2011 Solheim Cup - 150 Days

Shaun Quinn, Leo Varadkar and Alison Nicholas

Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar, along with representatives from Fáilte Ireland and the Ladies European Golf Tour, has marked a significant milestone with ‘150 days to go’ to The 2011 Solheim Cup which will be staged in Killeen Castle, County Meath, this coming September. The professional ladies golf event between Europe and the USA is the most prestigious international team event in women’s professional golf and one of the biggest international sporting events to be staged in Ireland this year. The staging of the event is set to be worth a projected benefit of just under €35 million to the Irish economy, as well as the Meath area, providing a welcome boost for the tourism sector.

Speaking at the event Minister Varadkar said: “The 2011 Solheim Cup is the kind of show-piece event that can help to regenerate the Irish economy. It will create jobs, generate revenue, promote Ireland as a tourism destination and provide us with an opportunity to present our country in a positive light. Ireland has a proven track record in hosting high-profile international events and the Irish public is renowned for attending and supporting these events.”

Along with the tens of thousands of spectators, up to 500 international media are expected to descend on Killeen Castle in an event that will provide Ireland with phenomenal global exposure, including television coverage to over 400 million homes worldwide.

The 2011 Solheim Cup will take place on the stunning Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in Killeen Castle, County Meath, from 23rd - 25th September this year and Solheim Cup Director, Roddy Carr announced that over 14,000 tickets have been issued to date. At this stage over 70% of the available accommodation in Meath has been booked during the event according to Meath Tourism and over 2,500 room nights in Dublin have been booked for the event. 

Carr commented: “This is the pinnacle of ladies professional golf and some of the biggest names in the women’s game will be playing in Killeen Castle from Michelle Wie to Laura Davies. We expect large scale support from the Irish along with a strong European and American contingent travelling to the country. The atmosphere at the event in Meath will be like no other event on the tour and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this event on home soil.”

Speaking on the awarding of The 2011 Solheim Cup to Ireland, Executive Director of the Ladies European Tour, Alexandra Armas, highlighted; “Ireland was awarded The 2011 Solheim Cup over four years ago, defeating stiff opposition from five other nations. The country’s long heritage, love of the sport and the quality of the venue, Killeen Castle, were all key factors in the decision. I have no doubt Ireland will provide the perfect showcase for this event.”

European Solheim Cup Captain, Alison Nicholas was also present, outlining the success of The Solheim Cup Club Ambassador Programme, a recruitment drive currently being undertaken in clubs throughout the country. 155 club ambassadors have already signed up for the programme which aims to secure key representatives in golf clubs nationwide with the dual goal of generating large scale spectator support from Irish club golfers and creating a dynamic bond between spectators and the European team in advance of the event.

Nicholas commented: “We are currently staging coaching clinics in clubs throughout the country aiming to create as much support as possible when it comes to the event. The Americans will provide a very strong challenge and we are relying on as much European and home support as possible to help us regain the coveted Solheim Cup this year in Killeen Castle. The Irish public can be our 13th member of the team and play a pivotal role.”

The European team will comprise the top four players from the European points’ list, the next highest four from the Rolex World Rankings and four captain’s picks, so at present, the European team status is outlined below, with little change expected until after the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open (ending Sunday 8th May).

European Team Announced on August 29th

Rosie Jones and Alison Nicolas

Alison Nicholas will announce her European Solheim Cup team for 2011 on Monday 29th August following the publication of the weekly Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. 

The 12 woman squad competing at Killeen Castle in Ireland from September 23-25, 2011, will comprise the top four players on the Ladies European Tour’s Solheim Cup points ranking, the next best four players from the Rolex Rankings, with a further four selected players from the Ladies European Tour.

Laura Davies, the only player in Solheim Cup history to have participated in all 11 editions of the event, is targeting her 12th appearance on the team. The English star has played in 43 of the 48 matches contested since the inaugural event at Lake Nona in 1990. With 23.5 points earned in Solheim Cup competition, Davies is just half a point shy of equalling Annika Sorenstam’ record as the event’s all-time leading points’ scorer. The 79-time tournament champion currently leads the LET Solheim Cup points list after collecting five trophies over the 2010 season and is determined to secure her place on the team.

Last year’s Turkish Airlines Ladies Open champion, Melissa Reid, from England, is in second position on the list and is desperate to make her Solheim Cup debut after injury effectively forced her out of the reckoning for the 2009 event at Rich Harvest Farms in America.

Frenchwoman Virginie Lagoutte-Clement is third on the list and also targeting her Solheim Cup debut. Last year the mother of one overcame difficult conditions to capture her third LET title at the Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open presented by EventScotland at Archerfield Links in East Lothian and posted five additional top-four finishes over the season.

Denmark’s Iben Tinning, who claimed her sixth career title at the 2010 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, is fourth on the list but has retired from competition. With Suzann Pettersen, Trish Johnson, Florentyna Parker, Marianne Skarnord, Becky Brewerton and Christel Boeljon next on the list, there is a mixture of rookies and experience within the top 10 positions and the contenders on the periphery will all be hoping to use the 2011 LET season to stake their claims.

“With fewer than seven months to go until tee off at Killeen Castle, I am pleased with the way the European Solheim Cup team is quietly taking shape,” said Nicholas. “The early part of this season will offer the opportunity for all of the European players to demonstrate their skills as they seek to qualify for the team and it will be exciting to watch who will carry their form forward and what new talents emerge.” 

Norwegian Suzann Pettersen , the World No.5, currently leads the Europeans on the Rolex Rankings followed by Anna Nordqvist, Maria Hjorth, Catriona Matthew and Sophie Gustafson, who won the AIB Ladies Irish Open last year at Killeen Castle, The Solheim Cup venue. They are closely followed by Melissa Reid and Azahara Muñoz.

With plenty to play for, there are guaranteed to be many twists and turns before the team is confirmed on 29th August. 

The 2011 USA Solheim Cup Team will be announced a week earlier on Sunday 21st August at the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola, August 19th - 21st at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon.

Captain's Update - Alison Nicholas

Alison Nicholas

With fewer than seven months remaining until the biennial match at Killeen Castle in Ireland, Europe’s Solheim Cup captain on Annika, attitude and bringing the trophy home.

It’s going to be fantastic to be at home and be the home captain.

The home advantage with the support of the fans is going to be huge for us. I know a lot of people that are coming to the event. There’s a big group from Yorkshire, a group from Cheshire and then the Irish supporters will be fantastic because they are so passionate about the game and so it is going to be tremendous for the European team.

It will be great going to the Kraft Nabisco Championship at the end of March.

I’m going to see Annika, who is one of my vice-captains, to chat to her and connect with as many players as possible. I’m also going to the Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup, Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open, Evian Masters presented by Société Genérale, the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the AIB Ladies Irish Open. I’ll be connecting with the players that make the automatic spots and watching various players that I’m interested in, in terms of my captain’s picks. I will just see how the players perform under pressure and if their game suits Killeen.

It’s the whole team.

My picks will be players that are in form more than anything. I’m due to discuss everything with Annika at the Kraft Nabisco Championship to get her input and thoughts about the team and Captain’s picks.

Twitter.

Annika suggested that I go on Twitter which I have done but I do not perhaps write on it enough. I will make a greater effort over the next seven months as the main run of activities start building up. Annika is very good at the business side and need to take a leaf out of her book. 

European winners.

I am confident that the Europeans will win many tournaments this season and I know the girls are really up for The Solheim Cup, so this should be an exciting season for all to watch as all the players prepare to play their way into the European side. 

Underdogs.

I do think that we are the underdogs again if you look at the two potential sides on paper in relation to the world rankings, the Americans have a very, very good side and we can never underestimate them and it is going to be a tough match. We proved last time that we can compete right up there with them and we have a bunch of exciting young players coming through so it is going to be exciting.

I don’t feel the heat.

I feel much more relaxed about my captaincy this time because I have experienced what it is like in the heat of Solheim week in that role. So I know what to expect which helps enormously, however I will not take my foot off the pedal and will still prepare as well as last time but in a much more relaxed fashion.

Singles.

I will be talking to all the players and tapping into my Vice-Captains’ ideas relating to the singles and see what we can come up with. The past is for reference: nothing more. It does not shape the future so we need to move on and not get stuck there. 

Rosie Jones Solheim Log

Being Captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team has proven to be very exciting this year as I made my final visit to the season ending LPGA Tour Championship in Orlando last week. Lots to catch up with the players and staff since this will be the last tournament of the year and players will be in off season mode for the next several weeks as they all enjoy the Holiday Season and then gear up for year 2011.

This was a good event for me to attend since all the top U.S. players were there looking to better their position in many category's on the treacherous Grand Cypress layout just outside of Disney World. The weather turned to cool with windy conditions making the course very hard to score on with drastic greens proving hard to master. I have to brag a bit about how well our American players played, but the big congrats to Sweden's Maria Hjorth for her great play to capture the title.

Player of the Year

It was fun to watch the top 5 players on tour battle it out those past weeks for Play of the Year award and Vare Trophy as the results all came down to the final round and to whether Cristie Kerr could pull off a win to capture both honors. After watching the top honor trade like baseball cards the past 3 months, the final congrats go to Yani Tseng. I guess we'll have to wait another year to see if the POY award will come home to an American player as C. Kerr just missed out with a brave attempt finishing Tied for 3rd place finish.

Solheim Points

Lots of good golf and plenty of points being made, but not a lot of movement on the 2011 Solheim Cup point standings these past couple of weeks as the tour ends it's year long plus qualifying. Cristie Kerr leads the American squad with 441 points with Morgan Pressel in second place at 239 and Michelle Wie in third at 223. Team USA has got a good strong line up of experienced players in the top 10 with a good mix of young players looking for their first experience of Solheim Competition and Veterans' holding their own within the top 15 spots.

Even though I have been watching the points pretty closely these past several months, this is when the players themselves start to keep a keen eye on what is going on as well. I expect next year will be quite the shoot out as points are worth 1 ½ times during Solheim Cup year. Example: a Win is 60 points, double for Majors. This will favor hot play in 2011, and give a player the ability to make a pretty good move up the roster.

Captain RoJo Wins

One of the great things about being Captain is that even though it sometimes feels like a full time job, it still allows me the opportunity to be competitive on the Legends Tour (Official Senior Tour of the LPGA). Last month I teed it up with some great former players of the LPGA including past Captains Beth Daniel, Patty Sheehan, Pat Bradley and current players on the LPGA tour like Michelle Redman and Lori Kane at the Legends Tour Championship on the Island Course at Innisbrook FL.

With a two day total of -9, I was hoisting the trophy for my first Major Win and my fourth title in 4 years as a senior player on the tour. It was a fun week and a good experience for me as all those competitive juices come back to me and keep me on my toes and in touch with what my Solheim Players are going through week in and week out.

As the Holiday Season is in full swing this is the time players wind down from the busy Tour Life and the crazy travel schedule that can take its toll over the entire year. It's a good time to relax and enjoy their life at home, revitalize the body, rest and balance out their time for family and friends. It won't be long before the sticks come back out of the trunk and the grind starts back up with new goals and expectations. 

Wrap Up

I have to admit this year was a good year to be Captain of the American team. I couldn't be more proud of all of them as so many players found success on both the LPGA as well in European and Asian tournaments overseas in non-official events. We got a good foundation going into 2011 and I look forward to watching with earnest as it all comes down to the final weeks leading into the competition.

I look forward to the New Year where I will be working more from home finalizing some details on the many pieces of my responsibilities regarding the Solheim Cup next September. So much to do and as of today, I have only 282 more days to do it. Wow! 

Happy Holidays

Captain RoJo

Rosie Jones