Solheim Cup: Team USA have 'Unfinished Business'

‘Unfinished business’ is the motto that Team USA are living by this week, “these girls, they want that trophy, and they want to win,” stressed their Captain Stacy Lewis. Luckily, for Team Europe, it has only been 12 months since the first draw in Solheim Cup history.

I say luckily because the draw, which saw Europe retain the Solheim Cup trophy, left a very bitter taste in the mouths of the Americans, in particular their Captain. In my mind, the burning desire to teach the Europeans a lesson was ignited as they celebrated like they had won. The biggest snub coming when the Europeans took to the stage to receive the trophy but didn’t invite the Americans to join them. It had been a draw after all.

Humility is probably not a word many would associate with Suzann Pettersen, a dogged competitor, formidable opponent and player in her prime. This week has resurfaced the moment at the 2015 Solheim Cup when Pettersen reduced her playing partner Charley Hull and opponent Alison Lee, who is making a Solheim Cup return, to tears. Do you think that a player who did this and had potentially the biggest mic drop moment in golf, retiring after holing the winning putt at Gleneagles in 2019, was concerned about her American counterparts when she hoisted the trophy in ‘victory’ last September?

Well if she was concerned, the messaging from Team Europe this week about going for the four-peat is definitely going to have added a lot more fuel to the already raging fire inside the soul of the USA Captain (and her team).

There’s part of me that imagines Lewis has the picture of Pettersen, with the trophy in the air, on her wall as constant motivation (to wipe the smile off her face).

Obviously, a Captain can only do so much but Lewis has more than just retribution on her side. Home soil advantage is very important for the Americans, having won seven of the nine times the Solheim Cup has been played in the USA. Europe may have won in 2021 but at 15-13, it really could have gone either way.

Loud patriotic crowds will be a feature and a big motivator. Talking of patriotism, this has already and will continue to feature highly this week. The 23^rd Anniversary of 9/11 took place on Wednesday, with Lewis admitting that when she saw the dates it impacted what she has done with her team this week. It even affected the design of the Team USA golf bags, “their bag has tons of history from the script of the Constitution to the stars and the stripes. Everything I've done this week has been because of 9/11 this week.”

I feel like I have painted a pretty sinister picture of what this week’s competition could be like, especially as both Captains have talked about everyone having so much fun this week. But come 7:05am (ET) on Friday and with ‘unfinished business’ on the American’s minds this Solheim Cup has the potential to go as one of the most fiercely fought Solheim Cups of our time. Because let’s face it, if this doesn’t go Team USA’s way, then there’s no way Pettersen will let them forget it.

Women & Golf will be reporting direct from Robert Trent Jones Golf Club - find out more about the 2024 Solheim Cup here.