Solheim Cup - Epilogue

I do not fault Jones for not playing Christina Kim more than she did because Christina has played poorly for the year with a T13 and a T16 as her only 2 tournaments to earn points this year with 7 missed cuts.
I thought the O’Toole captain’s pick was a good one, which based on points won was a good pick.
I do fault Jones for the decision to go with the Stanford/Lewis and Inkster/Lang duos a second time in the foursomes, which she said her instinct told her not to do. That mistake was compounded by playing Kerr in the afternoon because the team was down two points, when she knew Kerr was hurting.
The Hurst/Lincicome duo I thought was a mistake. She should have started Hurst with Creamer or Pressel, someone who would have gotten in her ear and encouraged her, I think Linicome is too quiet and would not get in her face and push her.
Hounddog I thought you knew Gustafson had a stuttering problem as it has been mentioned several times. Even to the point that I am sure I have seen a story about her changing medication for the problem do to the side effect of one medication having a negative effect on her play.
I agree that Stanford gave the most dissapointing performance.
Mel Reid despite her record I thought played very well. She had the misfortune of going against Creamer the first two matches.
I did not expect more out of Wie than she delivered, because she has been playing poorly recently. I thought that Jones should have played Wie less for that reason.

Particularly in comparison to post script on other sites. Good summary this time.

I was calling for more of Christina Kim throughout the event. Passion and energy are particularly vital on the road. I loved Morgan’s response when asked what she told Ryann when they were paired together; “I told her there’s no way we’re losing this match.”

Lang is a problem for the American team because she’s destined to be on future Solheim squads but she doesn’t pair well. I’ve seen more spark in a damp sponge. Pairing Lang with Wie in Saturday four ball instead of Kim with Wie was one of the most bizarre captain’s decisions I can remember, along with sending Lang/Inskter and Lewis/Stanford for a double dose of embarrassment. Wie was actually forced to try to pump up Lang when they fell behind in that match.

BTW, I understand you didn’t see the early sessions. Don’t be fooled by the tight loss of Lang/Inskter on Friday. Pettersen and Gustafson were nervous on the greens, missing 6 putts of less than 6 feet over one stretch. It was a rout other than the scoreboard. Likewise Lewis/Stanford deserved a more lopsided defeat on Friday morning. Munoz had at least a half dozen short or mid range makeable putts that she narrowly missed. They were bunched early in the round. The screen would flash, “Munoz to win the hole,” but after a while you could be comfortable she’d never drain them.

Aza really surprised me later during the matches. I’m glad you used a picture of her atop this post. I’ve viewed her as a cute but moderate player, hardly imposing. Yet this week she hit so many clutch shots, and started making big putts from all distances, that when O’Toole faltered on 17 and suddenly Munoz could change the math by winning 17 against Stanford, I cringed when the camera caught her effortless swing into that green from 120 yards. You could tell immediately she had nailed it. Europe went from underdog to considerable favorite as soon as that ball nestled 3 feet from the cup.

Earlier in the comments, someone proposed Hedwall and O’Toole as future stars. I’m not sure O’Toole will make another Solheim Cup team. That’s one of the reasons I felt so sick for her yesterday. Ryann has two terrific strengths — long confident driving and aggressive effective putting, especially for birdie. On certain courses those strengths allow her to look like one of the best players in the game. The Solheim layout was similar to the US Open track, very long with generous fairways and point and shoot greens. The middle of Ryann’s game can be so flawed that on other courses her weaknesses take over, minimizing her strengths. She’s one of my favorite players but I’d say it’s less than 50/50 she makes the 2013 team on points. Blumenherst has been around a few years and may fulfill her amateur credentials.Then you’ve got Lexi, Jennifer Song, Jennifer Johnson, Tiffany Joh, Jessica Korda, Danielle Kang and several others, all of whom had more consistent and accomplished amateur careers than Ryann, who struggled to make the lineup at powerhouse UCLA. The American youngsters didn’t blossom leading up to 2011 but it easily could be opposite in 2013. Playing Solheim in Colorado fits to Ryann’s strength with the high soaring ball flight. We may be debating her value as a potential captain’s pick once again.

Preface by saying Wei played well and Pettersen treated the closing holes like her personal dart board.
That said the contrast in demeanor between the two on the closing holes was night/day. Wei’s body language was almost like showy boxer’s in the ring. She charged after tee shot and ran to celebrate with her teammates on 17 green after making bird before Pettersen’s putt. Leading the cheers shouting “you like that?!, you like that?!”. Not a big deal, it was fun to watch, but contrast her composure with the match winner Pettersen. Suzy was calm as I’ve seen her, like a golfer needs to be to insure consistent execution under pressure.
Wei has a long way to go. But hey, don’t we all?
Great match.