5.23.11
04pine valley hosts top u.s. women every solheim cup year brings considerable incentive for united states and european players to make their respective squads. consider the perk the 16 top u.s. contenders enjoyed last week as raising the bar on preparation—and stoking our jealousy. while everyone else in the sybase match play champion- ship field practiced at hamilton farm, captain rosie Jones and her brood were welcomed at pine Valley, spending the night in its simple yet comfortable dorm. “the poor guy [who runs] the dorms, he’s never seen so many women,” laughed assistant captain Juli inkster. “he’s probably taking the week off after that.” it mattered not that pine Valley is dissimilar from solheim host killeen castle: Jones assessed potential chemistry with six holes of four-ball, six of foursomes and six of singles. a first peek at the no. 2 spot on Golf Digest’s america’s 100 greatest golf courses was a giddy diversion for most of the party. “i had been there before with a couple of friends who are members,” said cristie kerr (shown), who lost o norway’s suzann pettersen in the sybase final. “it gets better every time.” did it help at sybase? u.s. players went 4-5 against europeans, capped by pettersen’s victory in the final. —Brett Avery
darren carroll
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