This will be fun. On Wednesday, the LPGA made its much-anticipated Solheim Cup announcement, naming Stacy Lewis as the 2023 captain for Team USA. Lewis, who turns 37 next Wednesday, has played on four Solheim Cup teams and been an assistant captain twice, first for Juli Inkster in 2019 when back troubles forced her off the team at the last minute (she was replaced by Ally Ewing) and again for Pat Hurst in 2021 at Inverness Club. And while Lewis does not have a winning record as either a player or a captain, she is seen by most everyone as the perfect leader to turn the U.S. fortunes. Among active players, Lewis garners much respect.
But that’s not the reason fans are buzzing.
Last month, the Ladies European Tour picked Suzann Pettersen, hero of the 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles and the athlete with arguably the greatest walk-off retirement in history, to captain Team Europe in September 2023 at Finca Cortesín, Andalusía, Spain.
Anyone who has spent any time around Pettersen and Lewis knows that this is going to be a dogfight.
“I’m really excited,” Lewis said of her matchup with Pettersen. “Suzann and I, we played a lot of golf together over the years. I think we only played one Solheim Cup match together. But one of the things I look forward to the most about this Solheim Cup is going up against her. Her record speaks for itself in the event. The putt she made in Scotland coming back after having a baby and all of that, she’s definitely got the one-up on me there.
“But I’m so excited. We both have the kind of personalities that …” she paused and then said, “hopefully we don’t have any rules issues because I don’t think either one of us will back down.”
Back down? Hopefully they don’t fight. Anyone looking at the two of them would pick Pettersen in a pugilistic bout. But she would have to kill Lewis to stop her. This is a Pitbull vs. a Doberman, two type-AAA personalities who make George Patton look timid. Yes, they’ve both mellowed in motherhood – there are more smiles and casual conversations now than at the height of their careers – but you don’t have to scratch far to find the fire that made them both overachievers in the women’s game.
Lewis was the last American before Nelly Korda to get to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. Pettersen got as high as No. 2 before running into a smiling, teenaged buzzsaw named Lydia Ko. Lewis has 13 LPGA Tour wins; Pettersen has 15. They both have two major championship trophies at home. Lewis won the Rolex LPGA Player of the Year twice, the Vare Trophy for low stroke average twice, and the money title once. Pettersen was the LET Rookie of the Year in 2001 and won the LET Order of Merit in 2013.
So, they have mirrored each other in their careers. They are twins in terms of their intensity. “There has only been one person that I’ve been intimidated to interview,” Lisa Cornwell told me. “Suzann Pettersen. She stares at you and you want to take two steps back.”
Culture is king in any organizational setting. And leaders create culture through word and deed. If their histories are any indication, both the U.S. and European Solheim Cup teams will be confident and fiery.
Lewis was the same way on the golf course. Inside the ropes, she was the alpha in every pairing, the player who personified being “in the zone.” But she also had one of the greatest gifts in the game. The second she signed her scorecard, she put it all behind her and became the best friend you could ever want. Unlike many who either never shut the intensity off or need a post-play transition period, Lewis could look like an Army Ranger on the 18th green and then walk outside the ropes and crack a joke.
Over the next year and a half it will be cool to see how the captains’ personalities shape their respective teams.
Culture is king in any organizational setting. And leaders create culture through word and deed. If their histories are any indication, both the U.S. and European Solheim Cup teams will be confident and fiery.
“Go big or go home,” Pettersen told LPGA.com when asked what the personality of her team might look like. “No, there is going to be a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. But what I’ve learned the hard way is to never forget that the game is bigger than all of us. So, play tough, but play fair. I think that is the important message for all.
“I will be excited to see how the team shapes up in the next year and a half. I’ve been watching all the play so far. And I’m into it.”
Lewis is right there with her.
“(The players) need to know the history of the (Solheim Cup),” Lewis said. “That requires getting the past captains and the past players involved so they can see their passion for the event. I had Meg (Mallon) and Juli (Inkster) and that age of player, they brought that to me. I saw their passion. That’s what I want to convey to them through myself and the assistants that I do bring in. They’re going to have a passion for this event. That’s one of the biggest things I want to do.
“This event, gosh, it’s everything for our tour. It’s everything for women’s golf. It is truly the biggest stage we get. It’s different than your traditional four-round tournament. These girls will know it’s important.
“I also want them to know what it means to have that American flag on them, and what an honor that is, too.”