Pat Hurst revealed that a pep-talk from Captain Nancy Lopez had helped turn round her vital foursomes match with Michele Redman against Annika Sorenstam and Catriona Matthew in today’s Solheim Cup at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana.
The US pair were three down after five holes, but went on to make four birdies and won by two holes to clinch a home 3-1 win in the third series and put the overall score at 6-all.
“On the tee at the par three sixth, Nancy came over and spoke to us and gave us a couple of words of wisdom,” explained Hurst. “She’s a Hall of Famer and knows what she is talking about. She helped pull us through there.”
Nancy’s advice was “to get into your own world, play one shot at a time and put yourself away from everything that’s happening. Concentrate on your own game and don’t let anything bother you.”
Redman had stepped in as a replacement for American No.1 Cristie Kerr – she had a stiff neck but returned for the afternoon fourballs – but more than proved her worth by holing a number of big putts.
“I only got a couple of hours sleep on Thursday night, but last night was fine,” said Redman, playing in her fourth successive Solheim. “Nancy coming out and talking to us was huge. It got me focused.”
Aiming to regain the Cup and prevent Europe from winning for a first time on US soil, Lopez went on to commend her team’s morning efforts. “It’s been awesome and they played their hearts out. I did have a word with Pat and Michele, and they did just what I told them.
European Captain Catrin Nilsmark was far from dispirited. “If someone had said to me on Thursday that we would be level at this stage then I would have been quite happy,” she said. “It was happening for us yesterday, and it was America’s turn this morning.”
