The Solheim Cup 2024 has ended with the victory of United States seven years later and the European defeat begins to raise the first blisters.
The great decision of Suzann Pettersen this week has been to bench Leona Maguire in three of the five sessions. The Irishwoman had played all the matches of the last two editions and her record in this competition was close to excellence. She accumulated ten matches and a 75% of points won. She arrived in Gainesville to play her third Solheim. She is not a rookie, not at all. In addition, the Irishwoman is one of the few Europeans who has won this year, she did it in the Aramco Team Series in London and reached the final of the Matchplay tournament falling in the final precisely against Nelly Korda. It was not being a year to forget, not at all.
The decision has been a total bet of the captain and, in hindsight, it can be said, that it has been the great mistake of Suzann this week. More so if we take into account what happened in the penultimate match of Sunday’s round. Maguire has defeated Ally Ewing by a clear 4&3 that kept the European team alive.
What has become clear is that Leona, despite being a great team player, did not take the decision well and a few minutes after finishing her individual match she explained on television that the captain did not give her many reasons: “She did not give me many reasons, to be honest. The feeling I had is that the first day I played a bit short and did not make enough birdies, but I think today I have shown that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and I have made many birdies”. A full-blown zasca. It was not a decision that was very explained, nor very consensual.
The Irishwoman has gone further and defended herself tooth and nail: “I think I have been playing great golf all week in training, and it has been a bitter pill to be sitting so many sessions. Today it was my turn to show that I love the Solheim Cup, I love match play, and I really wanted to give a point to the team. It was nice to do it”.
To top it off, the European player has posted a post on her networks with an enigmatic message: “Form is temporary, class is permanent”, a dart that points directly at the team captain.
The captain on her side has only had words of recognition towards the Irishwoman. On Saturday’s round she made it clear that Leona had nothing to prove to anyone, but that in the end her job was to decide, that it was a very difficult decision to make but that she did not see Maguire playing more. She has spoken very well of her pupil, but she has also not given any further motivation. The controversy is served.
