Solheim Cup: Day 2 morning preview
The pairings are out for the Saturday morning Foursomes (alternate shot).
1. Christina Kim/Natalie Gulbis v. Ludivine Nocera/GwladysKreutz
Edge on paper: U.S. team. 2 rookies against 2 rookies, but Kim and Gulbis already got some Cup experience today and played well.
2. Paula Creamer/Julie Inkster v. Laura Davies/Maria Hjorth
Edge on paper: Europe. The way Laura Davies is playing, I can't go against her anymore.
3. Laura Diaz/Wendy Ward v. Sophie Gustafson/Carin Koch
Edge on paper: Europe. Carin Koch is a Sergio in Cup play (see my earlier post).
4. Michelle Redman/Pat Hurst v. Annika Sorenstam/Catriona Matthew
Edge on paper: Europe. Annika is so hard to beat. Update: Cristie Kerr was supposed to play but she woke up with a neck ache and was scratched. Michelle Redman, who's never won foursomes, was put in her place.
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I love Nancy Lopez, but, as you can see, I don't like the looks of the U.S. pairings. The Euros are sticking with 2 of the pairings that won today: Laura Davies/Maria Hjorth and Annika Sorenstam/Catriona Matthew. I like this strategy for the Euros: go with your winning horses who have already had a chance to become comfortable playing together.
By contrast, the U.S. team has only 1 "repeat" twosome, and that's the team of Paula Creamer/Julie Inkster, who got absolutely crushed by Laura Davies in the afternoon. And guess who Paula/Julie get to face again? You got it, the juggernaut of Laura Davies, with Maria Hjorth. Maybe Nancy Lopez felt she needed to shake things up because the U.S. teams lost 2 alternate shot matches and only halved the other 2. But I believe Mulligan's right for once: the U.S. should stick with the winning combos: (1) Rosie Jones/Meg Mallon, (2) Natalie Gulbis/Cristie Kerr. Rosie Jones was on fire (5 birdies in the front 9) -- you can't sit her in the morning! Gulbis and Kerr were clearly playing well, together. Why break them up?
2 Comments:
I don't know why the The Golf Channel commentators were giving the edge to the US team based on stats before the Cup began. Right now, I think you're right the European team is pretty strong in the foursomes and fourball formats when you have people like Annika, Laura Davies, and Carin Koch in 3 different groups. That's firepower.
when the captains select their pairings, they don't know who the other is selecting for that time slot.
if i were nancy, i would not have wanted to send out paula creamer (w/ julie inkster) out against laura davies again. you are asking a lot of the 19 year old to go up against godzilla again. it's the luck of the draw, but christina kim and natalie gulbis would have been the better draw against davies.
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