Suzann Pettersen will surely be enormously proud of her European side after they gave the USA a good scare on Sunday at the Solheim Cup as they set their sights on a miracle comeback in Virginia.
Europe went into the singles 10-6 down with the damage being done on Friday. USA won both of the first two sessions of this year’s Solheim Cup 3-1 to ensure that they had one hand on the trophy heading into the final 12 matches of this year’s event.
And Stacy Lewis’ side did race to 13.5 points relatively quickly, with the likes of Megan Khang, Allisen Corpuz and Rose Zhang winning their matches comfortably.
However, Europe were not going to give up the trophy without a real fight. Charley Hull made a real statement with a big win over Nelly Korda – with the world number one producing some stunning performances over the first two days. Meanwhile, Georgia Hall beat Alison Lee.
Suzann Pettersen asked if she would captain Europe again after the Solheim Cup defeat
And when Celine Boutier completely turned her match with Lexi Thompson around, there appeared to be a real chance of Europe being able to somehow get to the line. However, Lilia Vu earning a half point against rookie Albane Valenzuela ensured that the USA have their first win since 2017.
Pettersen has obviously captained the side on two occasions now, with Europe managing to retain the trophy in Spain last year. And with her and Lewis facing off in the last two occasions, it is almost going to be strange to see someone else step into the role at some stage.
Speaking in her press conference after the Sunday singles, Pettersen was asked whether she would captain the team again if given the chance.
“I have no idea. This is kind of the end of my term as far as I know, and I haven’t been promoted, so I cannot answer that question,” she said.
“But I want to say one thing, and what I’ve loved the most about doing this, and I really mean that from the bottom of my heart is, even though I haven’t been competitive, playing week-in, week-out, I still feel like I’m part of the player group.
“And as a retired player, you step away, you don’t see everyone every week, you miss seeing your friends on tour, so just feeling a part of that player body has got me up every morning wanting to make this as good an experience for all of them, so that’s probably what I’m sitting back with, now that I’m done hopefully I’m not going to be cut out the WhatsApp group, but yeah, I really enjoy that.”
Mistakes made which suggest new direction may now be needed in Netherlands
Pettersen’s record as captain is likely to be properly analysed in the coming months, as Europe turn their attention to Netherlands in 2026. She is obviously a giant of European golf, but her critics will point out that she has not won either of her Solheim Cups as captain outright.
She also came in for criticism for some of her decisions throughout the week. Fans were not happy with Pettersen leaving Leona Maguire out of both of Saturday’s sessions.
It is obviously much easier to say after the fact, but putting Carlota Ciganda out in both foursomes sessions was a gamble which backfired, given the weaknesses in the Spaniard’s game. Meanwhile, neither Emily Pedersen or Maja Stark could build on their wins on the first morning, and Linn Grant unfortunately failed to win a single point from her four matches.
But Europe will also have to consider who is in line to captain the team in two years. Mel Reid has been a vice-captain on a number of occasions now, while Anna Nordqvist may perhaps be the leading contender if Europe decide to take the Keegan Bradley approach.
Having said all that, had just a few matches played out fractionally differently on Sunday, Pettersen would be reflecting on yet another stunning comeback – and the calls for her to carry on would probably be too loud for Europe to ignore.
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