GAINESVILLE, Va. – Distinctly marked with giant U-S-A and E-U-R letters outside the respective upstairs windows, the Solheim Cup team rooms are actually houses that sit side-by-side at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
The Americans, as the home team, got dibs and chose the larger of the two. The tradeoff for Europe was its house backs up to the range and the practice putting green is off to the side.
“I don’t know if they’re happy with their choice, but we’re obviously very happy to be right there on the range,” said European vice captain and player Anna Nordqvist on Wednesday when asked if there was any awkwardness because of the proximity.
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis was asked the same and said, in fact, her team was pleased with their choice.
“The house part is actually quite nice because we have eight bathrooms, eight showers, so if people want to shower and change, it’s actually quite nice,” said Lewis, whose team, like Europe, has living accommodations offsite.
But …
“The closeness is a little bit awkward with the driving range and everything being right there, but we’ve worked through a few things. We’ve worked through a few issues. But we’re in a good spot now.”
As Lewis further explained, the European house doesn’t have much room for tables.
So, the Euros set up shop outside.
“Yeah, their team room kind of exploded onto the driving range a little bit, but we reeled it in. It’s all good,” Lewis said. “We adjusted the way the range was set up a little bit and moved the U.S. team further down so Europe could do what they wanted basically.”
Though there were a few smirks when discussing the situation, Lewis and Nordqvist downplayed any friction.
“It was just our players were warming up, and they’re there eating breakfast and talking. We were just trying to get everybody some space so [we] didn’t have to listen to them eating breakfast. That’s all,” Lewis said.
“There’s no bad beef.”
