Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Another day, another dispute at Solheim Cup

Another day, another dispute at Solheim Cup

A teenager shines as Europe on cusp of Solheim Cup
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AP - Sports
PARKER, Colo. (AP) -- One day later, one hole further down the golf course, Solheim Cup rules officials found themselves in another drawn-out dispute over where to drop balls that flew into a hazard.
Saturday's row, which European captains timed at 31 minutes, came on the par-5 16th and involved American Cristie Kerr and Europe's Beatriz Recari, both of whom teed off into the hazard that separates the split fairways on the 532-yard hole.
The sides couldn't reach agreement on where either drop should come. The bigger problem appeared to be deciding where Recari's shot entered the hazard.
LPGA Tour official Brad Alexander, who admitted rules officials had erred in the protracted case involving Europe's Carlota Ciganda on No. 15 the day before, watched replays on TV and came out to the course but that didn't offer any quick resolution.
After Recari finally dropped, she hit her third shot onto the green and had a 25-foot putt to close the match. She missed and the players moved to 18 before the Europeans closed out a 1-up victory and a sweep of the best-ball matches, courtesy of Karin Icher's 45-foot putt from off the fringe.
Still miffed at the prolonged argument long after the match was over, Recari gave a detailed explanation. Her version: Three spotters said they saw the ball bounce on the ground and cross the line of the hazard. The Americans, meanwhile, heard Recari shouting at the ball to ''get right,'' which suggested to them it was over the hazard the entire time and never hit the ground.
''Bottom line, they won the hole,'' Recari said. ''I mean, we have to be adults. ... If it's inconclusive, we have to come to agreement. That was the argument for 31 minutes, the referee and all of us trying to figure it out. And we went back and forth.''
One major difference between the Friday and Saturday disputes: America had no momentum to lose, the way it did when Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson got held up for nearly a half-hour on the 15th hole while officials figured out where Ciganda should drop.
Ciganda got up and down to save par en route to a victory on Friday. Recari's drop wound up making no difference in the match, but Europe still walked away with the win and the 10 1/2-5 1/2 lead heading into Sunday singles.
''It took forever, it was a mess, and it made everybody a little frazzled,'' Kerr said. ''And I mean, really, where my ball crossed, it kind of wasn't a question. But we were just trying to get it right. And we had to go to TV, and that took forever. And then the fans got anxious and it was weird.''
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THE NEW SPANISH ARMADA: Carlota Ciganda looked like a different player Saturday than she did in her Solheim Cup debut.
The reason: Her partner, Azahara Munoz.
''I met Carlota when she was 8 and I was 11,'' Munoz said. ''And every time, in the Spanish team, we always play the foursomes together. And ever since I can remember, we are best friends.''
Ciganda made the 12-foot birdie putt to clinch a 1-up victory over Angela Stanford and Gerina Pillar and close out a day that was much different from her opening match. She and Suzann Pettersen won that match, in large part because Ciganda got a favorable - and incorrect - ruling about where to drop on the 15th hole, then got up-and-down for a par.
But she was all over the place on Friday, playing from the scrub and weeds through most of the back nine.
On Saturday, with Munoz by her side, it was a much different story.
Cigada made the first of four birdies on No. 2 and, of course, saved the best one for last - after curling a 7-iron close on the uphill 18th.
''Today it was like playing just a normal event like we used to in Spain or even in Europe,'' Ciganda said. ''So I trust her and I think she trusts me, too.''
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HEATED MOMENT: Paula Creamer and Lexi Thompson were involved in an argument on the seventh green when Charley Hull and Jodi Ewart-Shadoff conceded Creamer's par putt after Creamer had lined it up and was ready to make the stroke.
Europe already had a birdie and Creamer's putt for par was on the same line as her partner, who had a birdie putt to halve the hole.
As Creamer was getting ready to putt, European assistant captain Annika Sorenstam shouted that her team should concede the putt. Ewart-Shadoff's caddie then told Creamer, ''That's good.''
The Europeans didn't want to give Thompson a free look at the line. Under the Rules of Golf, when they conceded Creamer's putt, she wasn't allowed to make the stroke because it would assist her partner.
An argument ensued, and shortly afterward, Thompson made her putt anyway, accentuating it with a big fist pump. It drew the match to even, but the Americans ended up losing, 2 down.
''Things happen out there,'' Creamer said. ''It's an unfortunate thing. I think you should kind of know the rules of match play, for sure, when you're out there, but at the same time, Jodi and Charley apologized for what happened.''
American captain Meg Mallon said Solheim Cup officials spoke with USGA officials, who said Sorenstam's directive didn't count as ''advice,'' and therefore didn't violate a rule that allows only head captains to advise the players.
Ewart-Shadoff said it was much ado about nothing, given that Thompson made the putt.
''We kind of were unsure about what the rule was about playing out when we had already made the birdie,'' she said. ''At the end of the day, they made the putt and there's nothing really to say about it.''
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SHORT SHOTS: Giulia Sergas was the only European to only play one match over the first two days. ... Americans who haven't tallied a point yet: Lexi Thompson, Gerina Pillar and Angela Stanford, who is on a six-match losing streak. ... By splitting her matches Saturday, Michelle Wie moved to 5-1-1 lifetime when playing as a captain's pick.

A teenager shines as Europe on cusp of Solheim Cup

A teenager shines as Europe on cusp of Solheim Cup

AP - Sports
Europe rallies around an English teenager
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PARKER, Colo. (AP) -- Everywhere she turned, U.S. captain Meg Mallon saw one great shot after another Saturday in the Solheim Cup.
Almost all of them were by the other team.
Mallon was standing behind the tee on the par-3 17th when Anna Nordqvist hit 7-iron into the mile-high air to a back pin, never leaving its target until it bounced into the cup for an ace and an abrupt end to a foursomes match. Nearly eight hours later, she was behind the 18th green and hopeful of getting a half-point out of the last match to at least salvage some momentum going into the last day.
Karine Icher rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt from just off the green and yet another European point.
That was the final blow for a European team that stunned the Americans with a shutout in the afternoon for a 10 1/2-5 1/2 lead, matching the largest margin in Solheim Cup history and leaving the Europeans on the verge of their first victory away from home.
''It's obviously my dream to be able to win this cup over here for the first time,'' European captain Liselotte Neumann said. ''So to make some history, it will be amazing.''
Mallon still managed a smile when she sat down to go over the Sunday singles lineup. She removed her sunglasses and said, ''Can you see the shock on my face?''
Europe owned the day.
Neumann rested her three top players. She sent out five rookies for fourballs, starting with Jodi Ewart-Shadoff and 17-year-old Charley Hull who combined for nine birdies in a 2-up win over 18-year-old Lexi Thompson and Paula Creamer. Carlota Ciganda was spraying the ball all over Colorado Golf Club until meeting up with assistant captain Annika Sorenstam on the range. She ended her match with a 12-foot birdie putt for another European point.
''Today for the Europeans, it was a magical day for that team,'' Mallon said.
The star for Europe has been Caroline Hedwall of Sweden. She is the only player on either team who will play all five matches, with a chance to become the first player in Solheim Cup history to go 5-0.
Mallon can only hope for some history of her own, and it's a long shot.
No team has ever rallied from more than two points behind going into the Sunday singles. The Europeans only need to win three matches and halve another out of 12 singles to capture the cup away from home for the first time, and retain the cup for the first time since this event began in 1990.
''It's a wonderful feeling,'' Neumann said. ''These girls played their hearts out. It's awesome. It was a fantastic afternoon.''
Hull and Ewart-Shadoff were all square when the precocious English teen hit 9-iron just over the bunker on the par-3 17th to 4 feet for a birdie to go 1 up. Ewart-Shadoff did the rest, smashing a tee shot some 30 yards by the big-hitting Thompson, leaving only a 9-iron into the green on the 435-yard, uphill closing hole. Her 10-foot birdie putt was conceded, and European blue filled the rest of the scoreboard.
Mallon had spoken earlier Saturday about the importance of the last match to take momentum into Sunday.
''Every Solheim Cup, it seems, comes down to that Saturday afternoon last much, and momentum that happens after that,'' she said. ''I'm hoping, in this case, that it's a momentum of my team turning it around tomorrow. Obviously, it's daunting. I'm not being Pollyanna about this, but I really feel like the lineup I have, and this team, can do it.
''They all played their hearts out today,'' she said. ''No one gave up on me today, not one player. And I know they're not going to give up on me tomorrow.''
She has stacked her lineup, sending Stacy Lewis, Creamer, Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel out first.
Mallon felt much better after the morning session of foursomes, when Wie and Lang rallied from 2 down at the turn to beat Beatriz Recari and Suzann Pettersen, and Lewis won her first point by teaming with Creamer for a 1-up win. Her team had a chance to tie the score until Catriona Matthew holed a 7-foot putt as she and Masson won the last two holes to earn a halve.
Still, the Americans closed the gap to one point and had momentum.
It didn't last long. The Americans didn't have the lead in a single fourballs match on the back nine.
Leading the way was Hull, who was dynamic in the best match of the day. Hull and Ewart-Shadoff combined for a better-ball score of 63, making five straight birdies at one point. Creamer and Thompson shot 31 on the front nine and still trailed.
Hull twice rolled in birdie putts around the turn with the Americans in close for birdie. Ewart-Shadoff hit driver on the 295-yard 14th hole, a shot that never left the flag and settled some 25 feet behind the cup for a two-putt birdie to win the hole and regain the lead.
With the match all square, Hull hit a 9-iron to a front pin on No. 17 that looked good all the way.
''I never had a hole-in-one before, so I thought when it pitched on the ground, I thought, 'Well, this could be my chance to get one.' But it rolled up about 4 feet,'' Hull said. ''And then I was quite nervous over the 4-footer, and then I rolled it in. It was just great.''
Still, the dagger came from Icher that that remarkable putt.
''I just tried to find a good speed for the putt, because I was downhill and the putt went in,'' she said. ''So it's very important to have won this match. A half-point is always a half-point. Tomorrow it can make the difference.''
The Solheim Cup endured another black eye in officiating, this time on a different hole. A rules official allowed Ciganda to take an incorrect drop on the 15th hole after a 30-minute ruling on the opening day. On Saturday, Recari and Cristie Kerr both went into the hazard on the 16th hole, and neither player could agree where it entered the hazard. After 31 minutes, they both took their drop. By then, the entire American team had gathered around the 18th green to watch the finish. It should have known the outcome.
Six out of the 16 matches have gone to the 18th hole, with Europe winning four of them and halving another.

Europeans put heat on Americans in Solheim Cup

Europeans put heat on Americans in Solheim Cup

The SportsXchange
PARKER, Colo. -- A stunning momentum swing and a heated green-side exchange among players mixed in with some exceptional play on the course set the stage for a dramatic final round Sunday in the Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club
 The Americans, trying to prevent the Europeans from winning the Cup for the first time on U.S. soil, trail 10.5-5.5 going into the final day of competition when all 12 members from each team square off against each other in singles match play. 
 "I know they're upset. I know they're motivated," U.S. team captain Meg Mallon said of her players. "But there's 12 points to get out there (Sunday). We can do it." 
 The Americans began the second day of the event down two points to the Europeans and still steaming over a blown official's ruling allowing an improper drop that helped swing a critical day one match against the Americans. 
Initially, the Americans cut the deficit to a point despite losing one of the four morning matches on a hole-in-one by Sweden's Anna Nordqvist.
But the European women fought back in the afternoon four-ball session, sweeping all four matches, combining grit with motivated, skilled play to stun the Americans.
"It was literally shocking to see us lose all four matches in the afternoon," Mallon said. "Today for the Europeans was a magical day."
 The Europeans clinched the afternoon sweep when Karine Icher of France chipped in on the par-4 18th hole. 
 "I couldn't imagine that it was going to look like this coming into the singles," European captain Liselotte Neumann said. "These girls played their hearts out. It's awesome. It was a fantastic afternoon. I'm so proud of them." 
 The final shot of the day allowed the Europeans to halve the hole, giving Icher and Beatriz Recari a 1-up victory over Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel in a match that included another prolonged rules dispute over a drop when Recari put a shot into a hazard on the 16th hole. 
 Earlier in the afternoon session, Carolina Masson and Caroline Hedwall were 2-and-1 winners over Michelle Wie and Jessica Korda; Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz beat Gerina Piller and Angela Stanford 1-up, and Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Charley Hull won 2 up over Paula Creamer and Lexi Thompson
 The tournament has been tightly contested and intense with emotions on both sides occasionally boiling over. That was the case on the green at the seventh hole when Creamer got into a verbal exchange withEwart Shadoff and other members of the European contingent in full view of the gallery. 
In a game known for its decorum on the course, it was a surreal scene more reminiscent of an ill-tempered baseball batter jawing with a pitcher who just threw a brush-back pitch.
 After Ewart Shadoff, who was teamed with 17-year-old Hull, hit an approach shot to tap-in distance for a conceded birdie on No. 7, Creamer's long birdie attempt came up a few feet short. As she lined up to tap in the par putt, the Europeans made a last-minute concession, forcing Creamer to pull off the shot and pick up her ball. 
 Creamer, wanting to take the shot to help teammate Lexi Thompson with her line on her upcoming birdie putt attempt, was visibly angered by the move and let the Europeans know it. 
A rules official intervened to try to calm the situation and apparently reiterated the Europeans' right to concede the putt.
 Mallon said later that European assistant captain Annika Sorenstam was at the hole and suggested out loud that the shot should be conceded and then Ewart Shadoff's caddie yelled out for the concession request, which was honored by the officials and triggered the angry response from Creamer. 
Only player-issued concessions are supposed to be recognized.
Mallon said that while officials told her Sorenstam didn't break any rules because they didn't believe her remark technically constituted prohibited on-course "advice," the U.S. captain said in her view "it wasn't good etiquette."
Ewart Shadoff said she did not want to talk about the episode. Creamer said both Hull and Ewart Shadoff later apologized to her.
Thompson, at 18 the youngest ever to play on the American squad, punctuated the brouhaha by draining a birdie putt to keep the match square. But the tie was short-lived as a fired-up Ewart Shadoff drained a birdie putt on the par 4 eighth hole as the Europeans went 1-up.
 The Americans came back to square the match when Creamer sank a 5-foot birdie putt on the par 5 16th. On the par-3, 180-yard 17th, though, both Thompson and Hull, the youngest player in Solheim Cup history, landed their tee shots within a few feet of the hole. Thompson just missed her birdie putt and Hull sank hers, pumping a fist and then wiping her brow with her forearm and sighing in relief as the Europeans again went 1-up. 
 The Europeans won the final hole, and in a sign of some conciliation after the blowup on No. 7, Creamer and Thompson both gave congratulatory hugs to Ewart Shadoff and Hull. 
 At the same hole during morning session, Nordqvist, who was paired with fellow Swede Caroline Hedwall, put the Europeans up 6-3 when she aced No. 17 using a 7-iron. The ball took a couple of bounces on the green and rattled in off the flagstick, clinching a 2-and-1 victory over Pressel and Jessica Korda. 
"It's definitely one of the highlights of my career," Nordqvist said. "It's one of the moments that I'm really going to remember for a long time."
The Americans nearly completed a sweep of the three other matches in the morning session. However, Catriona Matthew of Scotland, teamed with Masson, drained a birdie putt on No. 18 to win the hole and halve the match for the Europeans.
Wie and Brittany Lang were as many as four holes up early in their match against Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Recari. The Europeans fought back to square it before Wie made a short birdie putt on the 17th hole for a 1 up-victory for the United States.
Lewis and Creamer were 1-up winners for the U.S. over Munoz and Icher in the morning session.