Angela Stanford Regrets Not Warning US Team About Slow Greens

U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford said Sunday she was "a little frustrated" with herself for not pressing her team harder about slower-than-expected green speeds before a 15-13 loss to Europe at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.

What did Stanford say went wrong?

Stanford's team fell behind early in Sunday singles, losing six of the first eight matches after entering the day tied 8-8. Asked afterward what she would have done differently, Stanford pointed to putting rather than strategy or pairings. She noted the greens rolled faster when the Americans visited Bernardus in July than they did during tournament week, and said she wished she had prepared her players more for the change.

"This is the one thing I am kicking myself," she said, adding that she did not push the team to adjust to putting on slower surfaces once they arrived. Stanford also praised European captain Anna Nordqvist's roster selections, saying Nordqvist's four captain's picks suited a course that rewarded high-ball hitters.

Is this the same complaint from last year's Ryder Cup?

Stanford's comments echoed those of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and vice-captain Jim Furyk after last fall's 15-13 U.S. loss to Europe at Bethpage Black, where American players said greens requested at a 12.5 Stimpmeter reading never rolled that fast. Nordqvist, asked directly whether Europe had deliberately slowed the greens at Bernardus, said conditions were softer than expected because of rain during the week and that she had not set up the course to favor her own team.

Green speed has now decided back-to-back U.S. losses to Europe, at a Ryder Cup and a Solheim Cup a year apart.

The next Solheim Cup moves to U.S. soil at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky in 2028.