The US Solheim Cup team hope words of encouragement from Barack Obama can inspire them to complete “unfinished business” when facing Europe this weekend.
Obama was a surprise visitor to a Team USA dinner in Washington DC on Monday evening. The 44th president of the US had scope to offer special insight; he has been a member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, where the Solheim Cup is being contested, since 2017. A relaxed Obama posed for pictures with Stacy Lewis and her US squad.
Europe defeated the US in 2019 and 2021. When this event was last staged, in Spain last year, a tie allowed the Europeans to retain the trophy. “We got some unfinished business,” Nelly Korda, the US team’s world No 1, said.
Megan Khang expanded on Korda’s point. “Some people have asked me what one word would be to describe Team USA this year and I’m just going to say ‘hungry’,” she said.
“Nelly and I, being on the same amount of Solheim Cups and not getting the job done kind of leaves not necessarily the best taste in your mouth. Luckily we didn’t have to wait two years. We have this year to get back at it and I can tell you now we’re more hungry than ever.”
Obama made quite the impression. “He knew all of our names,” Korda said. “He congratulated all of us on all of our success as well.” Khang, the world No 21, was even more effusive. “It was just super cool to have a past president show up to team dinner,” she said.
“It’s pretty incredible he took time out of his day to come meet all of us. I know he plays out of here. The appreciation for the time he gave up to come to see us is incredible.”
Suzann Pettersen, the European captain, denied that recent outcomes render her team the favourites here. The world rankings would certainly point towards an overdue US success.
“I think playing away, you’re always an underdog,” the Norwegian said. “I think that’s how we’ve always looked at it. If you look at the previous three Solheims, we’ve come out on the high side and we’re going to try and keep that going for sure. I’m very happy to kind of leave the pressure to the Americans to say they are the home favourites.”
A notable name in Lewis’s team is Alison Lee. In her last Solheim Cup appearance, in Germany in 2015, Lee was involved in a hugely dramatic scene after wrongly believing that a putt had been conceded and picking up her ball. The European player who clashed with Lee at that point? Pettersen.
Lee gave the impression she is not entirely ready to let sleeping dogs lie when asked how her relationship with Pettersen stands now.
“I’m not going to lie, I haven’t really talked to her at all since then,” Lee said. “I don’t think about it too often. It was a very long time ago. I would say in the moment it was tough.”
