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:
This year’s Solheim Cup will be contested Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
Paula Creamer returns to the Solheim Cup for the first time in seven years in a new role as assistant captain. She’ll be joined by Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Angela Stanford. It’s up to the host captain to determine the number of assistant captains, and for the first time in Solheim history, Stacy Lewis has appointed four women to the job.
This year’s Solheim Cup will be contested Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
“I’m so excited to have Morgan and Angela back for this year at RTJ,” said Lewis. “Then thinking about what I learned last year in Spain and from previous captains, I asked Paula and Brittany to join the team as well. These four have so much experience and love for the Solheim Cup, plus they’re my friends and all major champions too. I’m excited to see them in this role and to help prepare them to be future captains as well.”
Juli Inkster celebrates with Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome of Team USA after the final day singles matches of The Solheim Cup at Des Moines Golf and Country Club on August 20, 2017 in West Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Last year in Spain, Lewis was assisted by Natalie Gulbis, Pressel and Stanford.
Creamer, a 10-time winner on the LPGA, became the youngest Solheim Cup player in U.S. history when she made the team as a rookie in 2005 at age 19. Creamer’s 7-and-5 singles victory over Laura Davies in 2005 is the third-largest margin of victory in Solheim singles history. She also holds the record for most foursomes victories with seven.
“When Stacy asked me to be on her team for the Solheim Cup, I couldn’t say yes fast enough,” said Creamer. “My seven Solheim Cups are some of the best memories of my career, and I can’t wait to make more memories working with Stacy.”
Lincicome, a two-time major winner, has played on six U.S. Solheim Cup teams. She went 4-0 with partner Brittany Lang in four-ball appearances, a record for any U.S. duo.
“Serving as an assistant captain to the U.S. Solheim Cup Team will be one of the greatest honors of my career,” said Lincicome. “My years competing for the U.S. team hold some of the highlights of my career and my entire life.”
This marks Stanford’s third time as an assistant captain and Pressel’s second.
Lexi Thompson headlines next week’s Aramco Saudi Ladies International field on the Ladies European Tour. The event, held this year at Riyadh Golf Club Feb. 15-18, offers a purse of $5 million, the same as the payout of the men’s PIF Saudi International.
The 28-year-old Thompson, whose last worldwide victory came at the 2022 Aramco Team Series event in New York, last teed it up at the LPGA Drive On event in January where she tied for 16th. She is not listed in the fields of the LPGA’s upcoming Asian swing.
“The Aramco Saudi Ladies International signifies a significant step forward in advancing the sport,” Thompson said in a release, “not just in Saudi Arabia but on a global scale, and it’s a privilege to be part of an event that advocates for equal prize funds in golf.”
Defending champion Lydia Ko, who won the LPGA season-opening Tournament of Champions and lost the Drive On in a playoff to Nelly Korda, is not in the field in Saudi Arabia. Ko’s next event will be the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore.
Korda, who went to Prague immediately after the Drive On to visit her grandparents, is in the midst of a seven-week break from competitive golf.
In addition to the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, the 2024 LET schedule also features the Aramco Team Series, comprised of five events staged across the globe. Winners of those events last year include LPGA players Alison Lee, Xiyu Lin, Carlota Ciganda, Pauline Roussin, and Korda.
The LET’s Saudi-backed events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
Here’s a list of noteworthy players in this year’s field:
“(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:
A handful of events ranging from the PGA Tour to the LPGA featured in the Tournament of the Year discussion.
As the month of December winds down and January approaches, it’s time to look back on 2023 and reward some of the best moments the game of golf provided fans over the last year.
The discussion among the Golfweek staff for “Tournament of the Year” was a rather lively one, so much so that our group of reporters and editors could not come to a consensus pick for the best week of the year.
This year in golf was a busy one off the course, but the players stepped up and provided some memorable events all season long. From major championships to team events to late comebacks and stellar pro debuts, here are Golfweek’s best Tournaments of the Year in 2023.
There were almost too many on-course moments to chose from in golf over the last year.
As the month of December winds down and January approaches, it’s time to look back on 2023 and reward some of the best moments the game of golf provided fans over the last year.
The staff at Golfweek originally had plans for a “Moment of the Year” but there was too much that happened both on and off the course to pick just one, so we’ve split the honor into two different awards.
From the Solheim Cup to the Masters to the PNC Championship and the World Wide Technology Championship, here are the Golfweek staff’s favorite on-course moments of the year in 2023.
Stacy Lewis will captain once again in 2024 but don’t expect her to try to play at the same time.
BELLEAIR, Florida — Stacy Lewis left the door open to be a playing captain in 2023. She had a plan in place in case she automatically qualified. In the end, captainship duties took a toll on her personal game. Once she actually got to Spain and went through a Solheim Cup in that role, well, let’s just say it won’t happen in 2024.
“After experiencing Spain,” said Lewis. “I really don’t think you can captain and play.”
Lewis then proceeded to detail for reporters at The Annika what a typical day looked like for her at Finca Cortesin, noting that she had one day the entire week that she actually sat down for lunch. The rest of the time her cart driver, Megan Francella, kept handing her half of a peanut butter sandwich.
It was important for Lewis to be on the first tee for all the players because she liked it when captains did that in the past.
“Because of that, those morning matches finish and then there is basically probably about 20 or 30 minutes before the next matches are starting,” she said. “Then you finish in the evening and you have got an hour to get pairings in and then have to do media and come back and the team has eaten dinner and they want to go to bed.
“You meet with the team and it’s 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m., and it’s oh, I get to eat dinner now.”
Captain Stacy Lewis of Team USA and Danielle Kang of Team USA plan a shot from the first tee during Day One of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 22, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
On practice days, Lewis divided up the team so they could play when they wanted do. Some played early and some teed off around noon. It made for great flexibility for the players, but long days for Lewis.
“There is definitely no way to captain and play,” she reiterated.
Lewis came into The Annika off a four-week stretch at home, the longest she’s enjoyed in quite some time. She appreciated having two full weeks to hone her game, much needed after five consecutive missed cuts.
Lewis came into the week 83rd on the CME points list and likely won’t make it into next week’s CME Group Tour Championship. The former No. 1 will once again lead Team USA at the 2024 Solheim Cup Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
The European Solheim Cup team can relate to the plight of Zach Johnson’s Ryder Cup team.
After the Americans swept the Friday morning foursomes session in Spain at the Solheim Cup, the situation was reversed one week later in Rome.
Now it’s Team Europe that owns a commanding 4-0 lead after the opening session.
So how did the Euros manage to turn things around last week after such a demoralizing start?
Dame Laura Davies, one of Suzann Pettersen’s assistant captains, said on Golf Channel earlier this week that she gives massive credit to Charley Hull’s caddie Adam Woodward.
Charley Hull of The European Team plays her third shot on the second hole in her match against Danielle Kang during the final day singles matches on Day Three of the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 24, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
After the morning shellacking, Woodward played two songs back-to-back in the European team room: “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees and “Things Can Only Get Better” by Howard Jones.
“As players trickled in … the mood was very quiet,” said Davies, “so Adam did a very clever thing by putting those two songs on, and everyone was chuckling going out into the afternoon knowing we had a job ahead of us, but that team spirit from the European team room sent everybody out in a slightly better mood than when they walked in, and that’s very important.”
For the first time in Solheim Cup history, the 2023 matches ended in a 14-14 tie.
Stacy Lewis sat next to LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan during the Solheim Cup’s closing ceremony in Spain and the topic of a playoff came up.
For the first time in Solheim Cup history, the matches ended in a 14-14 tie. Because Europe won in 2021, they retained the cup. While members of Team Europe carried Spanish hero Carlota Ciganda around Finca Cortesin on their shoulders, Lewis’ squad had a good cry.
Captain and commish got to talking: Should the Solheim Cup institute a playoff?
“I don’t know, I mean, it obviously would be better TV,” Lewis told the media when it was over. “It would be a better experience for the fans if there was a – whether it was a team playoff or something like that, I think that would be pretty cool.
“But if you want to stick with the history of the event and history of what the men do as well, you probably stick with retaining the Cup.
“I don’t know how I feel about that either way, to be honest.”
Team Europe captain Suzann Pettersen celebrates with the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club in Casares, Spain. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
While this was a first for the Solheim, on two different occasions the Ryder Cup has ended in a tie. In 1969, the United States retained against Great Britain, and in 1989, Europe retained at The Belfry.
After the 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a 17-17 tie in South Africa, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els went into a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner. After three holes, it was decided between captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player that the two teams would share the Cup.
Woods called the playoff one of his most nerve-wracking experiences in golf.
“To have two guys decide the fate of the whole team in extra holes like that, I don’t think any of the sides felt comfortable with that to begin with,” said Woods 20 years ago. “It’s just part of the captains’ agreement and part of the rules of the competition.
“But we didn’t like it. It’s a team event, not an individual event. We’re here as a team together and we’d like to decide as a team together and not on an individual basis.”
Nowadays, if the Presidents Cup ends in a 15-15 tie, the two teams will share the trophy.
In the aftermath of the Solheim, players and fans weighed in on social media. Juli Inkster, a three-time captain for Team USA, said the captains should have to play for it.
In a Golfweek Twitter poll that saw 2,513 votes cast, opinions were split on the implementation of a playoff, with 51 percent voting yes, including former Solheim Cupper Brittany Lincicome.
Should the Solheim Cup institute a playoff so the whole thing can’t end in a tie?
This was a changing-of-the-guard year for Team USA.
On paper, the outlook might seem bleak. For the first time in history, the Americans have lost three Solheim Cups in a row. Scroll back a bit more, and it’s a whopping five of the last seven.
Stacy Lewis told her team they didn’t lose – it was a tie. And while the scoreboard indicated such with the first 14-14 finish in Solheim Cup history, one team celebrated on the 17th green and one team cried. The U.S. failed to accomplish what it set out to do, as Europe retained the Cup in dramatic fashion.
And yet, there’s no need to panic.
When the U.S. lost by eight points on home soil in 2013 in Colorado, it certainly felt like there needed to be a cultural shift. Enter Juli Inkster with her hard hats and lunch pails. She got rid of the hair ribbons and face paint and told her team to get to work.
Stacy Lewis came to southern Spain with a fresh-faced, hard-working team that’s naturally more reserved. They didn’t need rah-rah. They needed guidance and experience. The overprepared Lewis, stats book in hand, provided that in spades, leaving no detail to chance.
Lewis also worked hard to make sure this next generation understood what they’d become part of in Spain. From the stars and stripes on their bags to the “88” on their hats, each U.S. Solheim Cup player was a walking display of history.
Captain Lewis truly cared about more than results this week. She wanted her team to leave Spain with a deep passion for the Solheim Cup. The week represented a building block for the future.
“I mean, for me, the whole week in general feels like a win,” said Lewis. “Just where we were coming from out of Toledo to where this team is at now, it was a win, and that’s all that matters.
“I think it’s more about these girls, where they are mentally, how they felt about this. They were crying because it meant something to them, and that’s all I was trying to achieve this week.”
In less than one year, Team USA will get another chance to stop Europe’s streak at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. Lewis said she won’t change much about her process going forward because it worked, and she likes the direction they’re headed.
Next time around, Lewis can build from first-time partnerships that found success in Spain, such as Nelly Korda/Allisen Corpuz (2-0 foursomes) and Lexi Thompson/Megan Khang (2-0 foursomes).
Solheim Cup team U.S. golfers Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee react during the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Casares on September 22, 2023. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)
Danielle Kang played her best golf all year in Spain and had nothing but praise for what Lewis put together.
“I know people like to decide on the process on whether we win or lose, but without Stacy’s process,” said Kang, “I think we could have gotten crushed.
“Because she gave us the best opportunity and best chance of percentages to go up against what they brought, and if we have to shoot 10 under to go up against Carlota Ciganda, we did. If we lost, that’s OK. Same thing with Linn Grant, same thing with Maja Stark. She put us up together with the probabilities and gave us the best chance to go up against them.”
Which brings up perhaps the most important point of all: These teams have never been more evenly matched. The quality of golf on display in Spain was exceptional. Birdies or bust.
Team USA has only lost on home soil twice since the Cup began in 1990: 2013 and 2021.
Many, if not all, of the rookies on the 2023 roster will be back next year and they’ll have a number of aspects in their favor: They won’t be rookies anymore; they’ll have the support of a home crowd; and they’ll have history with their partners.
Angela Stanford, an assistant captain who has been part of Team USA since her Solheim debut in 2003, wrote on Instagram in the aftermath that learning how to win in Europe is one of the most difficult things she’s ever done. There’s a reason, she noted, that the U.S. has only won three times on foreign soil in the Solheim Cup, and it’s been 30 years since a U.S. Ryder Cup team accomplished the feat.
This was a changing-of-the-guard year for Team USA. There’s been another shift.
“I watched something special happen this week,” wrote Stanford. “Looking forward to next year and years to come for this team.”
