   
 |
||||
|
|
| ||||||
 |
CARMEL, Ind., Sept. 11, 2005 - The U.S. Solheim Cup Team dominated the singles matches Sunday, winning seven of 12 to take back The Solheim Cup with a three-point victory over Europe, 15-1/2 to 12-1/2. Both teams came into the day all square at eight points each, but the Americans jumped out to a great start, winning the first five matches.
"To be the captain and the person making the decision for an illustrious team like this, there is nothing you can compare it to." Rookie Paula Creamer fired up the U.S. Team early as she birdied six holes on the front nine to take a 6 up lead over European Solheim Cup veteran Laura Davies, setting a nine-hole Solheim Cup scoring record (30, -6) in the process. Davies made her first birdie of the day on hole 11, but Creamer responded with a birdie on hole 13 for the 7&5 victory. The 19 year old finished was the youngest player in the history of the event and finished her first Solheim Cup with 3-1/2 points, which led the U.S. Team. "This has been such an exciting week and what an exciting day," said Creamer, who just two years ago was a member of the U.S. PING Junior Solheim Cup Team. "This is a week I will never forget. It's such an experience. Not only to be on a winning team, but have the 12 members that are now incredibly close to my heart, especially Nancy and Donna." Fellow U.S. Solheim Cup rookies Christina Kim and Natalie Gulbis also won their singles matches. Kim made back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 to finish out the match at the 14th hole with a 5&4 victory over European rookie Ludivine Kreutz. Gulbis birdied the 17th hole to outlast Europe's Maria Hjorth, 2&1. Gulbis finished her first Solheim Cup with three points, while Kim finished with 2-1/2. "They're not rookies to me. They played like veterans," said Lopez. "I knew I had to use them. They were the best players coming in here. I had to trust them, and I knew they could do it." Needing 6-1/2 points on Sunday to regain The Solheim Cup, the competition ended when Meg Mallon (U.S.) defeated Karen Stupples (EUR) 3&1 on the 17th hole of the 11th match. Mallon rolled in a lengthy par putt to win the hole against a Stupples bogey and the Solheim Cup once again belonged to the United States. Rosie Jones concluded her final Solheim Cup and the final match of the day, halving with Suzann Pettersen.
Juli Inkster (U.S.) out-dueled Sophie Gustafson (EUR) with a 2&1 win in the first match of the day to earn the U.S. Team's second point. Laura Diaz, who is now the only player with a 3-0-0 record in singles play, was the next American to score a point as she beat Iben Tinning 6&5. After losing matches on Friday and Saturday, Diaz rebounded with an eagle on the ninth hole along with four birdies in her singles match. Annika Sorenstam, who became the event's all-time points earner (21-1/2), was the first European to record a victory as she beat Beth Daniel 4&3, but Pat Hurst followed that with another U.S. victory, defeating Trish Johnson, 2&1. Other European singles victories included: Catriona Matthew over Wendy Ward, 3&2; Carin Koch over Michele Redman, 2&1; and Gwlayds Nocera over Cristie Kerr, 2&1. "I'm extremely proud, and I think every player should be that as well," said European Captain Catrin Nilsmark, who also led the European Team to victory in 2003 in Malmo, Sweden. "I think the Americans played unbelievable golf today. They were just hitting the irons so close and really didn't make many mistakes out there, and if you got behind, it was virtually impossible to catch them." Outside of the U.S Team's singles match success, the competition was even. The European Team set the tone early in the competition, winning three of the four morning foursomes matches on Friday, but the U.S. Team regained some momentum with two wins in Friday's four-ball competitions to finish the day down 5-3. On day two, the U.S. Team came out strong with three foursome victories in the morning. In the afternoon both teams split two matches and halved the other two to go into the final day tied at eight. The three-point victory ties the closest match in the history of the event, as the 2002 and 1990 Solheim Cups were also decided by three points. The 10th staging of The Solheim Cup is set to take place at Halmstad Golfklubb in Sweden. Player records: United States Foursomes Four-ball Singles Total Career record
Europe
LPGA News Release The Solheim Cup, sponsored by Karsten Manufacturing Corp., is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the LPGA and the European-born players from the Evian Ladies European Tour (LET). The first Solheim Cup was held in 1990 in Orlando, Fla., and the sites alternate between the United States and Europe. The United States leads the series, 5-3. Supporting the 2005 event as official partners are Indiana-based ACES Power Marketing, Cummins Inc. and St. Vincent Health; associate partners are WISH-TV Channel 8 and Rolex Watch USA.
All information on this website is ©1996-2009 RCM Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
|
"It's like a dream," said Nancy Lopez, the U.S. Team captain. "I can't believe it's been two years that we have been working on this. These players played their hearts out. I love them. We have formed a wonderful relationship to this team. Friendships have grown. That's what it's all about. It's awesome.
Entering the 2005 event, the U.S. came into singles play with an advantage, holding a 48-33-7 all-time record (58.52 percent).
