. That was a grind. I was just really tired and I want to be fresh and my caddie knows the course and we get yesterday and today. It’s plenty for me,” she said.
“I think younger Brittany had a lot more energy, so she would have played it multiple, multiple times. But older Brittany is a little more tired … and that’s okay. Now that I’m a mother and I’m considered old out here, I’m going to take a breather.”
Considering she has just two victories in 16 LPGA seasons, Lang certainly brings her best to this major. Aside from the victory in 2016 — her last — she has two other top-10 finishes and has placed in the top 50 nine times at U.S. Women’s Opens while missing the cut just three times.
She’s hoping that magic continues this week, perhaps even breaking her four-year victory drought. Lang is certainly capable — she finished T-11 in Dallas last week.
“It’s crazy. I take pride in it. You know, it’s hard,” Lang said of her string of 16 U.S. Women’s Opens. “Watching Angela (Stanford) win last week (at the Volunteers of America Classic outside Dallas), that’s pretty special to have staying power like that. I take pride in it, even though I’m not quite to her level. But it’s really special.”
One thing she won’t be short on this week is support. Her husband, Kevin, is on hand as are her parents, her mother-in-law and her daughter. Still, she can’t get too caught up in playing well in her home state in front of family, something she said can lead you down a slippery slope.
“I try to lower my expectations because you get pretty excited. You have a lot of family and you want to win, you want to play so well and do well,” she said. “But I’ve learned to calm down a little bit and lower my expectations.
“It’s just fun to be in Texas.”
And as for what she’s seen of the course?
“I loved it,” she said. “A lot of drivers off the tee, which I think is great. A lot of character. Greens are massive, so a lot of long putts. And they’re fast … probably a lot of 10-feet-and-in putts for par and long lag putts.”
SYLVANIA, Ohio – Brittany Lang was picking up her daughter Shay from LPGA daycare when she happened to mention that she was in need of a caddie this week. Ten-year-old Lily Diaz mentioned that her older brother was available. Cooper Diaz, 14, …
SYLVANIA, Ohio – Brittany Lang was picking up her daughter Shay from LPGA daycare when she happened to mention that she was in need of a caddie this week. Ten-year-old Lily Diaz mentioned that her older brother was available.
Cooper Diaz, 14, caddied for mom, Laura, in last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness but was handing the job over to his dad, Kevin, for this week’s Marathon Classic.
Lang hired 14-year-old Cooper for the job after her husband went home to Texas.
“(Lily) is expecting a cut,” joked Laura. “She’s his agent.”
The LPGA has always felt like a family affair, but that’s even more the case in COVID-19 times when the only people on site are players, caddies, staff and a small band of family and friends. Each player is allowed two guests this week at Highlands Meadows Golf Club.
Lang, 34, gave birth to Shay in January and took a share of sixth at Inverness, her first event back. When asked if her performance exceeded expectations, Lang said, “I would say 1 million percent.”
Not only is working on the road with a baby a new thing, Lang is also competing on the LPGA for the first time without her brother by her side. Older brother Luke, 39, has been on Lang’s bag since she joined the tour in 2006.
Luke has retired from tour life, however, taking a job at Northwestern Mutual in Dallas. He married former pro golfer Kathleen Ekey in 2017 and the couple have a daughter, Taylor. Lang misses her big brother, who was always a force of positivity inside the ropes, but with that said, she also loves change.
“It kind of wakes you up,” she said. “I’m just excited for something different.”
Finding Luke’s replacement hasn’t been too easy. Husband Kevin filled in last week after her original caddied struggled to fly out due to a hurricane. She’s got Cooper this week and a few options for Scotland but has yet to figure out a consistent sidekick.
“If I don’t find a steady caddie soon,” said Lang, “I’m probably going to do my own thing because this is a beating, scrambling with all this COVID testing.”
And by her own thing, she means playing without a caddie. That’s now an option on the LPGA for the remainder of the 2020 season.
Cooper first caddied for his mom when he was in the fifth grade. Now a freshman in high school, the 6-foot-tall Cooper hopes to play for Ronald Reagan High School next spring near their home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Laura had a Zoom call tonight to get an update on the basketball program’s plans.
When asked which part of his mom’s game he wished he had, Cooper didn’t hesitate: short game.
“I wish I had his long game,” said Laura. “He’s got me by about 60 off the tee. I could afford to have some of that length.”
Laura, a two-time winner on the LPGA, hopes to get in the field at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship later this month. With her kids’ schooling being online this semester, it’s easier to take them on the road with her after the summer ends.
“I think it’s all about balance,” said Diaz of raising kids on the LPGA. “I think you have to feel fulfilled as a mom to come out and do your job.”
Danielle Kang might be the only player to ever win the LPGA Drive On Championship, a last-minute event thrown together in the COVID-19 era.
TOLEDO, Ohio – Exactly 100 years ago, Inverness hosted its first of four U.S. Opens. There’s an official program from the championship inside a glass case in the clubhouse. There weren’t any programs at this week’s LPGA Drive On Championship because there weren’t any fans. No friends and family or coaches or agents. Tee times were posted on a board outside the pro shop.
Danielle Kang might be the only player to ever win the LPGA Drive On trophy, as it was a last-minute event, thrown together in the COVID-19 era to give the tour a chance to create a bubble and give players an opportunity to compete.
And yet, it felt like a major championship inside the ropes. Only five players broke par. The No. 4-ranked player in the world won on a course and in conditions that tested every part of the game.
And bonus: The venue that will host the 2021 Solheim Cup delivered a Sunday singles-like showdown between Kang, who leads the U.S. points race and Boutier, who went 4-0 in her Cup debut at Gleneagles last year.
And double bonus: Kang’s boyfriend, Maverick McNealy, still had a chance to win on the PGA Tour at the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada, by the time Kang wrapped up her own title.
“We definitely told each other, go and be aggressive,” said Kang of their pre-round talk. “Trust our games and don’t leave putts short.”
On the front nine Sunday, in unrelenting rain, Kang looked like she might run away with the Drive On after her aggressive lines yielded one strong look at birdie after another.
But Boutier bounced back, making three birdies in a four-hole stretch, even hitting the flagstick for a near ace on the par-3 12th. The Frenchwoman pulled into a share of the lead with Kang with four holes to play.
On the final hole, Boutier needed birdie to force a playoff. The former Duke standout delivered a beauty, knocking her 50-degree wedge to 5 feet. The ensuing lip-out stunned everyone, including the members who were dining on the clubhouse patio. (They couldn’t go on the golf course.)
“Yeah, it’s hard right now to just see the positive right away,” said Boutier, “but I definitely had, you know, a little bit of trouble in the beginning.”
As the sun broke through, Kang, 27, enjoyed a celebratory champagne shower from friends Amy Yang and Lizette Salas along with air hugs. A closing 2-under 70 put Kang at 7-under 209 for the tournament.
Now a four-time winner on the LPGA, Kang insisted that she wouldn’t look at the scores on her phone during the final round. It was permitted this week as there were no leaderboards. Ultimately she couldn’t help herself, pulling her phone out of the bag to check with three holes to play.
When it was over, Kang made sure to thank instructor Butch Harmon for spending a good deal of time with her in Las Vegas during the 166-day break in competition.
When asked to compare her game today to when she won the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA, Kang said it’s less about mechanics and more getting a feel for the course.
“I felt at KPMG, everything happened at the right time,” said Kang. “Now I feel that my game is stable. That I can contend I’m not looking for that one thing that will get my going that week.”
Inverness presented a stern welcome-back test and players who chose to stay sharp through the offseason with tournament play were rewarded at the Drive On.
Mina Harigae rediscovered her love of competition during the coronavirus break, winning four Cactus Tour events. She took a share of sixth at Inverness alongside former Michigan State player Sarah Burnham, who won twice on the Cactus Tour in Arizona, once on the Eggland’s Best Tour in Florida and the Michigan PGA Women’s Open by 10 shots. Burnham’s previous best finish on the LPGA was a share of ninth at the Cambia Portland Classic.
Gemma Dryburgh won twice on the Rose Ladies Series before coming over to the U.S. for a two-week quarantine.
“I can’t imagine this being the first tournament back,” said Dryburgh, who became the first woman to win a professional event at Royal St. George’s during the break. “Definitely thankful I had that prep coming in.”
One of the most impressive showings of the week came from 2016 U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang, who finished tied for sixth in her first LPGA event since giving birth to daughter Shay in January.
“I’m winning in life right now,” said Lang. “I feel like a champion.”
Brittany Lang walks from the 7th green to the 8th tee with her caddie and husband Kevin Spann at the LPGA Drive Championship. (Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)
Shay aced her first time on an airplane, said Lang, whose husband Kevin Spann also made the trip. Because Lang’s caddie couldn’t travel due to a hurricane, Spann picked up the bag, a first for the couple at an LPGA event. Lang felt they made a good team out there, which isn’t always the case for couples inside the ropes.
“I always just say, stay positive, let’s be positive,” said Lang when asked if the couple had any caddie rules. “Let’s be in a good mood. I’m not a machine. You’re gonna make a lot of mistakes.”
Shay rocked her first week in daycare too.
“Everybody’s like, who cried most? You or Shay?” said Lang. “Actually, nobody cried. (Maybe) Kevin. Just kidding.”
It’s a stacked field this week at the Texas Women’s Open with Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lang, Gerina Piller and more all competing.
Can we get some television cameras out to next week’s Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open? The field has become a who’s who list of playing professionals. Former World No. 1 and Texas resident Stacy Lewis is competing for the first time, along with former U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang, Gerina Piller, Celine Boutier, Cheyenne Knight, Maria Fassi, Yu Liu, Lindsey Weaver and two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kristen Gillman.
The event takes place June 2-4 at the Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. Knight won the LPGA’s Volunteers of America Classic last year at the venue. This year’s LPGA stop has been pushed back to Dec. 3-6, leading into the U.S. Women’s Open in Houston.
The projected purse is $50,000. First played in 1933, past champions of the Texas Women’s Open include LPGA founders Babe Zaharias and Betty Jameson as well as fellow Hall of Famer Betsy Rawls. The event stopped after the 1946 edition and was resurrected in 2001. It’s run by the North Texas Section PGA.
Two-time champion Savannah Vilaubi, who won in 2016 and 2019, is in the field as is 2015 champ Maddie McCrary and Chirapat Jao-Javanil (2017).
Texas All-American Kaitlyn Papp highlights the amateurs in the field.
