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 The fans at the St Leon-Rot Club in south west Germany were treated
to some dazzling golf by the U.S. and Europe teams in the women's
version of the Ryder Cup but ultimately the matches will be
remembered for an unseemly final-day row that left two of the main
protagonists in tears.
No one did more than Charley Hull to highlight the best of women's
golf and it was sad to see the English teenager and 20-year-old
opponent Alison Lee needing a shoulder to cry on as they trooped off
the 18th green on Sunday morning.
The pair were clearly stunned by what had taken place 15 minutes
earlier when Lee mistakenly believed that Hull and morning fourballs
partner Suzann Pettersen had conceded a 16-inch putt and the
American picked her ball up on the 17th green.
The referee had no option but to award the hole to the Europeans who
said later they had offered no sign of a concession to Lee and
partner Brittany Lincicome.
Pettersen did a U-turn on Monday, apologising for a lack of
sportsmanship, but the incident enraged the U.S. players and fired
them up to overturn a 10-6 deficit and dominate the 12 singles to
score a remarkable victory by 14 1/2 points to 13 1/2.
Laura Davies, a veteran of 12 European Solheim Cup campaigns, and
defeated 2013 U.S. captain Meg Mallon were also bitterly
disappointed by what the BBC described as 'gimmegate'.
"I'm disgusted," Davies told Sky Sports. "We have got our best
player, Charley Hull, who has just won a point, and she is in floods
of tears. That tells you the wrong thing was done."
Mallon gave a similar verdict on her Twitter account.
"It's not the spirit of the Solheim family," said the American.
"This is a game and somehow we lose perspective in these matches.
#sad."
FINGER-WAGGING
The incident followed close on the heels of an unsavoury
finger-waving exchange between U.S. captain Juli Inkster and
European counterpart Carin Koch 24 hours earlier.
It was alleged one of Koch's vice-captains had given direct advice
to one of the European players in contravention of the rules.
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Former world number one Annika Sorenstam denied the claims, Koch's
deputy saying she had learned the lessons from Colorado two years
ago when she was the target of similar suggestions.
The evident friction between the teams at St Leon-Rot should not,
however, diminish the quality of the golf on display.
Pettersen and Hull stole the show on Saturday with a startling
comeback from four down with seven holes to go as they defeated a
stunned Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer on the 18th green of an
extraordinary birdie-laden foursomes encounter.
On Friday, Carlota Ciganda produced the shot of the week when the
Spaniard holed out with a nine-iron from 135 yards in semi-darkness.
While Hull was the standout performer for Europe for the second
Solheim Cup in a row, Cristie Kerr and Gerina Piller turned out to
be the linchpins of the American team.
Kerr and Piller picked up three and a half points from their four
matches and the latter kept the U.S. alive in the singles when she
holed a knee-trembling putt to stop Caroline Masson getting the
half-point Europe wanted to retain the trophy.
At the end of it all, Koch was keen to accentuate the positives.
"We talked and we hugged and it's all good," Swede Koch said of
Inkster. "It seems like these things happen but in the end I think
we all need to focus on this great, excellent event and how good it
is for women's golf."
(Editing by Martyn Herman)
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