Nicholas inspired by Clarke’s success
Solheim Cup captain Alison Nicholas wants her team to take a leaf out of Clarke’s book when they take on the might of a US outfit chasing a fourth straight win in the female equivalent of the Ryder Cup.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Meath course hosts most of the top players from both continents for this year’s Ladies Irish Open, which begins on Friday at a time when Irish golf has never been more successful in the male ranks.
Nicholas will direct her team to ride that wave of emotion against the Yanks next month with Clarke, Rory McIlroy, G-Mac and Padraig Harrington as the cheerleaders.
“We are underdogs going into this Solheim Cup but Darren was an underdog at Sandwich,” said Nicholas as she visited the Killeen Castle course 50 days out from the biggest event on the ladies’ tour calendar.
“If you looked at the world rankings before the Open and you looked at Darren Clarke’s position, you wouldn’t have thought he had a hope in hell so what does that say to you?
“Darren’s victory at the Open was superb and Rory coming back from the Masters disappointment and winning the US Open was sensational.
“It has been a sensational year for Irish golf and we want to be a part of it with this Solheim Cup bid.
“The Irish must be a proud golfing nation right now and we want the Solheim Cup effort to build on that and be a part of that. We want Killeen Castle to be like the K Club was for the men at the Ryder Cup.”
American captain Rosie Jones, also at Killeen Castle yesterday to check out the course and the facilities, will name her team to defend the Solheim Cup in just three weeks time.
Nicholas will take a little bit longer and took time out yesterday to offer some advice to the Maguire twins, Lisa and Leona.
The two most talked about girls in Irish golf won’t play in the senior Solheim Cup but they will grace the junior event at nearby Knightsbrook next month.
“I see a great future for them but I would urge them to take their time with turning pro,” added the experienced Nicholas, now in her second campaign as European captain.
“You never know how people are going to do with the transition from the amateur to the professional game. You don’t necessarily want them to turn pro too early.
“You want them to mature and take their time. I don’t think there’s any urgency. They just need to be careful but they do have great talent.”
US captain Jones brings her team to Ireland a week after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities in New York.
“It is going to be an emotional time for all Americans but we are coming here to fly the flag proudly as a sporting team,” said Jones in Meath yesterday. “I think a lot of people are more into celebrating the freedom of the United States and everything that we have accomplished since than going back to the sorrow of 9/11.
“I think this will be more of a celebration and everyone will be rooting for our team just like we did with soccer’s World Cup a few weeks ago. I know there are a huge number of American fans coming over to support us and we want to put on a show for them.”
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