Q&A with the Winning and Losing Solheim Teams

Neal Reid

Notables…

•     Team Europe’s 8-point win over the Americans marks the largest margin of victory in the history of the Solheim Cup. The previous record margin of victory was seven points, which occurred twice: 1990 when U.S. defeated Europe by a score of 11 ½ to 4 ½ and 2003 when Europe defeated U.S. by a score of 17 ½ to 10 ½
•     This marks the fifth time in Solheim Cup history that the team with more rookies on its squad has won the Solheim Cup. It also happened in 1994, 2000, 2007 and 2011.
•     The six European rookies posted a combined 12-5-2 record this week compared to a 2-7-4 record from the four American rookies.
•     The European Team becomes the first in Solheim Cup history to win the Cup after also winning Saturday afternoon’s four-ball matches outright. (No Saturday afternoon sessions were played in 1990, 1992, 1994 and 2000)
•     Caroline Hedwall becomes the first player in Solheim Cup history to earn five points in a single event.  2013 European assistant captain Carin Koch previously held the record for most points earned in one Solheim Cup with 4 ½ points in 2002.
•     After halving her singles match on Sunday, Catriona Matthew’s holds the second most points earned in singles competition with 6 ½. Juli Inkster holds the record for most points scored in singles matches with seven.
•     Five matches were halved during Sunday’s singles play, which is the most in Solheim Cup history.
•     The US Team earned only 4 ½ points during Sunday’s singles matches, the third-lowest number of points the team has earned in singles. They tallied 4 points in 2003 and only three points in 1992 which both ended in losses.

Team USA Press Conference

THE MODERATOR:  Like to thank U.S. Captain Meg Mallon and five members of her team for joining us.  I'll open it up with a comment from Meg.  Meg a tough loss today, if you would just setup up the week for us.
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Well, I guess today was pretty much like the week.  We had our players fighting it out until the end, but it seemed as though 16, 17 and 18 were not our friends this week.  And they seemed to make more putts, hole more shots and things happened on the closing holes.  We thought 18 was probably the hardest, one of the hardest holes on the golf course, and I don't know how many times the Europeans birdied 18, but it was pretty impressive to win, close out, or halve matches.
And that's pretty much what it came down to, is putts were made on their side.  And I said to you guys in the beginning of the week, that was my concern.  Was that with such a young team, with nothing to lose, it just seemed like they were a little bit looser, they were making more putts, and we were not.  And that's what it came down to.
In my opinion, it wasn't because of lack of effort, these guys played their hearts out.  When we had the rain delay this afternoon, Cristie Kerr gathered all the players in her room and said, this is not over yet.  And Cristie Kerr went out and won three holes in a row.  So she showed our young players a lot and I'm proud of this team.  It was a tough, tough beating today, but I'm proud of how they handled themselves and how hard they played.

THE MODERATOR:  Cristie, if you would, having played the most Solheim Cups of anyone, other than Meg, at this table, just sum you have your feelings on the week.
CRISTIE KERR:  Wow, I definitely kind of echo what Meg said.  Definitely not lack of effort, there was so much heart and so much talent on this team and we just got outplayed.  We ran into a buzz saw and you know what, we played our hearts out.  We wanted to win for Meg so badly, and for ourselves, and in sports sometimes, you just can't predict what's going to happen.  It was just — I had a great time this week, we lost, but I enjoyed the experience and just really enjoyed playing under Meg.

THE MODERATOR:  Stacy, next, 1-2-1 this week.  You got a half point early on today, that sort of gave a little momentum to the U.S. team.  Just talk about today and your match and how things went.
STACY LEWIS:  My match today was tough.  Anna and I both played well, we both kind of had some chances we missed, but hit great shots at the end.  Anna made birdie on 17, hit a really good shot in there, and then I made a great up-and-down on 18 just to get the halve.  So I was out there early, and I saw some red going up on the board behind me and I just wanted to keep fighting.  I had to get a half a point.  I had to get some sort of points, because they were doing what they needed to do behind me, so I knew I had to keep fighting until the end.

THE MODERATOR:  Open it up for questions.

Q.  What did you tell Cristie and coming off 17?  Did you want them just to at least gets up to 18 and how did that unfold at the end?
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  I've been a part of a lot of these, and you know, what happens with the last group, it's tough being the last group.  Especially when the Solheim Cup's been won for quite awhile.  And these guys were playing their hearts out.  And Cristie came up to me and said, you know, what do we do here?  And I said let's play up 18, and I was trying to get a hold of Lotta.  Lotta was at the back of 18 green.  And the communication wasn't getting there.  So that's why it just kept going up 18 because I couldn't get Lotta down.
Well, Cristie and Karine finally decided to halve the match.  And that's ultimately what we wanted to happen, it just took awhile to get the communication and get everybody on board with it.  So that's all that was going on there.

Q.  Different than Barseback?
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Well Barseback, yeah, nothing will be like Barseback again, actually, because of that.  It's in the captain's agreement to finish the matches.  And in the captain's agreement the last match, if the cup has been decided — they are supposed to both hit thirty shots and then a concession can happen after that.  So that's why I just wanted to get in touch with Lotta, make sure both teams were on board with it.  And Cristie was on me the whole time, you know, what do we do, what do we do, I want to do the right thing.  And we wanted to make sure that it was all done in the right way.
And that passes it on to the next generation too.  They need to learn this — that it's not about individual records, you're a team this week, and it's about whether your team wins or loses.  But because of shocking, television, they want you to complete the matches.
(Laughter.)  You know my writers would like that.

Q.  A question for whoever wants to answer it.  Given that Europe has won the last two of these, and the rise of Asian golf, do you guys all of a sudden feel like underdogs in women's golf and if so, what's that like?
CRISTIE KERR:  Can I answer this?  Honestly, if you look at the United States of America, no, honestly, it's becoming global.  It really, really is.  No, there's Europeans living in America, there's Asians living in America, there's on the Junior Solheim Cup we had four or five Asian-American players.  It's just the way it's kind of becoming.  And that's great, it's fine.  And it's not that we're being outnumbered.  I don't really know how to answer this question.  We're trying our hardest, and we're up here, and we're on this team, and that's all we can do.
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Just a reminder that she's holding one of their trophies, just a little reminder.  Okay.  American golf is just fine.
(Laughter.)

Q.  For Paula, when you guys were practicing on this course, did you anticipate having, I don't want to say trouble, but Meg and you guys have all talked.  You guys didn't putt as well as they did.  Did you anticipate that you guys would not be able to handle the greens as well as they seemed to?
PAULA CREAMER:  No, we have had enough practice rounds out here, it was just making the key putts at the key moments.  And they seemed to do that better than we did.  It all comes down to that.  It comes down to that every week.  Every week that we play, who makes more putts, who makes the big putts at the right moment and unfortunately, we didn't do that.

Meg said it, that 16 and 17 and 18 weren't quite our friends.  And I'm not quite sure how else we would play those holes differently.  I think we all had a great strategy, and it's hard to say, people get good bounces, people get good breaks, this and that, putts lipped in, it's enough about that, we just didn't get the job done.

We all know that, and the only thing I can really say is, Germany, is that we're ready.  This is going to be four years now without the cup and that's a long time.  And we all want it.  We have worked hard enough, and I told Meg, and I know Stacy knows it, and all these girls up here, we have been on the same team together, that we have never bonded like we have this year.  It's nothing to do with egos, or any of that, we were one.  We really were.  We just — our golf games, they need to get a little bit sharper at the right moments and Meg did an awesome job.  And I've told her, I want her in Germany.  I do.  But that's what is representing your country, it brings the best out of everybody.  And we just didn't have the key moments at the right time, but we'll be ready.

Q.  Two questions.  One for Paula, have you ever played a match and when it was over had someone ask for your autograph?
PAULA CREAMER:  No.  I can honestly say no.  And Charley, she was, that was — I don't know, I mean that was, I'm going to take it as one of the highlights of my career right there.  Being I'm 27 and I'm a veteran out here.  That's how I'm going to take it.  And.
CRISTIE KERR:  Well, you're still not as old as me.
PAULA CREAMER:  No, I'll never be as old as you.  But it was, yeah, I was 18 when I played in my first one, and would I have liked to get some autographs my first Solheim Cup?  Yeah.  I would have.  And I didn't.  I know Laura Davies would have been nice on Sunday.  Now I get to go up to her every day and she looks at me just with disgust.  And that's cool.  But, Charley's going to be around for a long time, and it's pretty neat to see kind of the future of their team, as well, grow.
She was a good player and she represented her country very well.

Q.  Secondly, for Meg, there's kind of a thought, I guess, that fast greens tend to favor Americans.  Do you think part of that is because all but one now, is part of the LPGA tour and sees it more often and secondly, was there any thought or even possibility of trying to slow them down at any point during the week, flood them, if you will.
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Yeah, actually, that's a good question.  Because unlike the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup, the captains don't have control of the golf course.  So this was completely our tour officials and the superintendent here.  But, yes, typically fast greens are in our favor.

But you're right in making that point, that especially, on the LPGA, all the players from around the world are playing together week in and week out.  I thought this golf course was in fabulous condition.  I mean it's nothing to do with that.  We just didn't make the putts.  I saw more putts go over the hole on our side.  It wasn't for lack of not having good rolls.  We just didn't make them.

Q.  Why don't you have control of the course?
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  It's always been that way for the Solheim Cup.  I think they wanted to remove that — well actually you have to ask them.  You have to ask the LPGA why that's the case.  I have, obviously, been a part of this golf course for a long time.  I know the superintendent really well and we talked about, months ago, about the type of course we would like to have.  They were very happy that I didn't want a course that was how the Senior PGA Championship was set up, because it wasn't how Crenshaw Coore wanted this course to play.

So this course actually played like it's supposed to.  Unlike the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, where they grew the rough all the way in, so that it would catch balls.  We wanted the native to come and be a part of it, and there was a lot of shots in the native this week.  That's how it's supposed to play.  I think actually our players handled it pretty well out of the native.  It wasn't that.  It was literally, it came down to making putts at the right time.  The key putts.

Q.  Stacy, the loss in Ireland, you said it had a profound affect on you, that it led you to Rolex Player of the Year and the No. 1 ranking.  Could you compare that loss in Ireland with this one, and then two, how you hope this will affect you.
STACY LEWIS:  Well, I mean a we were talking about, this one's completely different.  Ireland, we thought we had that and it was kind of stolen from us at the end.  So it was kind of a shock.  This one's just a different feeling because we just got outplayed.
So, I don't really know how it will affect me right now, but I know I learned a lot playing with Paula on Saturday.
PAULA CREAMER:  You did?
STACY LEWIS:  She helped me.  I learned a lot playing with her and how to play at a Solheim Cup, how to play match play, and it definitely, it helped me today.  And I think that's why I got the half point.  So I'm going to take what I learned from playing with her and take that going forward.

Q.  Two questions for Meg.  First, can you kind of talk about your pairings and the way you set things up in retrospect.  Is there something you would change, are you still pleased with them?
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Maybe ask me in a month.  I might go back and think about that, but honestly, I think Dottie and Laura and I felt like we put the best pairings out there, and put the best teams out there.  I said in the beginning of the week, my problem was I had 12 players actually playing really well.  These guys came into this event playing very, very well.  So there was nobody that I felt like I had to bury in my lineup.

And I had some players that wanted to play all five matches and I can't play them all five matches.  And I wanted them ready for singles.  So, I know, Morgan Pressel played really well in the morning, but I needed Morgan Pressel to play Saturday both matches.  I mean we had a definite plan and a lineup going.

You can say I put my strongest team out Saturday afternoon.  Literally my strongest team on paper.  And Lotta sat what, four of her veterans that day.  And we lost all four matches.  So that's the nature of match play.

Anybody's day, they can win in match play.  And that was obviously the huge turning point in this event.

Q.  Can you talk about what the team did last night, what was your message, did you bring anyone in to talk to them?
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Yeah, I, well, as you guys know, you were with me late that night as well, so I sent the team back to eat and be in the team room and they were in there all — I invited our families and our caddies and our players to be together at our team room.
When I came back, I wanted to just talk to the players and the caddies.  And I brought Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, the two great U.S. soccer players to just talk to the team about what it means to play for their country and represent their country.  And I can't tell you how awesome these two women were.  I mean I can't keep these guys quiet for five minutes, and for a half hour you could hear a pin drop listening to these guys speak.

I think they learned a lot from these women that are incredible role models for them, and I think they will never forget that moment with those two last night.

Q.  Wonder if I could first ask the players and then something from Meg.  Maybe Stacy and Cristie.  If you guys want to tackle this.  We have a new event coming next year with the International Crown.  I think the crowds out here kind of showed that the public has a hunger, or appetite, for sort of this nationalistic team golf.  I know it will be different with four players and everything, but I wonder if you guys could both talk about that event, and maybe looking forward to that, and how that will bring a different dynamic to team golf, different from Solheim Cup.
STACY LEWIS:  I'm excited about the event.  I think it's something that the LPGA's needed.  Because, as you guys saw today, we can't change this event.  This event can't — we can't add any more people to it, you can't make it different.  So we needed an event that included the entire tour and this is — and we'll get that finally.  So everybody up here will be fighting to make that team.  It will be even harder because there's only four people in it.  So it's something that the tour's needed, and I think that the match play side of it is going to be really cool, and hopefully, the fans like they are this week, we get the fans there as well.
CRISTIE KERR:  I think that I echo what Stacy says, people are really hungry for different kinds of events.  Not just four day stroke play events.  It's more interesting.  It's fresh.  So, I think that it's something different.  So, I think that people are excited to see different kinds of events.

Q.  For Meg, you mentioned Julie and Mia, but USA didn't win the last women's World Cup, Japan did, and I'm thinking?
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Those two weren't on the team.

Q.  No, but I guess my point is, USA's been such a leader in women's sports, but in some ways, even though it hurts you guys, I know right now, it's good for women's sports, sometimes, for there to be this sort of a little bit more global victories.  I wonder if you could step back from just being a USA person and say what this event means when Europe wins in terms of good for women's sports.
CAPTAIN MEG MALLON:  Well, this is great for women's golf.  This showcase.  Win or lose, we just got 100,000 more new fans this week.  And that's great for women's golf.  We don't have the luxury, as a women's sport, to be divisive and say, Europe or the United States.  It's about showcasing women's golf.
For us, this week is probably one of the most important weeks of the year in a two year span because we get the most attention, and people actually get to see how great these guys play under a tremendous amount of pressure.

 

Team USA, Meg Mallon

Q.   So Meg, just sum up I guess how you feel at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
MEG MALLON:  Yeah, it's not the result that we wanted, obviously.  And we still felt like we had a chance to win it today, even when we had the rain delay.
The team gathered around and we felt like they could turn around all their matches and win this.  So I just really appreciate the effort that they gave and they fought hard until the end.
But, unfortunately, today was a European day, for us, but they played some great golf this week and really deserved the win.

Q.  Anything stand out to you this week?  Something, a player, something you would have changed, anything in your mind right now?
MEG MALLON:  Not really.  I think that we, the way we played 16, 17 and 18, I think really is what made the difference.  It wasn't for lack of preparation, because we played this golf course quite a bit.  So it wasn't like it was a surprise for us, it was just a matter of who dropped the putts on those holes and unfortunately it was the Europeans.

Q.  What can you say about a player like Caroline Hedwall who went 5-0, the first time, there's nothing you can do to stop that.
MEG MALLON:  No, she played some great golf.  Obviously she may call this course her home now, because she really played some spectacular golf.  But what you're seeing is the future of the Solheim Cup, which is in really good hands.  And it is one competitive in any event.  And you're going to see a lot of these young players going at it for a long time.

Q.  What will you say to your friend Lotta Neumann, who you've known forever?
MEG MALLON:  Yeah, you know what, I'm glad I talked her into being captain.  I knew that she would have the best experience of her life and I'm happy for her and I'm proud of her.

 

Team USA, Paula Creamer

Q.         (No Microphone.)
PAULA CREAMER:  I just didn't bring it today.  This Solheim Cup brings the best and worst out of you.
But I just couldn't hit a fairway on the front nine, and it's just, when you're going against someone that's putting it close and you're struggling, it kind of gets to you.
But we fought hard.  I really tried as hard as I possibly could, and I can't tell you how great these fans are out here.  It's amazing.  Everybody's saying “we believe”.  And we all do.  We all believe out here.  And it was unfortunate, but now I've got to go be the best cheerleader I can be for my team.

Q.  No doubt you guys talked a lot about strategy, and how you wanted to approach the day today.  You knew you needed to get off to a fast start.  Tell us about what it was like in that team room last night.
PAULA CREAMER:  That was awesome.  It was one of the best experiences that I've been a part of.  We were just so fired up, so much just encouragement.  But it was a pretty aggressive approach and I think that's what we needed.  We needed a little bit of a wakeup call in a sense.  We have played good golf.  They have just played better.  We haven't made as many putts as they had or whatnot, but that's golf and you can't let it gets down.  You just had to go out and win your one point.  I didn't do that right now, but like I said.  I'm going to go be a good cheerleader and last night was awesome.

Q.  I know it's another tough loss, what kind of was the difference do you think this week for you guys?
PAULA CREAMER:  I hate to ever say it was tough breaks here and that, and putts fell, putts didn't fall, but it kind of was like that this week.  We had some bad breaks, but that's golf and we just got to kind of pull it together, we're a great team, we got along so well.
If it comes to team bonding, this was the epitome of that.  And going into Germany we have got two years to sit on this and four years since we have won the cup and I can tell you we'll be ready to go.

Q.  When you see a player like Caroline Hedwall, how she played this week, to make the birdie putt on 18, to go 5-0, how impressive is that?
PAULA CREAMER:  As an athlete, as a player, I've played five matches several times and to go undefeated, that's awesome.  Good for her.  As an athlete, that takes, that's a lot of respect to her.  She played great, she played strong, and to finish with a birdie, that's pretty good.  You can't really say anything other than that.  And that kind of sums up the week.

Q.  You guys had four rookies on your team, and they got a lot of experience and seemed to really kind of be tough in their matches today, even if they didn't necessarily come out with points.  How much does that say for the future of this team?
PAULA CREAMER:  We all know what it's like.  U.S. soil is a completely different thing than European soil.  And I know this is the first time we have ever lost here, but they got to see what it was like to have just so many people behind you.  And when we go to Germany it's going to be the opposite and we're going to be ready.  But we're going to be tough and we're going to be strong and who knows, maybe that's what we need right now.

 

Team USA, Stacy Lewis

Q.  A roller coaster day for you.  What an incredible up-and-down after all you went through today.  How did you find the energy to stay positive out there?
STACY LEWIS:  I looked at that board and saw those red flags, and I had to get a half a point.  I couldn't let a blue one go up.
But, I don't know how I got that up-and-down.  Paula was pretty amazed there.  But I had to get that half a point.  We both played great all day and we both deserved a halve.

Q.  You both did play great, but on the greens it was a story of missed opportunities.  Yet, you had to still stay, I guess, positive.  You had to stay optimistic.
STACY LEWIS:  Yeah, I was hitting good putts, they were just lipping out.  That's just golf for you.  You have to stay patient, stay positive.  I hit a lot of really good shots.  And I feel fortunate to get the halve.

Q.  What will you do now?
STACY LEWIS:  I got to get out there and cheer on my teammates.

Q.  Being the first out, when Meg told you that, how did you feel?
STACY LEWIS:  I was excited.  We, Paula and I, talked about it.  We wanted to go 1, 2 and we wanted to get us off to a good start.  I like this position, I like having the cameras and the eyes on me, I want to be here.  So I was just glad to put some points on the board.

Q.  If there was something you could change today, some shot you could take back, what would it be?
STACY LEWIS:  Maybe some of those putts, but a lot of the putts, I hit exactly where I wanted to.  So I had at least three lipouts today, but that's golf and you just keep grinding away.

Q.  So Caroline holed out to retain it.  First loss on home soil.  Just sum up how you feel.
STACY LEWIS:  Well it was pretty disappointing.  Obviously, yesterday afternoon hurt us a lot.  We just couldn't get any good momentum going early and it's disappointing.  But they holed putts when they needed to and hit the shots.

Q.  Just for a captain like Meg, who everybody adores, and even on the other team, how do you think she will handle it?  What do you think she will say to you guys tonight?
STACY LEWIS:  I think she will be fine.  She will have a smile on her face, I'm sure.  She had one on her face last night.
She never gave up on us, and we never gave up on her, and this team bonded better than any team has ever before.  So I think that we have all learned a lot from this and we'll all be okay.

Q.  Did you feel throughout the week, that there was extra pressure on you guys, just because Europe was coming with the cup?
STACY LEWIS:  Well there's always pressure to win, whether we're — whether we won it last year, whether we didn't, whether we're home, whether we're away.  There's always pressure and they're a great team.
They're getting better every year, and they're making this what it should be.  So it's good for the event, it's good for women's golf.  We saw a lot of good, close matches this week.  But we'll be fired up and ready to go next time.

Q.  What will you take away from this week personally?
STACY LEWIS:  I learned a lot playing with Paula yesterday.  How to play in these matches.  And it definitely helped me today.  Anna played great and we were back and forth all day, and that's what helped me get that half point.  So I learned how to manage these rounds and play at a Solheim Cup, and I think it's going to help me going forward.

 

Team USA, Brittany Lang

Q.   Big point for the U.S., talk me through the match.  I know it got closer towards the end.  You had kind of a bigger lead, and then were able to close it out on 17.
BRITTANY LANG:  Yeah, I started off very shaky.  I was really amped up and nervous and excited.  I hit some very uncharacteristic shots.  But I settled down on, like the late, on the front nine, and got some confidence.  And I was fortunate that Azahara wasn't playing as good as she normally does.  I got lucky there.
But, towards the back nine I was starting to hit my shots.  I was hitting it good, I was rolling it good, so I was extremely confident.  I was nervous coming into these last two, but I know I'm playing well, so I just tried to stay with it.

Q.  16, your shot on the green seemed to be a critical one.  Kind of going down that stretch were you thinking, if could I win this hole, especially where Azahara was in front of the green, it would be pretty big?
BRITTANY LANG:  Well, she hit a great chip and a great putt.  I'm thinking, yeah, if I can make birdie here, I can be dormie and she nearly made that.  I couldn't have ran over there fast enough to pick up her ball, I thought she had that.  So I got fortunate there she didn't birdie.  But that was crucial birdieing that hole being dormie, yeah.

Q.  How much have you been paying attention to the leaderboard, or were you kind of focused on the match?
BRITTANY LANG:  I looked at it a little bit.  I saw a lot of red early.  I looked at it a little bit, but I had — I knew I just had to get a full point for my team.  So that's what I was focused on.

Q.  What was the mood like last night when you guys were in the team room and talking about what kind of, was ahead of you today?  What was the mantra that you guys came up with?
BRITTANY LANG:  Yeah, you know, we have had some things kind of not go our way this week, and we haven't played as well as we would like to.  And they have played very well, they have played great golf.  And we said, we don't have anything to lose.  Just go out there and have fun, take care of your match.  Meg told us just try to get your point, take care of your match, focus on what you're doing.  And she said it doesn't matter, win or lose, we're going to have class and have fun and it's just golf.
Team USA, Michelle Wie

Q.         (No Microphone.)
MICHELLE WIE:  I love my team.  I wish we did better.  We have two years to get ready for Germany and we're going to get that cup back.

Q.  Tough fought match for you, I know it came right down to the end, I know it wasn't how you wanted to finish, but can you be proud of how you played this week?
MICHELLE WIE:  She birdied the last hole to win.  There's nothing really I can do about that.  I played my heart out today.  And that's what happens.  There's nothing more I can ask for.  I hung in there, I stuck it out, I played tough.  And they played great this week.  And there's nothing you can do about that.

Q.  Just, I know it's always hard when you lose, but just the way this team, you saw some of the rookies step up, play well, what do you guys say about the future heading into the next two years?
MICHELLE WIE:  Well, I'm really excited for Germany.  I've never seen such chemistry on a team before.  And I think it's just going to make us stronger for sure.

 

Team USA, Lexi Thompson

Q.   Talk about your match.  You didn't really let her get close to you at all.
LEXI THOMPSON:  Well, you know we both — I mean I shot probably around 2-under or something.  It was close.  I just made a few birdies on her.
But she played consistent, she was making pars, and overall she's a great player.  And we knew whoever we were going to get in singles, it was going to be a good match.

Q.  I’m sure you’ve seen the leader board, Europe just won their 14th point.  What are your thoughts and feelings about it?
LEXI THOMPSON:  I didn't know they did.

Q.  Caroline Hedwall just made her putt on 18 to beat Michelle Wie.  So 14 points to now 8 for USA.  Talk about your feelings about that.
LEXI THOMPSON:  Yeah, it's rough to go through a loss, but overall we had an amazing team.  We have been playing great, we knew that we had good competition to play against.
It's unfortunate we lost, but we were such a great team, with bonding and everything, and how our games matched up, so we wouldn't change anything.

Q.  Your rookie year, your rookie experience.  Just talk about playing on the team for the first time.
LEXI THOMPSON:  It was amazing.  It was a dream come true.  This was one of my goals for the last two years, to make this team.  Because I love representing my country, there's nothing like wearing red, white and blue.  And to have a captain like Meg Mallon, it's an honor to play on her team and be playing with the best players in the world on your side.

 

Team Europe Press Conference

THE MODERATOR:  My very great pleasure and honor to introduce the victorious European Solheim Cup Captain Liselotte Neumann and her winning team.
            (Applause.)
THE MODERATOR:  European team made history today, both coming- the first European team to win on U.S. soil with a record eight point margin of victory.  Lotta, can you summarize what this win means for you?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  It's just obviously, just an amazing feeling to be sitting here as the captain of this winning team, and I'm just super excited, proud, happy, all the emotions that you can have.  And they all just played so great this week.  We just came together as a great team, and with Annika and Carin here, I think that we did a great job with some of the pairings.  And it was just really just a total team effort, and I think we're all just extremely proud and happy right now.

THE MODERATOR:  This is possibly one of the best days for the Ladies European Tour and women's golf in Europe.  What do you think this will mean for women's golf in Europe going forward?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  I think this is obviously a big step in the right direction, and hopefully this will mean that the European Tour will have a bright future, and hopefully with lots of more golf over there.  Many more tournaments and better prize money and so on.

THE MODERATOR:  Open it up for questions, please.

Q.  For Lotta, you were the first Swedish woman to ever win a Major back in 1988, and now you're the first captain.  Does it — I know this is a team thing, but does it feel pretty special to have your name in the record books for both of those things?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Well, of course, yeah.  No, it's wonderful.  It feels, yeah, I did a little bit of history back in '88 and now it feels like we're making history again.  So it's a wonderful feeling.

THE MODERATOR:  Caroline, you went 5-0 winning all your matches.  Can you summarize your feelings about winning the tournament and winning all your matches as well?  It must be awesome.
(Laughter.)
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  Yeah, it is pretty awesome.  I mean, it's just an incredible feeling.  And just winning five matches was a lot of fun and great moments here, and it's been a great week.

THE MODERATOR:  Caroline, we're going to Germany in two years.  What does it mean for you to be here a part of this winning team?
CAROLINE MASSON:  It's just been an awesome week.  I'm very very proud that I could be a part of this team.  Its been very special, so I'm just going to try everything to be on that team in two years.  This has been awesome, but playing at home, it's probably just — I mean I can't even describe it.  It is my dream to play at home, in Germany, and as I said, I'm just going to try everything to make it on the team, and I just hope we can keep the cup in Germany then.

Q.  For Annika and for Lotta.  We all know that Carlota's a great player, but obviously, struggled a little bit on the first day, and I know you worked with her on the range.  Can you both talk about the turn around that she had?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Yeah, she won the prize to go to Annika's academy.
(Laughter.)  She got 50 percent off of it, I guess.
(Laughter.)

Q.  Talk about her turn around.  Obviously, she played great here after that session.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM:  She played amazing.  I really didn't do much, I was just there to support, like I supported all the players.  And it's just great to have her on the course and, no, it was just fun, she doesn't need much coaching.  I just stood there and said well done, and that was about it.
(Laughter.)

Q.  Charley, did you ask for any other autographs this week and can you just summarize your week as a whole.
CHARLEY HULL:  Honestly, it was for my friend.  He just, he deserves it.  He's like can you please get Paula Creamer's autograph and I said, okay, then, so.
(Laughter.)
So, I was just like, I got it.  But anyway, it's been a really good week.  And I actually remember that hitting a shot today and I was behind a tree, and I hit this massive draw around it, and I said to my caddie I was like, that was a shot like Carlota would do you know.  Because, no, no, like Seve, you know not Seve, like Carlota, She's really good at recoveries.  No, not that she hits offline a lot, but just like.
(Laughter.)

Q.  Charley, did your friend ask you for this autograph before you teed off this morning or before you got here for the week?
CHARLEY HULL:  No, this was last night.  When the draw came out.

Q.  Lotta, can you talk about last night, how you kept your feet on the ground, you know obviously, the 4-0 yesterday afternoon.  What did you say to them last night to make sure they didn't get carried away with yesterday's result?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Well, we were, I mean seriously, I've been on a team before where we actually only needed four points, and I think we didn't make it back in '96.  So I knew it wasn't over yet.  So we were actually pretty calm last night.  We had a great time, we had a little gift giving and listening to music, eating, watching some videos.  Charley had — did a couple of speeches and you had a problem with your belly button.  What was it?  I don't know.
(Laughter.)  Anyway, so, no, but we were just talking about how we needed to be serious and come out this morning and just really focus on each match and not celebrate in advance.
So trying to keep everybody — just to go out there and focus on their own match.  Don't look too much at the board, just play one shot at a time and try to put some pressure on the U.S. team.  And for everybody to go out there and make a point and just really go as deep as we could.

Q.  Lotta, the Saturday night four-balls.  Of all the Solheim Cups you've been a part of, how would you rank that performance and how pivotal was it to the result, final result?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  It was, I mean definitely one of the best afternoons the European team has had.  So, winning four points like that, that was obviously crucial.  It put us in a great position before single matches.

Q.  Suzann, if I heard you right on TV, you said this was one of the best teams, if not the best team, you were a part of because of some of the atmosphere that the youngsters brought.  Can you expand on what the youngsters on this team brought to the team?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  I don't know, I think this is the best team I've ever been a part of.  I think I talked to Annika, I said this is a new generation coming up.  To sit and watch the kids, I call them the kids, the girls, Charley thinks I'm old, to sit and watch them perform the way they did, yesterday afternoon, it was almost more fun watching from the sidelines than actually playing yourself.  And fantastic team effort, and I think all the rookies did a fantastic job.

Q.  Lotta, I lost my voice this week.
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  I think we all did.
(Laughter.)

Q.  How did you prepare the caddies and the players for these amazing greens out here, the speed?  Obviously you putted lights out, your team.  What did you do on Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to get ready?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  No, actually, we did talk a lot about the speed.  I think that as soon as we got here we obviously realized that they were super fast and probably faster, some of the fastest greens we have ever played on.  And we were just talking about it just like working on speed and I think that a lot about like reading the greens, just really you have to read the speed into the putts.  So a lot of times after our practice rounds a lot of the girls went actually out on the golf course instead of just standing on putting green, they went out on the course, so they get to really get a more feel of the whole undulations of the greens and everything.
So, but, yeah, it was big discussions obviously about the speed.  How quick they were.

Q.  CAROLINE HEDWALL, when you were here in July and you had your practice session, you left earlier than you were anticipating.  What did you do between then and now to kind of mentally prepare and get rested and those kind of things after you left here in July?
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  I just needed to rest a little bit.  I started my season in January and I have been on the road for a long time.  So I just felt like I needed to take a week off from golf.
That helped a lot.

Q.  Follow-up for Caroline, how conscious of you, were you coming down the last couple of holes about wanting to win all five matches and inward just your match and the whole team performance.
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  Well, I always look at the score boards.  I know what the standings was.
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  I told you not to.
(Laughter.)
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  Sorry.
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  You never listen to me.
(Laughter.)
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  Well and I was told yesterday that no one had won five matches before, so I knew everything.  But it was just a great moment and a lot of fun.

Q.  When you told them not to watch the score boards, I'm curious, how did you think in your head how this day was going to unfold from the start and did it turn out anyway the way you thought it would?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Yeah, pretty much.  I don't know if you know that every player that has won on the European team, the one that had made the winning putt, their name starts with a C, so I was trying, we talked about and we just tried to put all the players that their names start with a C close together.  And it worked out really good.  That was the strategy.  Did you get that?  Did I lose you.

Q.  No.  I wanted to know who did that research?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Mark did that research.
(Laughter.)

Q.  Beatriz, maybe I'll ask you this, I asked the American players about, it felt like this week really shows how much I think the public loves this team format and golf and you guys are having a new event next year that's going to have the top eight countries, obviously with Spain's contribution to this I'm just wondering what your thoughts are about that the international crown and what that's going to bring to women's golf.
BEATRIZ RECARI:  To be honest with you I haven't really thought about it.  I've been so focused on this week and I think that the key for the success was not only that we're great golfers, but that we have bonded as a team and we were just encouraging each other from the beginning.  Even the caddies, I mean we are not 12 here and assistant captains and Lotta, we were like 30 people every day just like supporting each other and pumping each other up.  And the International Crown is going to be a great event and I'm sure we're going to start thinking about it now, but we have shown, I mean I'm talking from Spain, we have shown great golf, so I think we're going to be a tough team to beat, right?  Yes.

Q.  Suzann, you're a part of those teams, the European teams that were where Europe lost like three in a row and there were questions about whether this competition was still relevant and were the Europeans worthy of it.  Can you talk about how it felt hearing than a how rewarding that makes this now?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  We don't two in a row, so why not make it three in a row?

Q.  Was that motivating when you were hearing all that back in that spell?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  We liked it mostly when it was so quiet out there.  We kind of like it peaceful and quiet.  When the crowd when quiet, we knew we were doing well.

Q.  Lotta, do you talk a little bit about Charley?  You had a lot of confidence for her for making her a pick but an impressive singles victory today over Paula and a 2-1 record.
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  I think when I picked Charley I had, I mean my first two picks when I did my captain's pick was Jodi and then Caroline and in my mind and I was thinking of players that I could pair them with and who would be my next picks.  And Charley was definitely in the thinking there.
So she's been, she was on my junior team two years ago and she's just a special girl.  And she has a special game and she brings a lot of energy to our team and she's just a terrific player.  She plays fearless and it was just awesome to have her on our team and I think we all love Charley.
(Laughter.)

Q.  Lotta, is it nice that the fact that every single person contributed at least half a point to the overall score?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  No, that's obviously great.  That's why I think that we were such a great team.  Everybody just contributed and also when you do your captain's pick you always want all your picks to play well and prove that you have done the right choice and that they fit into the team and bring something to the team.  And they all did.  Everybody in this team did something great and it was just really just a fantastic week.

Q.  Lotta, to sort of feed off that, I believe you have eight countries represented on this European team.  And I wonder if you talked before the Solheim Cup about how that reflected the growth in the individual countries of women's golf.  Now having won this cup do you feel like that's going to just help the growth in all of the individual country, not just Europe as a whole but in Spain, being inspired by the Spanish players and such?
CAPTAIN LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Oh, absolutely, I think so.  The more countries you have represented and obviously with the media and TV and all the countries back in Europe that gets the feed from here and they're watching it, so the game is growing over in Europe and I think obviously it means a lot for the future of women's golf.  And golf overall in Europe.

Q.  Quick question for Caroline Hedwall.  Did I say that right?  Is that close?  Caroline, your club and yardage on the 18th?  What club did you hit?
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  Nine iron.

Q.  Do you remember the yardage?
CAROLINE HEDWALL:  138 meters.

 

Team Europe, Liselotte Neumann

Q.   Try and describe the sense of achievement.  You made history today.
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  It's a fantastic feeling.  I just can't tell you how proud I am of all of them.  They all really played so well.  It was all, it was really great this week.
Everybody has done something great for the team, including Annika and Carin.  They really helped out with putting our pairings together, and just being out here, being on the golf course.  Just being there for the players.  And also our staff, the whole tour, everybody, it's just been fantastic.  Just everything.  We just wanted the players to be out there and just focus on their game and they have been able to do that.  And they just played brilliant.

Q.  What was your best decision of the week?
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  I think probably to rest some of the girls yesterday, putting Charley and Jodi out there.  We felt like it was a good move and to play Caroline Hedwall five times.  To play her, she's the only player that we played in every match.  And she managed to win all five matches.

Q.  You made history with six rookies on the team.  How do you explain that?
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  When I was over in England doing my captain's picks, I was really looking at if I picked this player, who would I pair her with.  And I was pretty much set on Caroline Hedwall and Jodi.  And when I picked Jodi it sort of made it automatic to pick Charley.  So I already then, had a few of the pairings sort of in my mind.  And it was just amazing, both those girls are playing so well.
(Singing in the background, audio unintelligible.)
Q.         You're a very modest lady, but everybody is saying what a fantastic job that you've done.  Where does this rank for you?
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Oh, it's definitely one of the highlights for me.  Obviously, being on the team and as a player and winning, it's, it ranks right up there with that.

Q.  How are you going to celebrate this win?
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  We'll see.  I'm sure we'll go have a drink or two and maybe some good food and do some dancing and singing tonight.

Q.  What a moment for you.
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Yeah, Solheim Cup, so proud of these girls.  It's amazing.

Q.  What's it like to finish on the 18th green with all the European fans all around.  A special moment?
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Yeah and it was really fun to see Caroline get her fifth point this week, making some history on the team.  Winning here for the first time, making more history.

Q.  And a word for your rookies.  Talk about them.
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Oh, absolutely, they made me proud.  All of them.  It was just a total team effort.  Everybody's been playing well, everybody's been really helpful.  We have had a great effort from Carin and Annika as well, and everybody on our staff.

Q.  Give your self a pat on the back as well, because yesterday your pairings — some would have questioned them, but they turned out to be perfect.
LISELOTTE NEUMANN:  Yeah, I had a gut feeling about it and I stuck with it.  And I thought it was important to rest some of the players for today's singles, and it really worked out and I'm so happy.

 

Team Europe, Beatriz Recari

Q.         (No Microphone.)
BEATRIZ RECARI:  I didn't know what to expect coming into this week because it's such a different experience, it's such a different experience, that I could never imagine that it was going to be this amazing.
It's been — I don't have words.  I mean, even if you interview me in Spanish, I still wouldn't have words.  I could not have words.  I mean we have bonded as a team since Sunday, and this has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my entire career.  Being part of this team and how we bonded, this is such an individual event, but I tell you, this week was beautiful.  It was such a good team and I'm just so proud of each other.

Q.  Beating Angela Stanford, how proud do you feel right now?
BEATRIZ RECARI:  I feel really proud of myself because she's a top player, she's always up there.  And last night when we finished we were like, okay, we have 12 points, let's set a new record.  And let's just focus on winning each match.  And I did my job and I'm just really happy, I'm very happy with my game, I take a lot of positives out of this week.
I have some things I still have to work on, but I feel like I'm improving every week, which is what I want and I'm just so happy and I can't wait to celebrate.

Q.  I don't know if you're going to be working on your putting.  You putted absolutely fabulous and putted the lights out.  How do you feel about your putting?
BEATRIZ RECARI:  No, you're right.  My putting has been one of the best, if not the best weeks, that I've ever had.  So I'm very happy there.  But I always want to improve, and I always want to make some more putts.  So you can't set yourself low, you got to keep improving.

Q.  What do you think this means to European and also Spanish golf, so many of you on the team, it must just be so fantastic to have so many Spaniards with you on the team.
BEATRIZ RECARI:  Yeah, it was definitely an advantage.  We have known each other since we were nine, you know, so we definitely helped bonding the team and we played great.

 

Team Europe, Suzann Pettersen

Q.         Can you talk to us about your thoughts now, this is the first victory on U.S. soil.  How big is that for you, how big is that for Europe?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  It's massive for women's golf, it's massive for Solheim Cup, for us to be historical and win on American soil, in Colorado, in front of pretty much an All-American crowd.  We took it to them and they couldn't answer.

Q.  Talk to us about those rookies, because you've made a lot of their importance within the team and what they have done?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  Our rookies, I don't even think we can call them rookies, even though Hedwall is still in her teenage period, but, I mean, she's one of a kind.  And what she's brought to the team this year, it's just fantastic humor and just no worries, no hesitation, and it's priceless.

Q.  A word on the belief.  Because Lotta had a belief in herself and in the team from day one.  And she kept that quiet, but she had a confidence, didn't she?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  I want to give Lotta all the credit for having the guts to actually pick all the rookies, to pick the youngsters, to pick Charley.  I mean, that could have been very controversial if she wouldn't deliver.  And for her to do it and for Charley to step it up.
I just think Lotta, she's a fantastic player, she was one of my role models growing up.  She was the first one of the Swedes to really come through.  And getting to know her even better now in person, she's a fantastic person and I'm so glad we could help her win this.

Q.  Hedwall, what she was able to do this week, going 5-0.  You know how tough it is to go five matches.  How impressive is that?
SUZANN PETTERSEN:  Oh, it's fantastic.  She's just so much fun.  She's unbelievable.

 

Team Europe, Giulia Sergas

Q. (No Microphone.)
GIULIA SERGAS:  I was down the whole match and I actually, I have to say, Jessica is such a competitor.  She's so nice and she's my favorite American player.
So I was lucky to be paired with her.  So I had a fantastic time with her and she's a great player.

Q.  I guess the key was yesterday afternoon really, wasn't it?
GIULIA SERGAS:  Oh, of course.  I mean my teammates.  I was the cheerleader, I was the best cheerleader.  No comparison to any of these Americans cheering, I mean I was the best cheerleader there is.

Q.  It was a proud moment for you and a proud moment for Europe as well
GIULIA SERGAS:  Of course.  Of course.

 

Team Europe, Azahara Munoz

Q.   Hard fought match.  Tell me about your thoughts on who you were playing today.
AZAHARA MUNOZ:  Don't really know what to say.  I made a couple of mistakes on the front nine and I lost the third, which I should have won it.  And that was pretty big.
And then on five, I hit a really good shot and I went over and from there it was impossible.  And I lost the hole.  But after that, I played a little bit better, but it was kind of a little bit too late, because she played really good at the end.  She putted really well all day, she made every putt she had.  So it was really tough to get holes back.  But she played great, so all I can say is congratulations to her.

Q.  Have you been watching the leaderboard as you've been going along?
AZAHARA MUNOZ:  Yeah, at the beginning it was looking pretty bad.  I was looking at it.  So I'm just going to go out there and support my teammates now.

Q.  What would it mean for you guys if you could pull this off and win on U.S. soil for the first time?
AZAHARA MUNOZ:  I'm going to cry now.
It would mean everything.  We have never won here, and it's really tough with the crowd, and I just want to do this for Lotta and my teammates.  And I'm really upset that I lost because I really wanted to get my point for Europe.  But there are few matches out there, and I'm just going to go out there and support them.

Q.   First win on U.S. soil for the Europeans.  How does it feel?
AZAHARA MUNOZ:  It feels amazing.  We all knew we could do it, but one thing is thinking that you can, and another thing is to win it.  And it is just amazing.
Obviously, it's really tough to win here with the crowds and everything, that's why it's never been done, but we have got it, we are so happy to be able to do it.

Q.  What was the biggest motivation for your team?  Was it keeping the cup, beating the U.S. in the U.S.?  Something else?
AZAHARA MUNOZ:  I think it was everything.  We wanted to keep the cup.  We wanted to win on U.S. soil since we never won it.  But I think the most important thing is we all wanted to win for Lotta.  I mean, Meg is amazing, but for us, Lotta is too.  She's so nice to be around, she's made us feel so comfortable.  So she really, really deserved it, and we were all talking about it and we wanted to do it for her.

Q.  Having three Spaniards on the team, all of whom played pretty well.  How does that feel for you?
AZAHARA MUNOZ:  It's amazing.  I mean they have been showing this live on the Golf Channel in Spain, and a lot of people have been watching it.  And hopefully it's going to improve women's golf in Spain.  And it's just nice to have the whole country supporting us.