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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Lewis miffed after long delay at Solheim Cup

EDDIE PELLS (AP National Writer) August 16, 2013AP - Sports

PARKER, Colo. (AP) -- The chants of ''USA! USA!'' ringing through the 15th green shifted to ''While we're young! While we're young!''

For 25 minutes Friday at the Solheim Cup, Americans Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson paced around, putters in hand, bending and flexing to stay loose. They were waiting first for European Carlota Ciganda to find her ball, which was lodged in knee-high scrub in a hazard, then for a cadre of rules officials to tell Ciganda where it was legal to drop.

''That's not golf,'' Lewis said.

At least not by the rules.

Hours after Ciganda took her drop, hit to 15 feet and salvaged a par to halve the hole, rules officials said they had made an incorrect ruling about the location of the drop. But there was no way to remedy the ruling after the fact, so the hole and the match stood.

Ciganda and Suzann Pettersen beat Lewis and Thompson 1 up after being 2 down earlier in the back 9.Europe closed out Day 1 with a 5-3 lead.

Lewis and Thompson, playing in the first match of the afternoon, were about two holes ahead of the foursome behind them when they got to the 15th tee box. By the time they putted, there were three groups stacked on the par-5 hole.

''It's hard to just stand there because we're not doing anything, and all of the sudden, you wait 25 minutes to hit a putt,'' Lewis said.

American captain Meg Mallon, acknowledging the delay blunted American momentum across the course, said it wasn't so much the incorrect ruling, as the time it took to be made, that ruined the day.

''That was my issue with the whole thing,'' she said. ''Here's my team sitting there, after they are just charging and making a comeback, and then they have to sit. And so not only does it change the psyche of my team, but it changes the psyche of the other team, because they can have time to regroup.''

Lewis, who won the Women's British Open earlier this month, lost both of her opening-day matches. Still steaming when the day was over, she confronted rules officials on the 18th green, but didn't get any satisfaction. That was before the officials acknowledged they'd made the wrong call.

''It took way too long,'' Lewis said. ''It killed the momentum of our match, it killed the momentum of the matches behind us and it's just not what you want the rules officials to ever do.''

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ALL ACES: When looking for tips on how to handle the pressure, 20-year-old Solheim Cup rookie Jessica Kordadidn't have to look far.

On one hand she had her playing partner, Morgan Pressel, whose 8-2-2 mark is good for the best winning percentage among America's active players. On the other, Korda has her dad, Petr Korda, the Czech native and 1998 Australian Open champion who was a stalwart on his Davis Cup teams in the 1980s and '90s.

Shortly before the start of their victory Friday morning over Catriona Matthew and Jodi Ewart-Shadoff, Petr Korda spoke with his daughter about the pressures of team play.

''Dad and I have talked more these past two days about how he felt and what he did,'' said Jessica Korda, who was born in Florida and is an American citizen. ''I have a pretty good idea of how to handle myself, but he's played much bigger crowds than I can ever imagine in one room.''

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A GOOD MATCH: One reason behind U.S. captain Meg Mallon's pairing for foursomes was the golf ball. Jessica Korda is the only American who uses a TaylorMade ball, and she was struggling to find a partner whose golf ball she could use.

Morgan Pressel, who uses a Callaway, agreed to give the TaylorMade a try to see if she could play with Korda.

''I went to a store and paid $50 for a dozen - haven't done that in a long time,'' Pressel said. ''I played with it at home, and it was OK.''

So they became partners. And they won the only point for the American in the Friday morning foursomes.

But get this - they wound up using the Callaway, anyway.

Korda found that she could use Pressel's golf ball just fine, even though it had a slightly firmer feel.

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SOLHEIM SPIRIT: Korda was embarrassed about throwing up to the side of the first fairway Friday morning, and she was determined to keep it a secret.

When asked about it, her shoulders slumped as said, ''Everybody knows already?''

Well, yes. Everyone was talking about before she finished playing the second hole. And they all had some fun with her misfortune - and not just the Americans.

''Suzann Pettersen came up to me and held open her head cover and goes, 'You need this?''' Korda said.

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SEVE AND SERGIO: Azahara Munoz loves watching the Ryder Cup just as she does playing in the Solheim Cup. So when asked her favorite Ryder Cup player of all time, the Spaniard could think of only one answer.

''I think I have to say Seve. Otherwise, they will kick me out of my country,'' Munoz said.

Munoz was 7 when Seve Ballesteros played in his last Ryder Cup. The great Spaniard died two years ago. As for contemporaries, she stuck with the Spanish flag in naming Sergio Garcia.

''When I started playing golf, Sergio was an amateur but he was winning everything in Europe,'' she said. ''Even though he was an amateur, I don't know why, I always liked him a lot. And then when he turned pro he was really young, and then played really well at the PGA. So everybody was following him. And I've alreays really liked him.''

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SHORT SHOTS: Prior to losing their foursomes match in the morning, Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer were undefeated as a team. ... Morgan Pressel extended her Solheim Cup winning streak to six straight matches. ... In this, the year of the rookie, America's first-timers went 1-3 in their debut matches. Europe's went 3-3.

Europe builds a lead on American soil

DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer) August 16, 2013AP - Sports

PARKER, Colo. (AP) -- One player threw up on the first hole. A top rules official allowed a European player to drop in the wrong spot at a critical juncture in the match. The top-ranked American lost both her matches. Michelle Wie, a disputed captain's pick, turned out to be a bright spot.

The Solheim Cup had just about everything Friday, including one big development for the Europeans.

They had the lead.

With a little help from a bad ruling, Europe took a step toward winning for the first time on the road. Suzann Pettersen and Caroline Hedwall won two matches, andCarlota Ciganda took advantage of the wrong drop by making a 15-foot par putt to halve the 15th hole after a ruling that took as long as a halftime show at the Super Bowl.

The ruling happened in the most pivotal fourballs match in the afternoon, amid American complaints that it stopped all momentum.

Stacy Lewis, the No. 2 player in the world, and rookie Lexi Thompson were poised to go 1-up against Pettersen andCiganda, both of whom where in the hazard. Pure chaos followed for the next 30 minutes, so long that fans were chanting, ''While we're young'' from the grandstands.

Ciganda blocked her approach to the par 5 into an area marked a lateral water hazard. Lewis first was upset that the official used a laser to measure off the distance for Ciganda's drop under Rule 26-1-c, which she felt gave the Spaniard the yardage.

That wasn't the problem. After the measurement, LPGA official Brad Alexander was called in for a second opinion. Ciganda could have dropped on either side of the hazard, but Alexander incorrectly told her she go back on a line as far as she wanted. Ciganda went back 40 yards for a better look at the green and hit into 15 feet.

Thompson, just short of the green in two, hit a poor chip and missed her 18-foot birdie putt. Lewis missed her putt. And then Ciganda knocked in her putt for a par. One hole later, Thompson three-putted for par and Pettersen holed a 7-foot birdie for a 1-up lead, and Europe was on its way.

Alexander took the blame, though because it was an official ruling, it could not be overturned.

What really bugged U.S. captain Meg Mallon was how long it took.

It was the first of four matches. The Americans had momentum on its side in the second match, with Gerina Piller and Angela Stanford making a third straight birdie to cut their deficit to one hole. They waited in the fairway. The Americans were in control of the two matches behind them.

It looked as if the Americans might have a chance to dig out of a 3-1 deficit from morning foursomes and end the day in a tie.

''Obviously, I'm not happy about it,'' Mallon said. ''The thing I'm most unhappy about is that it ... took about 25 minutes for this to happen. And from our perspective the momentum, which was coming in our favor at that point in time, obviously had stopped. ... People make mistakes in rulings. That's not my issue. We have four matches out there and we have officials with every group, and it shouldn't take that long for something like that to happen.''

She still had to explain all this to her team, which left an hour earlier to regroup at the hotel.

Lewis left on a bad note. She was seen arguing with the original official while demanding an explanation, at one point throwing her hands in the air.

''I was very frustrated by the situation,'' Lewis said. ''I think there were a lot of things that went wrong within the ruling. You look at the length of time. It killed the momentum in our match and behind us.''

It was a tough day for Lewis, coming off a Women's British Open title at St. Andrews, whose two losses dropped her Solheim Cup record to 1-5.

Lewis struggled with the pace of lightning fast greens on the front nine as she and Lizette Salas fell too far behind to catch up in morning foursomes. Lewis played with another rookie, Thompson, who twice squandered good birdie chances late in the fourballs.

''She was upset about the day, because actually she was starting to turn her game around as well at that time,'' Mallon said. ''So that's my job to go back and get her refocused for tomorrow, which I'm sure she's already there. She's a very bright person and knows that it's in her best interests to play her best golf tomorrow.''

Just be careful what Jessica Korda eats for breakfast.

Never mind that Korda, a 20-year-old rookie, and Morgan Pressel delivered the lone American point in morning foursomes. After what she called a ''very scary'' opening tee shot with all the nerves and cheering, Korda was eating a banana down the first fairway when she lost her breakfast - but not her game.

She walked over the side of the fairway and threw up, and word spread quickly across the expansive course, giving her teammates a moment of levity.

''After I got past the first hole, I was pretty OK,'' said Korda, whose 7-foot par putt to halve the 16th hole ended the match.

Still, the opening day belonged to Europe.

Pettersen, playing in her seventh Solheim Cup, drilled a fairway metal into 20 feet on the 16th hole that set up Beatriz Recari for the eagle putt to take charge in a foursomes match. In the afternoon, it was Pettersen's 7-foot birdie putt on the 16th - after Thompson three-putted for par - that gave Europe the lead.

Hedwall was part of what European captain Liselotte Neumann called her ''Swedish Vikings'' to lead off the warm, sunny opening session south of Denver. Hedwall and Anna Nordqvist finished the front nine with two birdies to build a 3-up lead, and they never let Lewis and Salas any closer.

The day was not a total loss for Mallon's squad.

She was scrutinized for taking Wie as a captain's pick. Wie's superb short game combined with Cristie Kerrmaking big putts early as they disposed of Catriona Matthew and 17-year-old Charley Hull, 2 and 1, in the final match. The Americans picked up another point in the afternoon behind Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome, with Lang holing a bunker shot on the 14th hole to give her side control of the match.

Europe also had the lead after the opening day two years ago in Ireland, and it went on to win the Solheim Cup. This is the largest lead it has had on Friday since 5-3 at Crooked Stick in 2005. The Americans came back to win, and still have never lost the cup on home soil.

That might be tested this week in Colorado.

Officials' error helps Europe take Solheim Cup lead

Dennis Georgatos, The Sports Xchange August 17, 2013The SportsXchange

PARKER, Colo. -- European golfer Carlota Cigandaregrouped from a wayward shot, in part because of a favorable drop that was based on officials incorrectly interpreting a rule.

Ciganda went on to help the European women take a 5-3 lead over the Americans on Friday in the first of three days of match play competition in the Solheim Cup at the Colorado Golf Club.

But it turns out the Americans' complaints over the drop awarded to Ciganda were justified after she hit her second shot on the par-5 15th hole into a hazard composed of a rolling stand of trees and scrub brush alongside a creek. Officials later conceded they made an error in the rules interpretation.

Despite the mistaken ruling, officials said the results would stand.

"Everything stands," said Brad Alexander, a member of the Solheim Cup rules committee.

Suzann Pettersen and Ciganda were 1-up winners over Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson as the Europeans gained a split of the four afternoon matches after taking three of the four matches during the morning competition.

Alexander said Ciganda, through no fault of her own, ended up taking her drop in the wrong place.

If the rule had been interpreted properly, Ciganda should have taken a drop within two club lengths of where the ball landed instead of the alternate interpretation in which she was allowed to drop on the fairway approximately 40 yards further from the hole.

Officials took more than 20 minutes to sort out the spot for her drop, and when they allowed her a generous spot, Lewis immediately questioned the decision.

"She was quite angry about what was happening and I don't blame her," U.S. team captain Meg Mallon said. "They had the momentum going in their favor. People make mistakes in rulings. That's not my issue.

"We have four matches out there and we have officials with every group and it shouldn't take that long (to make a call). There were three groups on that hole waiting in the fairway for that long for them to not only make the wrong ruling but, you know, changing the momentum of the matches."

Added Lewis: "I'm very frustrated by the situation. I think there were a lot of things that went wrong within the ruling."

Mallon said while she and the rest of the U.S. team was unhappy, they also have to move on in the match.

"We have to accept that as a team and we have to go out and play our best and try to get those points back," Mallon said.

After getting the clean drop, Ciganda got her fourth shot within 12 feet of the hole. She ended up saving par, keeping the match all squared after Lewis missed a birdie putt.

One hole later, on the 16th, Pettersen made a birdie to give the Europeans a one-stroke advantage, which they hung on to the rest of the way to win the match.

"Carlota, she was a superstar," Pettersen said. "She hung in there tough. I'm proud of her."

Ciganda conceded she didn't play her best golf.

"It was very stressful at the time," she said, adding, "It was a great match and we won. And that's the most important."

Americans Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie beat Catriona Matthew and Charley Hull, at 17 the youngest to play in the Solheim Cup, 2 and 1. Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome also earned a point for the Americans, beating Anna Nordqvist and Giulia Sergas 4 and 3 after Lang buried a short birdie putt on the par-5 15th.

Lang produced a big shot to put the match firmly in their control on the 14th when she holed a shot from a bunker on the fringe of the green.

The "drop" controversy overshadowed some exceptional golf, particularly by Wie, who helped silence any lingering criticism over her selection to the team by Mallon.

Wie stoked momentum for her team when she chipped in a long-distance birdie putt on the par-4 13th hole from beyond the edge of the green. Wie pumped her fist and shared a celebratory hand slap and hug with Kerr after the ball dropped in the hole.

"When it went in, we just went crazy," Wie said. "I think we really needed that and it felt awesome."

Caroline Hedwall and Caroline Masson took another afternoon match for Europe with a 2-and-1 victory overAngela Stanford and Gerina Piller.

Europe won the last Solheim Cup in Ireland two years ago, but the Americans are 6-0 in Solheim Cup play in the United States.

The European squad got off to a strong start by taking three of the four morning matches in "Foursome" play.

Jessica Korda and Morgan Pressel accounted for the lone U.S. point from the morning session when they beat Matthew and Jodi Ewart Shadoff 3 and 2.

"I think we both played well out there today," said Pressel, who teamed up with Korda for birdie putts on the 11th and 13th holes to pull away. "We were a little shaky early, a little bit nervous. But we didn't make many mistakes and we were able to make some really good par saving putts."

Swedish golfers Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall put the first point on the board for Europe when they defeated Lewis and Lizette Salas 4 and 2 in the opening match.

Norway's Pettersen and Spain's Beatriz Recari gave Europe its second point when they beat Texans Lang and Angela Stanford 2 and 1.

A 2-and-1 victory by Azahara Munoz of Spain and Karine Icher of France against Kerr and Paula Creamerrounded out the morning session. Munoz and Icher strung together consecutive birdies on Nos. 8, 9 and 10 to seize the momentum in the match.

"We played well from the beginning and we had an amazing stretch on 8, 9 and 10 making bombs. That was huge for us," Munoz said.

Creamer said problems in their short game cost them.

"We just didn't make a putt," Creamer said. "We had so many lip-outs and it's just that's the way it was."