More
HALMSTAD, Sweden (AP) — Strategically placed in the perfectly manicured practice bunker were a couple of miniature plastic dump trucks, some little pails and shovels and the beginnings of a couple of sand castles.
Yes, folks, these Solheim Cup kids are young.
Fans will get a great look at where women's golf has been and where it's heading when the Americans take on the Europeans in the Solheim Cup starting Friday.
On the one hand, there are Laura Davies and Juli Inkster, two 40-somethings who still have the game to play at the highest level.
On the other, there are Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome — none of whom have hit 25 and all of whom are trying to take their sport to new places.
"Our team has got a lot of heart and spunk and a lot of ribbons and scrunchies," Inkster said Thursday when asked about the general state of the American team.
One of the most telling stories of the week had little to do with golf, much more to do with the quest to make it more popular. Creamer and American captain Betsy King were standing outside signing autographs. Creamer saw King mindlessly scribbling and asked her if she signed her name legibly enough for fans to read once they got the autographs home.
"She said, 'I want to make sure that everybody can read it when I write it,"' King said. "She said, 'When you sign things for people, then they can relate to you better. They kind of get the whole picture.' Obviously, it benefits them personally, but it also benefits the tour and they're interested in helping the tour as a whole."
Gulbis has her own TV show. She, Creamer and 29-year-old Cristie Kerr made appearances at the Oscars earlier this year. A bunch of them do magazine covers, calendar shoots and have appeared as runway models.
The LPGA has moved beyond trying to deny any hint of sex appeal and embraced the idea of having its youngest, brightest stars selling to the masses. It's an arrangement everyone can benefit from.
"So many young Americans is helping the tour," Davies said. "If the LPGA is strong, women's golf is strong."
Of course, without some game to go along with their PR savvy, this would not be a conversation.
But that hasn't been an issue. At 19, Morgan Pressel is making her Solheim Cup debut. She became the youngest major winner earlier this year when she took the Nabisco. Creamer is 21 and reached the $1 million mark in earnings faster than anyone in history. Gulbis is 24 and has 23 top-20 finishes. On the European side, 26-year-old Suzann Pettersen won the McDonalds LPGA Championship this year for her first major.
What can someone like Davies, who has played in every Solheim Cup since it was founded in 1990, offer this week to players who have experience and success beyond their years?
"It's a bit of encouragement here and there," Davies said. "They've all won tournaments. They know what it's all about."
