Solheim Cup: afternoon Four Ball matches, Day 1
The Euros lead 5-3 after taking a 3-1 lead in the morning play of alternate shot, and then splitting the afternoon matches in better ball (2-2). Best “money line” of the day: after watching a clip of Nancy Lopez driving in a golf cart, with her husband and former baseball player/manager Ray Knight right behind her in back, commentator Patty Sheehan quipped: “Looks like the left side is riding low.”
My assessment for the U.S. team: The Euro team is formidable, no doubt about it. Laura Davies and Annika are likely to win every match they play, but Nancy seems to be getting some good duos, see below. The U.S. team needs to stay close tomorrow in the same formats, so they can be in a position to take the Sunday singles.
1. Rosie Jones/Meg Mallon beat Maria Hjorth/Iben Tinning, 3 up
This is The Ohio State Buckeye team of Rosie Jones and Meg Mallon. Great pairing! Nancy, I’d be using this pair tomorrow for both morning and afternoon.
2. Cristie Kerr/Natalie Gulbis beat Sophie Gustafson/Karen Stupples, 2 up
Natalie Gulbis wins the award already for the Best Dressed Golfer. But isn’t the entire U.S. team wearing the same outfit?, you ask. Yes, but … take a look on The Golf Channel. Natalie just knows, well, … how to put it together. I wonder, though, if the tailor got the measurements wrong on those shorts. As far as her play, Natalie is getting hot, birdieing 12 and stuffing her shot close on the par 3 13th. Putter seems to have gone cold, though, on 13 and 14 missing from within 12 feet of less. Kerr/Gulbis is a great team. Nancy, stick with it.
3. Pat Hurst/Wendy Ward lose to Annika/Catriona Matthew, 2 down
Annika is so money, she just drained a 30 footer on 11 to win the hole. And then she holed a 15 foot birdie to halve the 12th hole. Annika refuses to lose.
4. Paula Creamer/Juli Inkster lose to Laura Davies/Suzann Pettersen, 3 down
Laura Davies is on fire, 6 birdies in 10 holes. allCarry was right: Laura Davies is John Daly, she’s eating up Crooked Stick. Paula Creamer, who’s sporting face paint with the American flag, is looking really, really frustrated. This is not turning out to be good day for the 19 year old rookie, but she’s facing some serious opponents with worlds of Cup experience. Maybe Paula should rest the morning play and come out in the afternoon. I’d consider switching her partner again, to someone younger now, like Christina Kim. I think Paula needs to relax more.
