The 2015 Solheim Cup was, at times, exciting, excruciating, interesting and full of drama. In the end, the US team managed to leave Germany victorious but let’s not forget that the event was a Caroline Masson par putt away from a third straight European win over the best American women golfers in the business. The slimmest of margins, a half a point, separated renewed interest from an unstoppable slide into oblivion for the event. Another European win would have made the international competition a near impossible “sell” two years from now but thanks to Masson’s miss and Gerina Piller’s make (pictured above), American golf fans will, no doubt, again take notice of this great golf weekend when the two teams tee it up in Des Moines, Iowa.
But all of that doesn’t negate the fact that not only this, but all international golf competitions need a cleanse, a closer look, and a fresh approach. To paraphrase William Shakespeare and Marc Antony “I come not to bury The Solheim Cup but to praise it.” It’s a fabulous event, the best and only meaningful multi-continent competition in the women’s game (including the upcoming Olympics) but it needs an overhaul, a redux that would allow it to showcase all of the game’s best. It also needs to be changed because, quite frankly, the American team needs help. Under the current format, only a third (8 of 24) of the world’s best by ranking are eligible to participate. Changing the structure of the teams would allow all of the great players across the globe to have a chance to showcase their skills on this preeminent stage.
It is a shame, worse a sports sin that Karrie Webb, one of the greatest players of her or for that matter any generation, will never know what it feels like to play for her country and her teammates in a really meaningful event. If the qualifying criteria remain the same that shame will extend to the person many are calling the next great player in golf, Lydia Ko. Is there any one of us that doesn’t want to see Inbee Park, 2015 United States Women’s Open Champion In Gee Chun or Canadian star Brooke Henderson have a chance to play? Why does one side get to draw from an entire continent while the other has to settle for the best from a single country? This is not 1980, let’s open this thing up to make it more fun, more interesting and ultimately more competitive.
Here’s my proposal; Europe adds Korea, Japan, South Africa and China to the team while the good ol’ USA gets Canada, Mexico, South America, Australia and New Zealand. It’s easy to imagine this event with a Brooke Henderson against Shan Shan Feng start to Sunday singles and a Lydia Ko versus Inbee Park anchor match for all the marbles. In between we would not only be treated to Lewis against Pettersen and Wie versus Norquist but we’d also get to watch Karrie and Na Yeon, Minjee and Amy, Lexi and Ai as well. Win/Win.
The next step is to do the same thing with the men and The Ryder Cup. How great would it be to add Matsuyama, Els, Scott, Oosthuizen, Ishikawa and Jason Day to an already potent mix? Both The Ryder Cup and The Solheim Cup would truly be international events involving all of the world’s best players. You play one (The Solheim Cup) in the odd years and the other (The Ryder Cup) in the even ones. That would mean every year golf fans would get ONE fall spectacle, ONE big event to wrap our eyes and our arms around. Of course, I know this means doing away with The International Crown (does anybody even know this event exists now?) and The President’s Cup (does anybody really care that this event exists now?) and what would be wrong with that? Those exhibitions are only on the calendar now because of money and the fact that many of the great players in the world don’t get a chance to participate in the more meaningful ones.
With my proposal they do and, more importantly, golf and golf fans get a much-needed break from watching teams made up entirely of players from one country struggle to maintain a level of interest to make the “afterthought” international competitions compelling.
So, again, with apologies to the Bard, let’s bury The President’s Cup and The International Crown and heap lavish amounts of praise on The Solheim Cup and The Ryder Cup. Let all of the best players participate and give us all a reason to watch and really care, ONCE a year.
*Photo Credits: Solheim Cup images with permission from www.solheimcup.de media. Karrie Webb photo courtesy of Keith Allison via Creative Commons Licence.
