Pettersen has taste for glory
The Norwegian is backing Europe to beat America for only the fourth time in the 21-year history of the competition.
Pettersen has already featured on one winning team this week after European captain Alison Nicholas organised a quiz at their Dunboyne hotel on Tuesday night.
The losers had to wear silly blonde wigs or manic St Patrick’s Day hats and Pettersen, winner of the Ladies Irish Open on this County Meath course a month ago, made sure the pictures were posted to the world via her Twitter account.
“I wasn’t on the losing team — I’m blonde but I’m not stupid,” insisted Pettersen as she prepares for her sixth Solheim Cup appearance, confident she can experience another victory on Sunday evening.
Looking ahead to the battle against the American favourites tomorrow, she declared: “Yes, we can beat them. This is my sixth Solheim Cup and I think this is the best European team I have been a part of. Overall we have a very consistent team. We have five rookies on the team but I don’t look on them as rookies. They have all been out on the main Tour and they have all won so this is the strongest team I’ve played on. We’re in pretty good shape. We have a good captain, two good vice-captains and the home support. We are here to win.”
The European players will do well if they follow Pettersen’s recent lead. Just last month she shot a course record 63 and then a 64 in the final two rounds as she won that Ladies Irish Open, confirmed yesterday to return to Killeen Castle next year.
Nicholas is keen for her players to take a leaf out of Pettersen’s book when competition tees-off tomorrow morning.
“You can see the confidence that Suzann has rising throughout this team,” said Nicholas, captain for the second time this week. The Europeans are up for it. They’ve lost the last three matches against America and they want to win the cup back.
“They are all competitors and they are ready. I believe they can win it, so do the girls.”
One element working in Europe’s favour is the weather. As the rain and wind swept across this Jack Nicklaus design yesterday, Nicholas admitted the forecast is a concern.
“There are contingency plans in place to go into Monday if necessary. If we have to go into Monday then we have to go into Monday,” said Nicholas.
“The weather is a bit indifferent at the moment and if it rains much more we’ll need a yellow submarine maybe to get the spectators around the place.
“That weather can be an advantage for our team but it might not be. A lot of the US players have played all over the world and are experienced.
“The best players tend to adapt very easily.”
US captain Rosie Jones has watched her players spend as much time as possible on the course this week in an effort to acclimatise to the tough conditions.
“The weather is definitely more advantageous for the European players. They play in this weather a lot more than we do,” said rookie captain Jones. “But my players have not complained once about having to go out and play in it. They played a lot of holes on Tuesday and again on Wednesday in rain and wind and very tough conditions.”
Paula Creamer, known as the Pink Panther on the LPGA Tour, put the American attitude into perspective after her practice round yesterday.
“Normally we have lightning storms in this sort of weather and we go in so for us it is an adjustment,” admitted the 25-year-old from sun-kissed California.
“We’ve been out there getting used to the wind and the rain, getting used to playing with rain jackets. But we are all grinders. You grind it out if it is 40mph winds. This is the Solheim Cup so even if it’s raining, you don’t feel like it’s raining. You just put up with it for the one week of the Solheim Cup.”
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