Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson and more answered a handful of questions in a wide-ranging Q&A with Rolex.
Every two years one week in particular is circled on the calendar for women’s professional golfers, and we’re now just a handful of days away.
In a little more than a week 12 of the best players from both Europe and the United States will square off in the latest edition of the Solheim Cup as the Americans look to reclaim the Cup after a two-match skid in the last two playings of the biennial bash.
Ahead of the 18th Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Spain, five players – three on Team Europe and two from Team USA – participated in a wide-ranging Q&A through a partnership with Rolex that covered their excitement for this year’s event, what they’d tell a younger version of themselves and more.
After playing competitor Amy Yang began her round with three consecutive birdies at Siam Country Club, Maja Stark decided the Honda LPGA Thailand might be a birdiefest. Yang, after all, is a three-time winner of this event.
Only Stark didn’t simply pour in birdies on a steamy day in Chonburi, she holed out twice from the fairway for eagle. The first one came on the fifth hole with a half nine-iron.
“Then on 11, I said to my caddie, ‘Oh, let’s make another one’ as a joke, and it went in,” said Stark, who opened with a 6-under 66.
The rising Swedish star finds herself in a share of sixth after Round 1. Jennifer Kupcho, Xiyu Lin, Anna Nordqvist, Nasa Hataoka and Jaravee Boonchant of Thailand share the lead at 7 under.
“The coolest thing would be like on No. 18 and No. 9 with all the crowds and all the stadiums that people were on,” said Boonchant, a Duke grad who is playing this event for the first time as an LPGA member.
One of 11 Thai players in the field, Boonchant earned membership by finishing in the top 45 and ties at the 2022 LPGA Q-Series.
Former No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul, currently the highest-ranked Thai player at No. 4 in the world, sits in a tie for ninth after an opening 67.
Stark, a first-timer in Thailand, said that she recently spoke with Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen and confessed that she’s terrified of messing up.
“She said, ‘Maja, do you have a heart?’ ” recalled Stark. “I said, yeah. ‘Is it beating?’ Yeah. ‘Then you’re human, you are going to mess up, but you just you keep going.’ ”
While Stark said she has some great coaches back home in Sweden, they haven’t walked the same path as someone like Pettersen, a 15-time winner on the LPGA. Stark, who has looked up to Pettersen for years, can’t believe she now has the fiery Norwegian’s cell phone number.
“She’s so tough,” said Stark. “I feel like we’re the complete opposite kind of. I don’t know. She described me as a Pitbull, but I feel like a Golden Retriever. I know I have I have no idea where she got that from.
“Some people say I look mean on the course, but that’s not what I feel.”
Stark left Oklahoma State early to turn professional in the summer of 2021. She has since won seven times worldwide, including the ISPS Handa World Invitational, which earned her an LPGA card. She currently tops the LET’s Solheim Cup points list.
The European Solheim Cup team will have plenty of experience leading it.
European Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen has named her three vice captains. The event’s next staging will be played September 2023 at Finca Cortesín in Casares, Spain.
Dame Laura Davies will once again serve as a vice captain along with Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Martens. Davies, who made 12 appearances in the Solheim as a competitor, served as vice captain under Catriona Matthew in two victorious showings in 2019 and 2021.
Nordqvist, a three-time major winner, has competed in the last seven editions, securing 15.5 points during that span. She has been on four winning teams and could potentially be a playing vice captain in Spain.
Matilda Castren of Team Europe and Anna Nordqvist of Team Europe at the Solheim Cup at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Martens, a close friend of Pettersen’s, competed on the LET for eight seasons.
Pettersen calls being named Solheim Cup captain the greatest honor of her career.
“I’m excited for what Caroline, Anna and Laura can bring to Team Europe as we look to defend the Cup on Spanish soil in the Costa del Sol,” said Pettersen in a release. “With all three of them by my side, I couldn’t ask for anything better, and I’m certain that they will be great for our team.”
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis has so far named Natalie Gulbis and Morgan Pressel as two of her assistants. Team USA hasn’t won the Cup since 2017.
Suzann Pettersen was named 2023 European Solheim Cup captain at a press conference in Spain on Monday. The colorful Norwegian player, who has been both the hero and the villain of the biennial match, will try to carry on the momentum set forth by Catriona Matthew, who led Europe to consecutive victories in 2019 and 2021.
The next match will take place in Spain’s Costa del Sol from September 18-24, 2023.
Pettersen, 40, has represented Europe in nine Solheim Cups as a player and twice as vice captain. In 2019, she famously sank the winning putt at Gleneagles and then walked off into retirement with son Herman in her arms.
“I am simply thrilled to be named Solheim Cup captain,” said Pettersen. “This is the biggest honor of my career.”
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Pettersen made her Solheim debut in 2002 at Interlachen Golf and Country Club in Minnesota and helped lead Europe to victory in 2003, 2011 and 2013 before returning from maternity leave in 2019 to deliver the most impactful seven-foot putt of her career.
Prior to being named a wild card pick in 2019, Pettersen has competed in only three Rolex Ranking events in 18 months, with two missed cuts and a T-59 in the CP Women’s Open.
Her performance in Scotland was nothing short of legendary.
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“We are delighted that Suzann has accepted the role of captain for the 2023 Solheim Cup,” said Alexandra Armas, chief executive of the Ladies European Tour. “She has been the heart and soul of the European team for almost 20 years and, with 21 points earned from nine appearances, her record speaks for itself.”
Pettersen took on the role on villain in 2015 when a concession controversy erupted on the final day in Germany.
The incident occurred on the 17th green at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club in four-balls when rookie Alison Lee picked up an 18-inch putt for par that she thought Europe had conceded. As Charley Hull walked off the green, Pettersen told the group’s rules official that the putt hadn’t been given.
The miscommunication resulted in a loss of hole for Lee and partner Brittany Lincicome, who walked to the 18th tee stunned.
After the Americans failed to birdie the final hole, Europe closed the match, 2 up, and Lee and Hull broke down sobbing.
The Americans responded with the biggest come-from-behind victory in Solheim Cup history, with Team USA overcoming a four-point deficit to triumph, winning 8.5 points in singles play Sunday.
Pettersen later issued an apology.
Now a mother of two, Pettersen served as vice captain for Matthew at Inverness in September, helping Europe take home the Cup despite having only a small number of friends and family present due to travel restrictions.
A two-time major champion, Pettersen has 21 LPGA and LET titles, including 15 on the LPGA. She won the 2007 McDonald’s LPGA Championship (now KPMG Women’s PGA) and 2013 Evian Championship.
“My best golfing memories are from the Solheim Cup,” said Pettersen. “You are out there with your teammates, your friends, and you all work for one goal. You fight for your friends and you share incredibly precious moments.”
As controversy swirled around the Inverness Club on Saturday afternoon, a feeling of familiarity followed.
TOLEDO, Ohio – As controversy swirled around the Inverness Club on Saturday afternoon, a feeling of familiarity followed. These spats and flaps are as much a part of the Solheim Cup as high-fives and first-tee jitters.
As Nelly Korda and Madelene Sagstrom wrapped up their controversial four-ball match, Beth Daniel reminisced about an episode that took place in 1992 at Dalmahoy in Scotland, when she and Betsy King called for a squeegee from just off the green. Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas said that wasn’t allowed, that they needed to be on the green.
As Daniel and King waited for a second opinion, Laura Davies said she’d go ahead and hit, though Daniel said she wasn’t away. When Nicholas told the Americans to “shut it,” King got fiery mad at her good friend.
Daniel said it was ultimately a misunderstanding, but tempers flared.
Controversy has followed the Solheim Cup since the beginning. Here’s a closer look at some of the event’s biggest blowups:
Suzann Pettersen details what it was like to be a Solheim Cup heroine, the player who intimidated her most and much more.
Few in sport have enjoyed a more spectacular walk-off moment than Suzann Pettersen. That winning putt at the 2019 Solheim Cup, after a 20-month break from competition, instantly changed her from villainess of the match-play spectacle to beloved heroine.
The legendary moment prompted longtime sponsor Dow to put together a documentary entitled “Her Final Putt – Suzann Pettersen’s Story.” The 30-minute program aired on CBS earlier this month.
The 39-year-old Norwegian won 15 times on the LPGA, including two majors, and compiled a 18-12-6 record in nine Solheim Cup appearances.
Golfweek recently caught up with Pettersen to talk about retirement, scaling the cliffs of Norway, that magical putt and raising Herman.
Here are excerpts from that conversation:
I always find it hard to talk about myself believe it or not. I‘ve never been a person who kind of reflected too much about what I’ve done. I’ve always kind of looked ahead, chasing the next goal. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect back over the last six, seven months. When they did put (my story) into a TV program, it was almost a nice way to kind of go over your career as well.
At the time when it came about, I felt like it had already been so much focus about the last putt and like the mic drop and everything. I thought, have they not had enough of me?
Team Europe celebrate as Suzann Pettersen putts to win her match and the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles on September 15, 2019. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
They obviously wanted to put a different touch to the story. It was kind of good to kind of let the guard down and let people really know what I had on my heart. I had a to go a few rounds with myself to get comfortable, but as we got started, I don’t think they needed to ask too many questions.
I know Carlota (Ciganda), when she first met me was scared to death to talk to me, and she has obviously turned out to be one of my best friends from the LPGA. Thankfully that perspective has changed (laughs).
I haven’t been too emotional, but when I see other people getting emotional about me not playing anymore and seeing almost Anna (Nordqvist) having a tear in her eye talking about how she’s going to miss having us around … it makes me a little bit emotional.
I’ve always been scared to death of Webby (Karrie Webb). The last person you want to piss off is Webby. You don’t want to try and reach a par 5 in two and she’s on the green in the group ahead of you. You know you’re in trouble, but more in a fun way. Not really intimidated.
I always looked up to the generation above us. Annika was like half a generation older than me. I feel like when I look back, I was very fortunate to compete against Rosie Jones, Michele Redman, Juli Inkster, Meg Mallon, Beth Daniel. Now it’s a different group of girls on tour, and I’ve kind of been a part of a few changes in generations that have played on the LPGA lately.
What drives me now? I’m involved with a lot of different projects. I only do things that I feel like are really challenging and fun. But I haven’t really been in a position where I felt that adrenaline, the way you feel on the first tee. I don’t know if I’m going to find something that will give me the same kind of drive.
Europe’s Suzann Pettersen celebrates after Europe beat the U.S to win the Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle in Dunsany near Dublin, on September 25, 2011. Europe won the tournament 15-13.
I did go on a hike last week, climbing. I have to say I haven’t been that focused since that last putt. I was so mentally tired after climbing because I’m scared of heights and I had to work so hard on myself mentally. I couldn’t look down once. I was just looking up and ahead. I was so drained finishing that climb. I like to challenge myself. I like to break new barriers or new things that I’m not too comfortable doing and try to become better. I still have that drive.
We went from sea level and climbed to 1,200 meters. For the first part you walk about 500 meters, but it’s like literally walking up a ski slope. Most people stop before they start climbing because they get so physically tired from the walk. And then climbing, you are self-secured. We were recommended that it would take us four to five hours and we got up in two hours and 40 minutes. Obviously, I was trying to push it … I still have the competitive edge in me.
It happened to be that one putt that defined the entire Solheim in 2019. It could’ve easily been Bronte’s match behind me or Anna’s being the last of the single. It happened to be the 10th match between Marina (Alex) and myself. I was just happy to be right in the mix of it. But at the same time when I walked up to the 18th, I just remember telling myself you’re getting too old for this.
My first win at Kingsmill in 2007 was big for me. I’d just come off of Kraft Nabisco where I kind of was leading, I don’t know three shots with three holes to play, and I kind of fumbled coming down the stretch. I learned so much from that. I did such a good job analyzing and learning from the mistakes I made and within a few tournaments I was in the same situation and I managed to pull off the win.
Suzann Pettersen won the LPGA Lotte Championship presented by J Golf at the Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii.
I remember winning in Thailand when I went head-to-head with Laura Davies. Coming up 18, I eagled, and she birdied. I just remember that double fist-pump right in her face. Every time I see her she keeps reminding me of that double fist-pump right in her face.
I don’t know if I had too many regrets. I’ve obviously done my mistakes, but I feel like I’ve owned them, and I’ve learned from it and I think that’s the most important think you can take from doing what we do for a living. You’re not going to make perfect decisions or the perfect step every single day of your life. As long as you can kind of own whatever you decide to do and then learn from it … that’s what I’ve kind of come to peace with.
Lorena was a feisty competitor. When she was in the hunt, she most of the time got it done.
She was one of those players that when she stopped playing, I really missed having her around. As much as she was a great competitor, she was also a fun friend. She was probably a bit more relaxed than me tournament days, but early in the week we had a lot of fun. A lot of jokes back and forth. When we were paired together, we usually had bets going. We made it a more relaxed atmosphere.
I remember going head-to-head with her in Mexico one year. I think I was like 24 under par and she ended up being 26 under par, something like that. We were miles ahead of the next (person). We just got the best out of each other.
There’s a few things I‘ve come to realize. I really do miss the structure in my daily life. Because I was so determined and focused and I always knew what to do at what time. Obviously, my life is not quite like that anymore. I miss maybe the feel of the adrenaline, getting ready, getting geared up to play tournaments.
I don’t miss the hard work, the frustrating work, the hours where you feel like, oh god can I just jump this phase and get straight into where I really feel comfortable?
It’s been nice to not have to wake up with a guilty feeling of have you done enough? Are you not ready?
I miss the girls. I miss the caddies, the chit chat on the range, being in the mix of everything that’s going on. That part I miss. … I think once a competitor, always a competitor. I feel like I’ve grinded enough over my years.
Just thinking about (playing again) makes me nervous right now. It’s all about preparation. If you feel like your game is up for it, but that takes a lot of work and a lot of decision. As of now I’m not quite there. Who knows, I might play a pro-am or two, but if I’m going to turn up in a competition, not on my radar as of now.
I feel like I was a tough but fair competitor. Feisty. It’s kind of hard to say, but I probably opened a few doors to make younger girls, guys realize that it’s possible to be really good. It’s been fun to kind of see the generation growing and the new talents that are coming up. Ever since I kind of retired, Viktor Hovland has kind of taken over. I think Norway is really good hands when it comes to the interest in golf.
What is Herman up to? Everything and nothing. He’s literally nonstop 24/7, running around. I tried to get him to on the golf course, but he’s likes to kick the ball more than hit or swing. So far, he’s a very active little boy. Hard to pick what his actual interests are going to be but something with a ball I think.
He has my temperament, unfortunately. (laughs) No, he’s a very easy boy, a very easy child.
My ego is gone. It’s not like I walk around and think about it, but my priority is not on myself anymore. I think that’s quite natural when you have a child. It kind of feels good as well. I feel like I’ve been enough self-driven over the years that it’s very nice to now take care of your family, be a wife and be a mom. It’s been a blessing to be honest.
Now he’s turning 2 at the beginning of August. It’s starting to get really fun.
The LPGA is full of fairy-tale moments. Some are on the grandest stages involving the game’s biggest stars and some come out of nowhere.
There’s never a shortage of fairy tale moments on the LPGA. Some of them happen on the grandest of stages from the game’s biggest stars. Others come hurtling out of nowhere.
Breaking a record held by 15-time major champion Tiger Woods usually fast-tracks a player to this type of year-end list. There were grab-a-tissue moments and “are you kidding me?!” putts. A real-life Cinderella who just couldn’t stop smiling and a one-time villain who flipped the script on how she’ll be remembered in this game with one sensational Sunday.
So here they are, the top 10 moments on the LPGA in 2019:
Teammates Cydney Clanton (right) and Jasmine Suwannapura celebrate on the 18th green after winning the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
A caddie brought Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura together for the inaugural Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, but Clanton believes it was more of a divine plan. One year ago, Clanton missed out on her full card by $8. After a closing 59, the Auburn grad had a two-year exemption and a spot in the Evian Championship and AIG Women’s British Open. Suwannapura’s invitation proved life-changing for her partner, who’d spent most of the year on the Symetra Tour.
Suzann Peterson? Lydia Ko? Ariya Jutanugarn? Golfweek reveals the best 10 LPGA players of the decade.
After Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa left the game to focus on family, youth mostly dominated the next decade on the LPGA.
A dozen players took a turn at No. 1 after Lorena Ochoa ended her streak of 158 weeks in May 2010.
The global nature of the tour exploded, with players like Shanshan Feng, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lydia Ko blazing trails from all corners of the world.
Golfweek takes a look back on the 10 best players of the past 10 years.
Brooke Henderson at the Meijer LPA Classic. (Al Goldis, AP)
10. Brooke Henderson
A two-time winner in each of the past four seasons, Canada’s darling has been a top-10 machine in her time on tour. With nine total victories, she’s the winningest player in Canadian golf history – male or female. Won an LPGA major at age 18.
Woods and Suzann Pettersen made headlines in 2019 for their dramatic victories in golf’s biggest events, but here are 8 other big comebacks.
As the decade winds down, we have time to reminisce over some of the best storylines in golf — most notably being the comebacks.
Whether we’re talking about the resurgence of Tiger Woods the most recent comeback of Brendon Todd winning back-to-back PGA Tour events after seriously considering retirement, we rank them all.
With not much time to catch our breath, Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio takes a look back at the top 10 comeback stories in golf over the last decade.
Brendon Todd after winning 2019 Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
10. Todd’s pizza plans on hold
Brendon Todd won the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Classic and then got the full-blown driver yips. From 2016-18, he missed 37 of 41 cuts and contemplated quitting the game and buying a pizza franchise. Then, after starting the 2019-20 season with four missed cuts, he won the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic in back-to-back starts.
Rory McIlroy hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind, and the Ryder Cup has provided plenty of drama in our top 10 story lines of the decade.
The European Tour hardly gets a break at all.
Last season ended Sunday at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where Jon Rahm earned the $3 million first-place check for winning his second DP title, and a further $2 million bonus for finishing the season as No. 1 on the Race to Dubai.
The next season starts this week at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, a mere four days later.
With not much time to catch our breath, Golfweek’s Alistair Tait takes a look back at the top 10 story lines on the European Tour in the last decade:
Sergio Garcia during the Saudi International at the 2019 Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
10. Sergio’s Saudi meltdown
Sergio Garcia displayed a lack of etiquette during the 2019 Saudi International that left fellow competitors disgusted. Garcia willfully damaged several greens during his third round. Players behind complained and the Spaniard was disqualified. It was yet another poor breach of etiquette from the Spaniard, following throwing a shoe in anger during the 1999 World Match Play Championship and spitting into Doral’s 13th hole during the 2007 CA Championship.
