Pettersen Returns Like A Conquering Hero 

TOLEDO, OHIO | She’s on the wall, larger than life and in full flight, back bowed, fists raised, the roar of a lioness filling the air. Every player who walks into the European Team locker room at Inverness Club comes face to face with a floor-to-ceiling poster of Suzann Pettersen holing the winning putt in Gleneagles at the 2019 Solheim Cup, a still image from a moment that has been replayed on video hundreds if not thousands of times.

To take you on a trip down memory lane, Pettersen’s 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to beat Marina Alex two years ago would have been spectacular under any circumstances. The fact that Pettersen v. Alex was the last match on the course and Suzann’s putt was for all the marbles – make and Europe wins; miss and Team USA retains the Solheim Cup – made it historic. Throw in the fact that Pettersen was a controversial captain’s pick, with the Norwegian having not played a decent competitive round in four months, and the moment was storybook.

Then she walked away, retiring, not a week later, not a...