Ryder Cup 2012: Liselotte Neumann and Annika Sorenstam heap praise on Europeans
Liselotte Neumann, who is going to lead the European squad in the 2013 Solheim Cup along with her fellow Swedish Annika Sorenstam, has expressed her joy over Europe’s victory in the 2012 Ryder
Cup against Americans.
Neumann has been picked to captain the European squad at the coming Solheim Cup, and it is expected that European contenders will once again steal the show like they did last year at Killeen
Castle Golf Resort, County Meath, Ireland.
The Ladies European Tour (LET) recently caught up with Neumann and her 2013 Solheim Cup assistant Sorenstam, asking what the Europeans’ victory at the 2012 Ryder Cup meant to them.
Neumann said that she was thrilled after watching Europeans inflict a defeat on her long-time American rivals, but what matter the most is that all the players fought hard till the final moment,
not giving a room to their competitors for a moment.
“The key was that they never gave up and they believed that they could still win it after Saturday's matches. Also, they played for something bigger, which was Seve's memory,” Neumann said.
The 2013 Solheim Cup captain said although the American contenders were stronger in several aspects—such as big names like former world number one Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, and plenty
of crowd support as the event was staged at Medinah Country Clun, Medinah, Illinois, United States.
Yet, Europeans stood their ground and outclassed American in single matches.
Sorenstam also seemed to agree with Neumann, saying sticking to their solid work ethic was the key factor behind Europe’s success, but she said patience also played a big role in helping them
win.
“Patience, trust, teamwork, persistence and guts,” Sorenstam pointed out what helped the Europeans defend the Cup.
Europe’s Ian Poulter was amazing throughout the 2012 Ryder Cup as he was the one to stand firm against rivals in every single match, gaining points that eventually helped the region retain
the Cup.
“Ian Poulter was probably the key player and delivered the last match on Saturday, which kept them in it,” Neumann said.
Woods and Steve Stricker, who were expected to perform well at the prestigious event, faltered in every single match as they found it hard to notch points.
Sorenstam said that she was sure the match would turn into a tough battle on the final day, as she knew the players’ strategy to go a bit slow in the first two days.
She said that Europeans might have beaten their rivals in single matches, but the American roster was awash with battle-hardened players and watching them lose like that was a real shock.
“I thought the first two days were pretty predictable. Maybe a few more different combinations than necessary from both teams. I like the Euro singles set up and was a little surprised with
the USA line up,” she said.
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