Tag: Morgan Pressel

Here are seven U.S. players primed to be future Solheim Cup captains

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:

Q&A: Morgan Pressel on the stars who help in the fight against breast cancer every year, Lexi Thompson’s comeback and learning to love the Old Course

“(Lexi) has been a huge supporter of our events and always comes and clears her schedule without hesitation.”

Morgan Pressel’s competitive career on the LPGA might be over, but her impact in the game and beyond continues to flourish. The 35-year-old major champion turned lead analyst for Golf Channel’s LPGA coverage raised $900,000 this week at her annual Morgan & Friends charity event.

The event, held annually at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton and Banyan Golf Club in nearby West Palm Beach, Florida, has raised a total of $12.5 million over the years in the fight against breast cancer. Pressel’s mother Kathy died of breast cancer in 2003, and her memory is at the heart of the mission.

Golfweek caught up with the former phenom to talk about her foundation, the friends who step up every year to help and the 2024 LPGA season, which gets started next week with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions:

Golfweek’s best 2023 interviews: Lucas Glover, Colin Montgomerie, Morgan Pressel, Stewart Cink, Harold Varner III and more

At Golfweek, we continue to send live bodies on the road at events throughout the year.

Between COVID, advances in technology and myriad other factors, golf beat reporting just isn’t what it once was. Media centers have fewer and fewer members, Zoom calls and transcripts make it easier to keep tabs on players and tournaments from afar and player availability has become increasingly more difficult to secure as many pros (and some college players) are being pulled in numerous directions by sponsors and other responsibilities.

At Golfweek, we continue to send live bodies on the road at events throughout the year — on the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV, USGA championships, amateur and college events, as well as silly-season tournaments.

Through the hard work of reporters like Adam Schupak, Beth Ann Nichols, Adam Woodard and Cameron Jourdan, we secured a number of great Q&As in 2023 away from the media scrums and online pressers, getting a deeper look at some of the most fascinating personalities that make this game great.

Here’s a look at some of our favorites, in no particular order:

Best of 2023: Our top 10 LPGA golf stories (No. 1 is a Q&A with a prodigy turned analyst)

To close out the year, we’ve been looking through the numbers and tallying up which stories drew your attention.

Over the final few days of 2023, we’re offering up a snapshot of the top 10 stories from each of Golfweek’s most popular sections, including travel, the PGA and LPGA tours, instruction and amateur golf.

Our esteemed LPGA senior writer Beth Ann Nichols covers the LPGA as well as anyone, following players across the globe to uncover the best stories the women’s game has to offer. And 2023 had so many of them, from Rose Zhang’s instant impact, Lilia Vu’s two major victories and a fascinating Solheim Cup.

To close out the year, we’ve been looking through the numbers and tallying up which stories drew your attention, and we’re now sharing the findings with you. Here’s what we’ve already counted down.

Solheim Cup players, captains explain the test provided by the hilly host, Finca Cortesin

A drivable par-4 1st hole sets a unique tone for what fans should expect to see this week in Spain.

CASARES, Spain — When’s the last time you saw a drivable par 4 on the first hole of a golf course?

Fans who tune in to the 2023 Solheim Cup this week at Finca Cortesin on Spain’s southern coast will be treated to the rarity as the opening hole will provide a risk-reward option for players right from the jump.

A lot of the pre-match discussion this week from both players and captains has been about the unique test that this year’s host course will provide. The course at Finca Cortesin offers wide fairways and will bless the good shots and penalize the poor ones. Not only that, the heat and hills will make the 18th matches between the United States and Europe an equal parts physical and mental test for players and their caddies.

Here’s what the stars of the week had to say about this year’s host course as the Solheim Cup is held in Spain for the first time in its nearly two-decade history.

Q&A: Golf Channel’s Morgan Pressel played U.S. Open courses Los Angeles CC and Pebble Beach in back-to-back days. What did she think?

“I absolutely loved LACC. … It has great character, is very undulating … it’s stunning.”

Morgan Pressel made history when she first qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at the tender age of 12. Her appearance at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club back in 2001 led to a significant increase in teens and pre-teens signing up for Women’s Open qualifying, forever changing the makeup of the championship.

Pressel, of course, went on to clinch a major championship title at age 18 when she won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco (now the Chevron). After 16 seasons on the LPGA, the former prodigy shifted focus to her work in television. She’s now lead analyst for LPGA coverage on Golf Channel/NBC and adds the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club to her work schedule next month.

The USGA recently held back-to-back media days for the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens, and Pressel participated in both, teeing it up at LACC for the first time as well as Pebble Beach Golf Links, which hosts the Women’s Open for the first time in July. It’s also the first U.S. Open for the North Course at LACC.

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Golfweek was on hand for both media days and caught up with Pressel to talk about the significance of both venues and her key takeaways. The following are excerpts from that conversation:

Major champion TV analyst Morgan Pressel dishes on her first time playing Augusta National, competing under the weight of expectation and when to go pro

Here are excerpts from Golfweek’s conversation with Pressel about Augusta and the amateur game.

Morgan Pressel recently teed it up at Augusta National for the first time ahead of her broadcast work for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The former major champion and top-ranked amateur will be in the booth for NBC’s final-round coverage on Saturday from Noon to 3 p.m. E.T.

Pressel caught up with Golfweek earlier in the week to talk about her round at Augusta National, noting that course management here may be more important than other course she’s ever seen.

Rose Zhang, the top-ranked amateur in the world, carries a five-stroke lead into the final round. While only the top 30 players and ties advanced to Sunday, all 72 players had a chance to tee it up at Augusta National on Friday for a practice round.

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Here are excerpts from Golfweek’s conversation with Pressel about Augusta and the amateur game:

Q&A: Morgan Pressel talks about her star-studded charity event, what intrigues her about the 2023 LPGA season, her pick for Pebble Beach and the best swing on tour

Golfweek recently caught up with the two-time LPGA winner.

One of golf’s great traditions to ring in the New Year is the wildly successful Morgan & Friends charity event, which raised just shy of $1 million this year for the fight against breast cancer.

Every January, Morgan Pressel brings some of the biggest stars on the LPGA to her home community of St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. The membership at St. Andrews rises to the occasion every time as does Banyan Golf Club in nearby West Palm Beach, which puts on a second outing the following day.

Pressel, 34, started her foundation not long after she became the youngest major winner in tour history 16 years ago, at what’s now known as the Chevron Championship. Pressel’s mother Kathy died of breast cancer in 2003 and her memory is at the heart of this beautiful mission.

Now a lead analyst for Golf Channel’s LPGA coverage, Pressel has a different viewpoint of the tour she literally grew up on. Golfweek caught up with the two-time LPGA winner to talk about the work of her foundation and what fans might see on tour this season.

Your 2022 picks: Our top 10 LPGA golf stories (No. 1 is an idea that could get Nelly Korda to the Presidents Cup)

Here’s a look at the top 10 LPGA stories, as clicked on by you.

For the final 10 days of 2022, we’re offering up a snapshot of the top 10 stories from each of Golfweek’s most popular sections, including travel, the PGA and LPGA tours, instruction and amateur golf.

Our esteemed LPGA beat writer Beth Ann Nichols has already given us her perspective on the biggest stories of the year earlier this month.

But to close out the year, we’ve been looking through the numbers and tallying up which stories drew your attention, and we’re now sharing the findings with you. Here’s what we’ve already counted down.

And now here’s a look at the top 10 LPGA stories, as clicked on by you (we should note, the top LPGA post of the year by far was this gallery of Michelle Wie West, but this list doesn’t include photo galleries or money lists):

Q&A: Morgan Pressel on making U.S. Women’s Open history at Pine Needles, her switch to TV work and Lexi Thompson’s putting

Golfweek caught up Morgan Pressel to talk about Pine Needles and who she likes to win the 77th U.S. Women’s Open.

When Morgan Pressel became the youngest to qualify for a U.S. Women’s Open in 2001 at the age of 12, four teenagers were in the field with her at Pine Needles: Natalie Gulbis (19), Leigh Anne Hardin (19), Diana Ramage (18) and Christina Kim (17).

Pressel’s feat ignited a trend among junior golfers who thought, why not give qualifying a shot? Five years later, 25 teens comprised 16 percent of the field at Newport Country Club. Four of them were 15-year-olds.

This week the Women’s Open returns to Pine Needles for a fourth time. There are 22 teenagers in the field.

In 2007 Pressel, fresh off her historic victory at what’s now the Chevron Championship, returned to Pine Needles and played her way into the final group on Sunday. Cristie Kerr ultimately won.

Pressel is back this year in a different role as lead analyst for Golf Channel/NBC, having shifted gears away from a competitive career.

Golfweek recently caught up with the 34-year-old, who won twice on the LPGA, to talk about Pine Needles, her switch to TV and who she likes for the 77th staging of the biggest championship in women’s golf.