LDN - Sports

Salas excelled in Solheim Cup leadership role

[August 23, 2017] By Steve Habel, The Sports Xchange

Perhaps it was only fitting that when Team USA won the 15th Solheim Cup on Sunday afternoon, it was Lizette Salas that holed the putt that clinched the victory for the team and that, minutes afterward, she had an American flag draped over her shoulders.

Salas went 3-1 in this edition of the Solheim Cup, played last week at the Des Moines Golf & Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, but her leadership might have been an even bigger factor in Team USA's victory.

American captain Juli Inkster paired Salas, who is one of the LPGA Tour's steadiest and most consistent players, with first-time Cup players Danielle Kang and Angel Yin in three foursome (alternate shot) and fourball (better ball) matches during the first two days of the event.

The result was two wins (one with each player on Day 1) and a push that helped Team USA build a 10 1/2-5 1/2 points lead that eventually blossomed into a 16 1/2-11 1/2 points victory that allowed the Americans to retain the Cup for the first time since 2007 and 2009.

"I think I knew before getting to Iowa that I was going to play with either Danielle or Angel, and I was totally OK with that," the 28-year-old Salas said. "I know Danielle's game, and I played with Angel enough to know the kind of style that she plays and how we can kind of work together and play great.

"I had no problem playing with rookies -- and I don't really consider them rookies from a golf standpoint. Maybe in other things they're rookies, and I trusted Juli with her pairings."

Salas said Inkster never gave her the impression that she had to take care of Kang or Yin or Angel.

"We all brought out something different in each other," Salas explained. "And we were all there for each other, and that's really comforting because things get really intense out there."

Salas, who played in her third Solheim Cup, has been at her best in the biggest tournaments this year.

She finished tied for 14th at the Ricoh Women's British Open, tied for 15th at the U.S. Women's Open and tied for 11th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. It's a run that pushed her to No. 2 on the U.S. Solheim Cup World Ranking list, which included the highest-ranked Americans who weren't among the top eight on the U.S. points list.

Inkster said Salas was the epitome of the spirit and the passion that Team USA showed in its win week.

"I was really happy Lizette qualified so I didn't have to waste a pick on her -- but I would have definitely chosen her on my team," Inkster said. "You never know whether Lizette is around or not, but you just leave her alone because she knows what she needs to do.

"She's not the longest hitter, but she's a great putter. And you can't teach heart, and Lizette's got a ton of heart. She wants the ball. She wants to be out there. Lizette was our little spark plug and she loves match play. She loves the mano y mano."

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Salas starred as collegiate player at the University of Southern California, where she recorded three wins and was a two-time winner of the Pac-10 Player of the Year award (2009, 2011), among many other kudos. She is also the first in her family to be a university graduate, earning a degree in sociology.

Salas turned pro on 2011 and has earned more than $3 million on Tour. She has won just once on the LPGA Tour -- at the Kingsmill Championship in 2014 -- and has 17 career top 10s.

Salas has posted three top-10 finishes in 2017 in 19 starts, with tie for fourth at the LPGA Volvik Championship in late May her best result of the year. She is 32nd in the Race to the CME Globe rankings and 45th in the Rolex World Golf Ranking.

Salas' parents, Ramon and Martha, immigrated separately to the United States from Mexico and met in Azusa, Calif. where they raised their three children. While Lizette was growing up, Ramon worked as a mechanic at Azusa Greens Country Club, where he still works today.

Looking to spend some quality time with his youngest daughter, Ramon brought 7-year-old Lizette to the course one afternoon and handed her a club and eventually made an arrangement to do additional jobs around the club in exchange for lessons for his daughter.

As a young Latina growing up playing golf, Lizette was often ridiculed and doubted and used that as motivation.

"I always grew up with a chip on my shoulder," Salas said. "I always wanted to prove people wrong, because in the Latin and Mexican community, golf wasn't really popular. So I had to push myself."

Salas hopes to inspire more in the Hispanic community to take up golf. She was a part of the winning Solheim Cup team in 2015, which had a distinct Hispanic-American presence with Salas and Gerina Piller playing and World Golf Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez as an assistant coach.

Salas' parents were on hand to watch Lizette push Team USA to the win last weekend and were beaming as the American flag was placed across her shoulders.

"I glanced at my dad on the last hole, and you can see a smile from ear to ear," Salas said. "He was just so proud. And to have both my parents here -- you know, they've been part of the journey with me and they've been through all the struggles and sacrifices -- so just looking at them just really reminds me of how hard we all worked. It's days like today that really make me cherish what I've gone through."

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