Salas
excelled in Solheim Cup leadership role
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[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.
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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.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Aug/23/images/ads/current/peasley%20lda%20080907.png)
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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