Whichever captain lost the Solheim Cup on Sunday would have known that some of their decisions throughout the week would immediately come under scrutiny.
Ultimately, it was Stacy Lewis and USA who triumphed in the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia – despite Europe giving a fantastic account of themselves in the singles on Sunday as they looked to produce one of the all-time great comebacks.
It was not to be for Suzann Pettersen and her side, and thus, it is no surprise that some of her calls throughout the week have come under the microscope – most notably, choosing to sit Leona Maguire out of all of Saturday.
Leona Maguire went into the week having not missed a single session across her two previous appearances, and the Irishwoman had repaid that faith by winning seven of those matches. Unsurprisingly, it was the 29-year-old who went into the week with the best win percentage of any player on either side.
Why Leona Maguire sat out all of Saturday at the Solheim Cup
However, Pettersen left her out of the foursomes on day one. And after Maguire and Georgia Hall suffered a heavy defeat in the afternoon on Friday, Maguire would not play again until the singles on Sunday.
Plenty of golf fans criticised Pettersen for dropping Maguire, particularly after she beat Ally Ewing as Europe made their last-ditch push. Maguire herself, said that she had not been given a reason for being dropped by Pettersen.
And speaking on The Chipping Forecast, broadcaster Iain Carter suggested what was believed to be the potential thinking behind Pettersen’s call.
“She was dropped from the foursomes so that was the first session that she has ever missed in the Solheim Cup, she played all five in the previous two, and she’d won seven matches out of the 10 that she’s played. So she was dropped for the opening sequence, which Europe lost 3-1. She then played with Georgia Hall in the afternoon fourballs, got beaten very heavily in that, and then we didn’t see her again until the singles,” he said.
“And Emily Pedersen, ranked 103 in the world and at times playing like it, other times playing really well to be fair, she played all five matches. It just didn’t make any sense.
“I think there’s a feeling that Suzann Pettersen doesn’t get the way that Leona plays. She’s a very short hitter, but she’s so tenacious, and her matchplay record is sensational, not just in the Solheim Cup, but in her amateur career. She reached the final of the matchplay in April, and the only person who beat her was Nelly Korda, and yet, she was ignored.”
Why Suzann Pettersen’s decision seemed to be so strange this time around
What makes Pettersen’s decision particularly odd is the fact that she did pick Maguire for all five sessions at Finca Cortesin just one year earlier. Maguire went on to deliver three points, winning both of her fourball matches, as well as her singles clash with Rose Zhang – the star of this year’s event.
Obviously, the courses are different, and Maguire did not play well on Friday. However, Pettersen could have justified dropping most of her team after their displays on the opening day. So the fact that Maguire and Albane Valenzuela played no part in Saturday did seem bizarre.
Maguire did not have her best stuff on Friday, but, as Carter notes, she is someone who loves the fight in matchplay, so she seemed to be the perfect candidate to lead the European fightback required on Saturday.
And given how close the event became, Pettersen’s decision to leave Maguire out entirely really did appear to prove costly for the Europeans.
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