Why this Solheim Cup star felt slighted by her personal captain: ‘Bitter tablet’

Match play isn’t for each golfer — battling head-to-head for under 18 holes requires a special mindset from 72 holes of stroke play — however the cutthroat format does convey out the perfect in some gamers. Tiger and Jack thrived in mano-a-mano matches. Annika and Cristie Kerr, too. Seve and Sergio. Lanny and Monty. P-Reed and Poults.

After which there’s Eire’s Leona Maguire.

In her first two Solheim Cup appearances, in 2021 and ’23, Maguire performed in all 5 classes in every contest, racking up a sterling 7-2-1 file. Maguire shined significantly brightly within the strain cooker that’s Sunday singles, taking down Jennifer Kupcho, 5 and 4, in 2021, and Rose Zhang, 4 and three, in Spain final yr. (Earlier this yr, Maguire reminded followers of her match-play prowess when she superior to the finals of the T-Cell Match Play in Las Vegas, dropping to Nelly Korda within the title match.)

“For the final two, my job is to get as many factors as doable,” Maguire, who’s 29, stated earlier this week of the earlier two editions of the Solheim Cup. “That’s how I can contribute finest to the group, and that’s what I attempt to do. Once more, each Solheim Cup is totally different, and no matter Suzann needs me to do that week, that’s what I’ll do.”

As in Suzann Pettersen, the European captain.

Pettersen knew what sort of kind Maguire was exhibiting heading into this week: middling can be a sort descriptor. Since successful an Aramco Collection occasion in London in early July, Maguire had recorded only one top-15 end, on the Irish Open earlier this month. This left Pettersen with a tough determination at Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership: play Maguire sparingly and hope that her extra in-form teammates might carry the load, or ignore Maguire’s latest performances and journey one among her match-play stallions.

Maguire’s first shot to show herself got here in a Friday afternoon four-ball match with Georgia Corridor in opposition to World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Megan Khang. Issues didn’t go properly. The Europeans made simply three birdies and had been throttled, 6 and 4.

Pettersen had seen sufficient. On Saturday, she benched Maguire not as soon as however twice, which means the Solhiem stalwart who had performed 10 matches over the earlier two editions of the occasion would play simply two in Virginia. With Europe in an early four-point gap, Pettersen determined to look elsewhere for a spark to ignite her group.

“No one can take away Leona’s file, the worth that she carries into the European group, enjoying or not enjoying,” Pettersen stated Saturday night when requested to elucidate her considering. “[But] it ended up being the place we sort of stood after yesterday, we sort of needed to go by kind. Sadly, up till now, Leona hasn’t sort of been, I don’t know, the rock that I sort of hoped for.

“Nevertheless it certainly doesn’t take away something, and like I informed her, she doesn’t should show something to any of us. She’s sort of received us the Solheim the final two instances. She has all the explanations to sort of be dissatisfied, however she additionally has the character and the heart to say, you already know what, honest play, I’m not enjoying my finest, and go play another person who sort of has a greater likelihood of getting factors on the board.”

If Pettersen was trying to put a chip on Maguire’s shoulder, mission completed. With Europe nonetheless in a four-point gap heading into Sunday singles, Maguire regarded in her match in opposition to Ally Ewing like a participant who had one thing to show: to her captains, to her teammates, to the world. Maguire birdied 4 of her first 9 holes to open up a 2-up lead. Six holes later, the match was over — a 4-and-3 drubbing.  

“I felt like I performed nice golf at this time,” Maguire stated afterward. “I really feel like I’ve been enjoying actually nice golf all week in observe, and it was a bitter tablet to swallow to be sat out for as many classes as I used to be, however I believed I acquired a degree to show at this time.”

Had Pettersen defined Maguire’s Saturday benching to Maguire?

“She didn’t give a lot cause,” Maguire stated. “The sensation I acquired was that I used to be a little bit bit too brief and didn’t make sufficient birdies, however I believe proved at this time there’s multiple method to pores and skin a cat, and I believe I made loads of birdies at this time. Captain’s determination. I’m a group participant, and all I might do at this time was come out and win my level, and that’s what I did.”

Maguire added: “I don’t want any additional motivation to exit and attempt to win my level, however yeah, there in all probability was a little bit bit additional there, not going to lie. However in the end it’s what’s finest for the group this week, and I might have cherished the chance to attempt to ship extra factors for the group, however I did what I might at this time.”

For her half, Pettersen stated she had no regrets about her techniques.

“I’ve by no means lived my life regretting any choices,” she stated Sunday night within the wake of her group’s three-point loss to the People. “You’d relatively play together with your intestine really feel and your coronary heart. Typically you get outplayed. There was a cause why Leona and the lineup within the again was what it was. We all know what they’re able to. We all know what they’re going through. If we had been going to have an opportunity at this, we wanted all 12 gamers, and we’d like — it will have been good to have an anchor like Leona within the again understanding she will be able to take it and get it completed.

“I imply, it’s a 12-woman group, and it’s all the time going to be onerous to do the pairings. Typically you get it proper, generally you get outplayed. Perhaps we might have performed different gamers that perhaps might have confronted totally different opponents that might have modified the result. You possibly can all the time look again, however on the identical time I don’t suppose we as a group have any regrets of what we did.”

A reporter pressed Pettersen on her determination, however the captain had little else to say in regards to the matter.

“It’s extraordinarily tough to sit down any gamers on this group,” she stated. “The best way it turned out, that’s the way it turned out.”

Quickly after her singles win, Maguire posted a six-word message on X: “Kind is short-term, class is everlasting.”

Alan Bastable

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s government editor, Bastable is chargeable for the editorial path and voice of one of many recreation’s most revered and extremely trafficked information and repair websites. He wears many hats — enhancing, writing, ideating, growing, daydreaming of someday breaking 80 — and feels privileged to work with such an insanely gifted and hardworking group of writers, editors and producers. Earlier than grabbing the reins at GOLF.com, he was the options editor at GOLF Journal. A graduate of the College of Richmond and the Columbia College of Journalism, he lives in New Jersey along with his spouse and foursome of children.