Team Europe captain Anna Nordqvist has dismissed suggestions from United States captain Angela Stanford that the Bernardus Golf course set-up had been tailored to favour the home side at the Solheim Cup.
Nordqvist's team completed a 15-13 victory over Team USA after prevailing in Sunday's singles matches in the Netherlands. The two sides had been level at 8-8 following the opening two days of competition.
Stanford said afterwards she felt her team had been at a disadvantage throughout the tournament because of how slow the greens were.
Stanford's press conference comments
"Europe played well. I don't think we played bad. I think we just didn't make enough putts," Stanford said at her post-tournament press conference. "And if you listen to everything I've ever said, Europeans always putt better. I don't know why. I still don't know why. I mean, I have a good idea, but I'm not going to say it right now."
She added: "Apparently I didn't get to know the superintendent [grounds manager] as well as I should have."
Pressed on whether she meant the green speeds had differed from what she expected, Stanford said: "Even when we showed up in July here, they were faster. And I don't think it had anything to do with the rain either. Now, saying that, it's my responsibility to get the team ready."
"This is the one thing I am kicking myself is that I just didn't keep pushing, you know, we got to figure out how to hit our putts a little bit harder, which is really difficult, to change the way you putt. So I'm a little frustrated with myself that I didn't drive that point home."
Nordqvist's response
Nordqvist said she was surprised by the suggestion when it was put to her at her own press conference.
"We're in Europe and in September. We know how the weather can be," she said. "I'm not sure I believe a lot in setting up a way to fit Europe because these girls play the same golf courses week-in and week-out competing."
She explained that the course had played differently when the teams visited in July during a hot, dry summer, compared with the wet conditions that arrived in the buildup to the event. "So if anything it was just really trying to manage firmness. But then it's obviously been raining a lot in the past couple weeks and then this week we saw a lot of rain," Nordqvist said. "So if anything they were probably just playing a little bit softer than we all thought coming here. But that's obviously the weather, we can't control that."
Kupcho's Saturday heroics
The Americans had celebrated on Saturday evening after Jennifer Kupcho sank two putts late in the fourballs to level the match at 8-8, rather than allowing Europe to take a 9-7 lead into the final day.
Stanford rejected any suggestion that reaching that emotional high had come too early for her team. "That's kind of tricky because you don't ever want to take away from that moment," she said. "The worst thing I could have done is go in there and be like, 'okay, y'all. Come off this high'. So you don't want to take away from those moments."
"We're never going to see anything like that again. I think they handled it very well," Stanford added. "But I talked to Kupcho and everybody and they're like, 'yeah, we got good rest but, yeah, it did take a minute to come off because it was a pretty high high'."
Elsewhere at Bernardus Golf, Team USA's Nelly Korda appeared to tell a fan to "have some class" after playing a shot on the 16th hole.
What happens next
The Solheim Cup is the biennial team competition between the leading women golfers of Europe and the United States, held each edition since 1990 and contested in fourballs, foursomes and singles matches across three days.
The Ladies European Tour moves on to Spain for the La Sella Open, beginning Thursday and held at La Sella Golf Resort, while the LPGA Tour takes a week off before the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, which runs from September 25 to 27.
The next Solheim Cup will be held in 2028 at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, from September 8 to 10 that year.
