'I'm A Little Frustrated With Myself That I Didn't Drive That Point Home'

Angela Stanford was surprised by the speed of the greens at Bernardus Golf

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Team USA’s 11-year wait for a Solheim Cup win in Europe will need to wait at least two more years following a 15-13 defeat to Anna Nordqvist’s line-up at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.

At the start of the decisive Sunday singles session, there would have been optimism in the US camp that the outcome could have been very different, particularly after a stirring comeback in the Saturday afternoon fourballs to go into day three level with their opponents at 8-8.

In the end, though, the US was unable to stop the Europeans winning seven of the 12 matches, leaving captain Angela Stanford to reflect on how she might have approached the week differently.

Afterwards, she homed in on the US team’s putting, saying: “I mean, Europe played well. I think sometimes it's not about - I don't think we played bad.

“I think we just didn't make enough putts. And if you listen to everything I've ever said, Europeans always putt better. I don't know why. I still don't know why.

“I mean, I have a good idea, but I'm not going to say it right now. Apparently I didn't get to know the superintendent as well as I should have. But I think they played really well, and you have to compliment them, and we gave it our best shot.”

That led to Stanford being asked if the green speeds had been different to what the US camp had expected.

Team Europe lift the Solheim Cup — Team Europe won 15-13

She agreed, adding: “Yeah, for sure. Even when we showed up in July here, they were faster. And I don't think it had anything to do with the rain either.

“Now, saying that, it's my responsibility to get the team ready. This is the one thing I am kicking myself is that I just didn't keep pushing, you know, we got to figure out how to hit our putts a little bit harder, which is really difficult, like, to change the way you putt.

“So I'm a little frustrated with myself that I didn't drive that point home. But, I mean, that's - you know, there's nothing we could do about that and the team knew that.

“I mean, nobody complained about it at all. It's me saying this right now that I wish I would have maybe hammered it home more.

“Like, they're going to be slow, they're going to be slow, they're going to be slow. But we don't play on greens this slow usually, so, yeah.”

Stanford was also gracious in defeat, praising her counterpart for her captain's picks.

She added: “I mean, I haven't really had a chance to really kind of debrief and look at everything. I think - I said from the beginning her picks were really good.

"She picked well because this golf course needed high-ball hitters and that's what she did. In match play, you know, it doesn't really matter sometimes where you hit it. So I think she did really good with her picks for this venue.

“Those young players are really good for them. So, if anything, that's really good for women's golf for this event in the future.”

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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.