View from the 1st
A great advertisement for the ladies game?
Matt Cooper looks ahead to this month’s Solheim Cup and considers the importance of the result for the future of the ladies’ game in Europe
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rain forced an unprecedented Monday extension that culminated in Graeme McDowell’s heroic win. The exhilaration of that week
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rubber-stamped the ‘feel good’ atmosphere around men’s European golf. This month the European Solheim Cup team has the opportunity to do something slightly different for European ladies’ golf; namely, to kick-start a new wave of excitement. Yet again Team Europe will
include the remarkable Laura Davies who is joined by British veterans, Catriona Matthew and Karen Stupples, plus the experienced Scandinavians Maria Hjorth and Suzann Pettersen. But the rest of the team (all
below the age of 26) can boast just one previous Solheim performance between them. And yet those youngsters
(Anna Nordqvist, Melissa Reid, Christel Boeljon, Caroline Hedwall, Azahara Munoz and Sandra Gal) possess the qualities required to promote the game in Europe:
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t is nearly 12 months since the 2010 Ryder Cup when biblical
skill, a modern approach to fitness and good looks. In 2009 they were odds-on
favourites midway through the final day singles before succumbing to nerves. The nature of that defeat was reminiscent of the way the Europeans lost the 1983 Ryder Cup, a result that famously inspired victory two years later. The European team is also
stronger than two years ago while the Americans are arguably weaker. With loud and bullish galleries
supporting both sides, plus the dramatic backdrop of the Killeen Castle venue, the event has the potential to be a great advertisement for the ladies’ game, and hopefully a springboard for improving the profile of the sport. And the truth is that the game
(especially on British shores) badly needs that boost. There was no LET tournament in England or Wales this year, spectator numbers for the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Carnoustie were poor, many national newspapers
ignored that event (a Major remember), the announcement of the captain’s picks for the Solheim Cup received even less media coverage than the British Open, and the poor production quality of the LET’s television highlights packages is currently doing the players no favours at all. Conclusion? This Solheim Cup
matters. Colin Montgomerie revealed last year that he concealed from his players the huge significance of victory for the European Tour; the fact it was essential to guarantee future income and sponsorship. Like Montgomerie’s team,
Alison Nicholas’ side will be playing, first and foremost, for themselves, their team mates, their nation and their continent. That’s only right, but a
win would also have wider implications. It would give the ladies’ game something to promote, market and sell itself, and that is something it badly needs.
* Follow Matt on
www.twitter. com/MattCooperGolf
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