The wait is over. The Solheim Cup is here. Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen have announced the pairs that will open the competition this Friday. The first foursomes. There are surprises. Many. If anyone expected Pettersen to rely on the old guard to open fire in hostile territory, they were mistaken. New pairs, different, the rookies to the arena and let’s go.
Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit Vs. Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz
Albane Valenzuela and Celine Boutier Vs. Rose Zhang and Lauren Coughlin
Maja Stark and Emily Pedersen Vs. Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho
Carlota Ciganda and Linn Grant Vs. Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel
It is surprising, for example, that the competition opens with a rookie like Henseleit. Yes, Charley Hull, the best golfer according to world ranking of the European team, is ahead, but it is still significant. There is confidence in the novices. Henseleit is bet on, whose Germanic character possibly fits with Hull’s histrionics. It’s a good bet. Delicate, but brave.
Valenzuela was chosen for the foursomes and there she is. Coming out in the second match alongside Celine Boutier. A guarantee. We are not going to see them miss many shots. Zhang and Coughlin will have to play very well to win. They are not going to give it away. There is chemistry between Valenzuela and Boutier, as the Swiss is half French on her mother’s side. They have a very good relationship.
Maja Stark and Pedersen is an explosive pair. The Dane in the foursomes is surprising because she was not playing well. Here the memory of the great Solheim Cup she did in Finca Cortesín, precisely in the pairs format, can do more. Stark is a life insurance wherever you put her. Serious candidate, along with Hull, to play the five points.
Finally, a consolidated pair. The least of the surprises. Ciganda and Grant already played together in Finca Cortesín and won and their relationship is very good. Carlota told Pettersen that she can play the foursome and there they have her, on the first day.
The biggest surprise of all is the benching of Leona Maguire in the foursome, her specialty. It can only have one explanation, and that is that the Irishwoman, as seen in recent tournaments, has not arrived well at this Solheim. The absence of Georgia Hall, a veteran seasoned in a thousand battles, and that of Anna Nordqvist is also striking. The absence of Madelene Sagstrom, a player who is counted on in the fourballs, is more logical.
Lewis has surprised less. Perhaps what is most striking is the absence in this first session of Lex Thompson. Aside from this, the expected, heavyweights like Korda, Vu and Ewing, along with rookies like Schmelzel and Coughlin, who were also counted on for the foursome.
