Solheim Cup MVPs, surprises, second guesses

Sign up every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we break down the Americans’ win at the Solheim Cup and look ahead to the most important events remaining in 2024.

AMERICAS won back the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, beating Europe 15.5-12.5 on Sunday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. What was different for the US this time?

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): The stars appeared. In 2019, Lexi and Danielle Kang (two of their top three players) combined for 2 points. In 2021, this duo combined for 2.5 points. Last year, Rose Zhang only secured half a point, and Lilia Vu, who won two championships last season, only won one point. This season? Zhang was 4-0! Lauren Coughlin, the hottest American player entering the week, didn’t slow down, going 3–0–1 to secure 3.5 points. Throw in three points from Nelly Korda, whose only loss was to a Charley Hull on Sunday, and you win on home soil.

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Sometimes, it’s as simple as what Josh says above. The best players in the USA were featured. An even stricter reading is that they simply held the service. They were the favorites, they have the best players and they played at home. It’s never that simple, but the best team won. It’s not always like that.

Jonathan Wall, managing editor of equipment (@jonathanrwall): I agree with my colleagues. The big names showed up and put points on the board in droves. The odds are greatly increased in your favor when the big guns are firing on all cylinders. Fortunately for Americans, it all came together this week.

Who takes home MVP honors for each team?

Berhow: It’s easy to pick the top scorer… but I’ll pick the top scorer, especially since Rose Zhang from gaining only half a point last year to 4 this year. And Rose didn’t just win this week, she dominated – 3 and 2, 5 and 4, 6 and 4, and 6 and 4. She never played the last two holes this week, and three of her four matches didn’t make it the 14th has passed! I’ll give Hull the European MVP. She won 3 points, but most importantly, knocked out Nelly Korda in Sunday’s first singles match. If Europe was to recover, this had to happen.

cerement: I’ll lean on Megan Khang’s lead for the American honors. She is the blood of the team. She gets the best golf from her friend, Nelly Korda. She defeated Emily Pedersen in her singles match. And Berhow nailed the European honors. Charley Hull, playing five games, did everything he could to get points for the team in blue. Man, she is fun to watch playing golf.

wall: It must be Rose Zhang. She continues to face the hype on the biggest stages. Team USA was always going to need their stars to step up when it mattered to break the Solheim Cup drought — and Zhang did just that when it mattered most. She kept the possibility of an all-time comeback on the ice Sunday.

Whose performance surprised you the most?

Berhow: Surprised might not be the right word, but Lauren Coughlin had one difficult task this week. She won in each of the last two months and was playing what was essentially a home game, which only added to the pressure on high expectations. She was born, and this is not easy to do.

cerement: I think Esther Henseleit is the name to watch for 2025. She didn’t go undefeated and didn’t go five games, but it seemed like every time I saw her hit a closer, she was marked. She never seemed to shy away from the moment, which you like to see from a rookie (and someone who was outside the top 100 in the world at the start of 2024). Add that to her silver medal from August, and this could be the summer that really launched a career.

wall: I will go with the organizers of the event. With an event of this magnitude, you’d think that every logistical scenario would have been discussed and analyzed before the opening film was shot on Friday. It was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever seen.

Could European captain Suzann Pettersen have done anything differently? What changes or changes might you have made?

Berhow: I don’t think Leona Maguire was excited about playing just twice as she was a key member of the last two Solheim Cups, but she also wasn’t great in a four-ball match on Friday afternoon, which led to the absence of all. of Saturday. It’s hard to guess much here. As I said before, the best players of the Americans did their job. And, as Rory McIlroy has told us, it’s really hard to win these team events on the road.

cerement: It’s funny. Most of this European team was at last year’s Solheim Cup, where they won. So we changed the location and changed some players and got a slightly different result. What gives? Not much is the answer. I’m not sure she needed to do anything different. The euro gained 1.5 points less this year. This may come down to chance.

wall: I hate second guessing captains after defeat. They are trying to make the best decisions in the moment, even if they turn out to be wrong after the fact. As Josh mentioned, just leaving Leona Maguire twice in three days is strange. She was a key key in the recent triumph for the Europeans and could have helped stop the bleeding when things went sideways during the team’s play. it comments on social networks confirmed that she was not satisfied with the decision. I don’t blame him.

The first day was Friday marred by shipping problemswhich left hundreds of fans stranded for hours in the parking lot and forced them to miss the opening set. What are your thoughts on the snafu and the LPGA’s response to it?

Berhow: We covered this extensively herebut it looks like the weekend was much better. How that plays out on the first tour day of the LPGA’s biggest event of the year is still unclear, but I’m glad things were settled for Saturday and Sunday and it wasn’t a story.

cerement: It’s really unfortunate. It made me very sad to see photos and videos broadcast across social media of thousands of people who wanted to watch women’s golf but couldn’t. It’s clear the LPGA made the right changes over the weekend, but you just can’t make a mistake this big and kill one of the greatest atmospheres in all of golf: Friday morning tee times.

wall: Before last week, the worst shipping debacle I’ve ever seen was the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. It took more than two hours to go 10 miles in a media boat. Some tour participants were so disappointed that they decided to walk to their cars. The Solheim Cup debacle was on another level. How the LPGA allowed things to go from bad to worse on Friday is astounding. I feel sorry for everyone who showed up and waited in line for hours just to see the opening photos on their phone. This should never happen in an event of this magnitude.

Our own Dylan Dethier broke it down major events still remaining in 2024. Which one are you most excited for?

Berhow: The Hero Challenge and PNC took a hit if Tiger Woods isn’t healthy enough to play behind him recent back surgerybut it should be the Presidents Cup. The PGA Tour vs. LIV matchup is an intriguing angle, but I’m sick of those made-for-TV events.

cerement: I’ll pick Dunhill Links, played on three courses on the east coast of Scotland. And not just with the typical DP World Tour crowd. Dunhill this year will have Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and a number of top European professionals. And for people who are ready to get back into football watching season, that’s okay! Dunhill will be mostly in the morning. Coffee golf continues!

wall: The RSM Classic is a good event. Guys are weird because their jobs are on the line and it’s hard to beat Sea Island in the fall.