When it comes to team golf, it seems everybody seeks out Paul McGinley for tips, tactics and titbits. Such is the reverence in which last year’s European Ryder Cup-winning captain is held by all and sundry, you wouldn’t be surprised if the triumphant duo at the Dullatur Husband & Wife Salver were inspired by some managerial musings from the much-sought after Dubliner.
A week ago, it was Nigel Edwards, the captain of Great Britain & Ireland’s Walker Cup team, who was praising McGinley’s pearls of wisdom ahead of the biennial battle with the USA.
This week, it’s Carin Koch, the skipper of Europe’s Solheim Cup team, who is hoping that some of McGinley’s magic rubs off on her side as they aim for an historic third successive victory over the US.
“Paul wasn’t that nervous in the week of the Ryder Cup because he was super prepared and he knew exactly what to do with any outcomes,” said Koch. “That sounded nice to me and that’s what I want to be like.”
Team Europe may be going for a hat-trick of triumphs at St Leon Rot near Heidelberg this weekend but the Americans have been installed as the favourites. On paper – and we all know that nothing gets achieved on paper – the Team USA resumes would appear to give them an edge in a variety of departments. Their average world ranking, for instance, is 24.6 compared to 52.6 for Europe. The hosts, however, have the close-knit spirit and the confidence that comes from gaining back-to-back wins for the first time in the history of the contest.
“Two years ago, I think we were more united as a team than maybe the Americans were,” said France’s former Ladies Scottish Open champion, Gwladys Nocera. “Why? I don’t know. You have to ask them why they aren’t super strong together. On the European side, we were really, really strong together. Maybe that makes a difference at the end.”
For England’s Mel Reid, this camaraderie and companionship will help her through an emotional week. Three years ago, Reid’s mother, Joy, was killed in a car crash in Munich while attending a Ladies European Tour event there. “It (Germany) is always a tough place to come back to,” said the 27-year-old, who was part of the winning European team at Killeen Castle in 2011. “I played in Germany a couple of years after (the accident) and I didn’t want to be here. But the girls have been great, not just in recent times but from two or three years ago. This is the week to make fresh memories of being here.”
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