Solheim Cup

Liselotte Neumann took her name out of the mix as Solheim Cup captain because she thought it would consume too much of her time. A series of messages from European players convinced her it would be worth it. Neumann was appointed European captain on Wednesday for the 2013 matches, giving the 45-year-old Swede one last chance to celebrate on American soil. She was on the winning team twice in six tries as a Solheim Cup player, both in Europe. She was an assistant captain under Alison Nicholas in 2009 outside Chicago, where the Americans kept their record perfect at home.

Liselotte Neumann took her name out of the mix as Solheim Cup captain because she thought it would consume too much of her time. A series of messages from European players convinced her it would be worth it. Neumann was appointed European captain on Wednesday for the 2013 matches, giving the 45-year-old Swede one last chance to celebrate on American soil. She was on the winning team twice in six tries as a Solheim Cup player, both in Europe. She was an assistant captain under Alison Nicholas in 2009 outside Chicago, where the Americans kept their record perfect at home.

Christina Kim isn't worried about building up her confidence for the Solheim Cup. First things first: Kim and the other 11 U.S. team members are all trying to win the $1.3 million Navistar LPGA Classic starting Thursday at the 6,607-yard, par-72 Senator Course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill. Then, it's off to Ireland's Killen Castle for Kim and her soon-to-be teammates to face Europe, which has six team members competing in suburban Montgomery. "I've got all the confidence in the world," said Kim, who hasn't had a Top 10 finish in 16 events this...

Meg Mallon is the next U.S. captain for the Solheim Cup. Mallon is a four-time major champion, including two U.S. Women's Open titles, and she played in the Solheim Cup eight times. Her overall record was 13-9-7, including 5-2-1 in singles. She is second only to Juli Inkster in most Solheim Cup points earned by an American. The Americans are coming off a loss to Europe last year in Ireland. The 2013 Solheim Cup will be played at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo. Mallon was an assistant to captain Beth Daniel in 2009 when the Americans won outside Chicago.

Instead of dancing, Juli Inkster dropped to her knees. Paula Creamer made a 20-footer late yesterday afternoon to give the United States a 4 1/2-3 1/2 lead at the Solheim Cup in Sugar Grove, Ill., and make Inkster the highest-scoring US player in the event’s history. The 49-year-old has scored 17 1/2 points, one more than Meg Mallon, now an assistant captain for the US team. “About time my partner made a putt,’’ Inkster joked after her and Creamer’s 2-and-1 foursome victory over Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie.

Meg Mallon is the next U.S. captain for the Solheim Cup. Mallon is a four-time major champion, including two U.S. Women's Open titles, and she played in the Solheim Cup eight times. Her overall record was 13-9-7, including 5-2-1 in singles. She is second only to Juli Inkster in most Solheim Cup points earned by an American. The Americans are coming off a loss to Europe last year in Ireland. The 2013 Solheim Cup will be played at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo. Mallon was an assistant to captain Beth Daniel in 2009 when the Americans won outside Chicago.

Christina Kim earned the 10th and final automatic spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team Sunday and captain Rosie Jones added youngsters Vicky Hurst and Ryann O'Toole to the squad that will face Europe in Ireland late next month. Going into this weekend's LPGA Safeway Classic, Kim was just ahead of Hurst, Katie Futcher and Kristy McPherson in the points race. On Sunday, Kim shot a dismal 78 to finish 11 over, but it was enough for the trip to Killeen Castle on Sept. 23-25. The slumping Kim — 58th on the money list and without a top-10 finish this year — went to...

The score after Day 2 of the Solheim Cup: Chokin' Dogs 6 1/2, Europeans 5 1/2. On a miserable, windblown, frigid day in Halmstad, Sweden, it was a "choke" comment from former American player Dottie Pepper that made as big a splash as anything her onetime teammates did. The Americans let two victories in the morning matches slip away and settled for ties. Pepper, an analyst for The Golf Channel, thinking the telecast had gone to commercial, uttered, "Chokin' freakin' dogs" on the air. Though that telecast was seen only in America, word spread...

Hale Irwin won for the first time since turning 60 in June, shooting a 4-under 68 at Pebble Beach in California yesterday for a one-stroke victory over three players in the Champions Tour's First Tee Open. Irwin, a three-time winner this year and the tour's career leader with 43 victories, had a 13-under 203 total. The three-time US Open champion is the first player 60 or older to win since J.C. Snead in 2002. "I hit a lot of very good golf shots this week," said Irwin, who earned $300,000.

As sure as the ball will fly 10 percent farther at altitude, the International will be delayed by rain. For the 20th straight year, weather delayed the PGA Tour's only stop in Colorado. Heavy, persistent rain wiped out play yesterday, meaning the tournament will begin today at Castle Rock, Colo. where the forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of rain. Thus the tournament was added to a long list of weather problems on the tour this season. This is the 15th tournament to be disrupted by rain, but the first day to be completely washed out since the BellSouth Classic in...

Aaron Baddeley wanted to make a good impression on Greg Norman with hopes of being picked for the Presidents Cup. He wound up impressing a lot of people yesterday at the Tour Championship at Atlanta. Baddeley holed out for eagle on No. 4, then lit up East Lake's back nine with four straight birdies on his way to a 6-under-par 64 that put him atop the leaderboard with Hunter Mahan. Mahan holed a birdie putt just more than 20 feet on the par-3 18th for a 66. They were at 9-under 201, both poised to capture a meaningful cup - even if it isn't the same one. ...

Adam Scott is playing well enough to win the Tour Championship. With a little help, he could win a lot more. Scott figured he was too far back in the FedEx Cup at No. 19 to have a realistic chance at the $10 million bonus. His main concern was heading home to Australia after this week with the crystal trophy from the Tour Championship at Atlanta. His chances have changed, even if his focus hasn't. Scott finished birdie-birdie for the second straight day on the tough closing holes at East Lake, allowing him to recover from a rugged start for a 5-under-par 65 yesterday and...

Christina Kim isn't worried about building up her confidence for the Solheim Cup. First things first: Kim and the other 11 U.S. team members are all trying to win the $1.3 million Navistar LPGA Classic starting Thursday at the 6,607-yard, par-72 Senator Course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill. Then, it's off to Ireland's Killen Castle for Kim and her soon-to-be teammates to face Europe, which has six team members competing in suburban Montgomery. "I've got all the confidence in the world," said Kim, who hasn't had a Top 10 finish in 16...

Christina Kim earned the 10th and final automatic spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team Sunday and captain Rosie Jones added youngsters Vicky Hurst and Ryann O'Toole to the squad that will face Europe in Ireland late next month. Going into this weekend's LPGA Safeway Classic, Kim was just ahead of Hurst, Katie Futcher and Kristy McPherson in the points race. On Sunday, Kim shot a dismal 78 to finish 11 over, but it was enough for the trip to Killeen Castle on Sept. 23-25. The slumping Kim — 58th on the money list and without a top-10 finish this year...

Instead of dancing, Juli Inkster dropped to her knees. Paula Creamer made a 20-footer late yesterday afternoon to give the United States a 4 1/2-3 1/2 lead at the Solheim Cup in Sugar Grove, Ill., and make Inkster the highest-scoring US player in the event’s history. The 49-year-old has scored 17 1/2 points, one more than Meg Mallon, now an assistant captain for the US team. “About time my partner made a putt,’’ Inkster joked after her and Creamer’s 2-and-1 foursome victory over Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie.

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - When it came time to get the fans rowdy with a couple of rounds of “U-S-A! U-S-A!’’ Solheim Cup rookie Michelle Wie wasn’t quite sure what to do. “I was like, ‘Just watch. I’ll get it started.’ And then we had a great time with it,’’ playing partner and Solheim Cup “veteran’’ Morgan Pressel said after yesterday’s practice round. Yes, this week should be quite the education for Wie - about her, too. Heralded as golf’s biggest thing since Tiger Woods after winning the Women’s Amateur Public Links at 13, making her the...

Aaron Baddeley wanted to make a good impression on Greg Norman with hopes of being picked for the Presidents Cup. He wound up impressing a lot of people yesterday at the Tour Championship at Atlanta. Baddeley holed out for eagle on No. 4, then lit up East Lake's back nine with four straight birdies on his way to a 6-under-par 64 that put him atop the leaderboard with Hunter Mahan. Mahan holed a birdie putt just more than 20 feet on the par-3 18th for a 66. They were at 9-under 201, both poised to capture a meaningful cup - even if it isn't the same one. ...

The Americans were hardly chokers when the stakes were highest at the Solheim Cup. Dominating the singles matches, the Americans celebrated one of the most coveted wins in women's golf yesterday, a 16-12 decision over Europe that ended any thought they might be the "chokin' freakin' dogs" Dottie Pepper said they were. Led by Morgan Pressel's 2-and-1 upset over Annika Sorenstam, and Stacy Prammanasudh's surprising win over Suzann Pettersen, the Americans went 8-3-1 in singles.

Greg Norman shot a bogey-free, 6-under-par 64 yesterday to grab the lead by a stroke heading into the last round of the Senior British Open in Sunningdale, England. Norman was at 10-under 200, a stroke ahead of overnight leader Fred Funk (72) and Loren Roberts (67). Tom Watson’s hopes of improving on his runner-up spot in the British Open last weekend took a hit after a 70 that left him six shots behind Norman. Watson’s putter remained cold, despite an overnight grip change following similar problems Friday.

The Americans were hardly chokers when the stakes were highest at the Solheim Cup. Dominating the singles matches, the Americans celebrated one of the most coveted wins in women's golf yesterday, a 16-12 decision over Europe that ended any thought they might be the "chokin' freakin' dogs" Dottie Pepper said they were. Led by Morgan Pressel's 2-and-1 upset over Annika Sorenstam, and Stacy Prammanasudh's surprising win over Suzann Pettersen, the Americans went 8-3-1 in singles.