There have been problems with the Solheim Cup in the past, and this year’s event is no different. The game hasn’t even begun yet.
The most recent event? It has to do with living. The good news is that it looks like it’s already over.
The 19th Solheim Cup is being played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. The practice area has about six houses spread out around it. Two of them were set aside as “team rooms” for the U.S. and European teams, even though they are all living at hotels away from the site. Since the Americans were hosting, they had first choice of which house they wanted. They then took the other one.
That wasn’t the end, though. The Europeans were closer to the driving range, but the Americans loved their spot because it had eight bathrooms, and eight showers, and was the bigger of the two houses.
Read more: James Earl Jones Dies at 93: A Tribute to His Life and Legacy
“I don’t know if they’re happy with their choice,” said Anna Nordqvist, a seasoned European player. “But we’re very happy to be right there on the range.”
Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir described what was going on on Wednesday, saying that the U.S. said some of the things the European team was doing, like having tables and chairs outside and opening the attached hitting bays, were against the terms of their Solheim Cup contracts.
“They are way back in the range.” The European team’s music is always on, but the U.S. team has to leave their house, walk past it, and go all the way down to the other end of the range to get to their side of the range, Weir said. “[Captain] Suzann Pettersen also likes to play her music, and I think that’s what the U.S. doesn’t like about it. They’re saying that this is against their Solheim Cup contract.”
The U.S. captain, Stacy Lewis, talked about it on Wednesday.
“Being so close is a little weird with the driving range and everything else,” she said. “But we’ve worked through a few things.” “We’ve solved some problems.” Now, though, things are going well.
Jamie Weir explains that controversy has emerged from the Solheim Cup surrounding the house that Team Europe are staying in 🏡😮pic.twitter.com/FCBBLndMS0
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 11, 2024
What about some of those “problems” Lewis talked about?
“Their team room kind of blew out onto the driving range, but we made it stop.” “Everything is fine,” Lewis said. “We made a few changes to the range and pushed the U.S. team further back so that Europe could pretty much do what they wanted.”
“Their tables have to be outside because there isn’t much room for them inside their cottage,” she said. “It was just our players warming up, and they were there talking for breakfast.” We were just giving everyone some space so they wouldn’t have to hear them eat breakfast. That’s all. “There is no bad beef.”
Read more: Chase Stokes and Kelsea Ballerini Announce Engagement After Whirlwind Romance
Even so, if this is the only trouble the Solheim Cup has this week, the next few days should go very smoothly. There won’t be much that can top what happened in Rome last year during “HatGate” and the fight that broke out in the parking lot.
The Solheim Cup starts on Friday morning with its first round of golf.
“I think this is a friendly competition between the US and Europe in the end,” Nordqvist said. “Yeah, we’ll really want to win, but I think that’s what’s great about the Solheim Cup: I think women’s golf wins on Sunday afternoon, win or lose.”
