Solheim Cup Nights with Captain Alison Nicholas

One of the UK’s most successful golfers and Europe’s 2011 Solheim Cup captain, Alison Nicholas will be sharing her thoughts ahead of September’s eagerly anticipated showdown. Edgbaston Golf Club, Birmingham and Fulford Golf Club, York will be the venues for an exclusive Solheim Cup evening on June 1st and June 2nd respectively.

Alison Nicholas’s career in golf has spanned from 1980 to 2004, starting off late at the age of 17 but quickly went on to represent Yorkshire at county level and turned pro in 1984. Since then she has claimed 18 professional titles and represented Europe in the inaugural Solheim Cup in 1990. The highlight of Alison’s career came in 1997 when she was crowned US Open Champion and held off golfing legend Nancy Lopez to win her first major.

Nicholas will be leading the best European players from the Ladies European Tour (LET) against the best U.S. players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour in the biennial, trans-atlantic team match-play competition. The U.S. Team leads the competition 8-3 and has never lost The Solheim Cup on home soil. In 2009, the Americans kept their untarnished home record intact at Rich Harvest Farms with a 16 to 12 victory against the Europeans. It’s now Europe’s turn to win back the trophy in Ireland at Killeen Castle on September 23-25.

Alison Nicholas, who has been awarded a MBE for her services to women’s golf is looking forward to her trip to Birmingham and York ahead of the September competition. She said “I really enjoy meeting other golfers and telling stories from on and off the course. It will be great to be in Birmingham and York to share my own Solheim Cup Stories as excitement builds towards the tournament.”

Event Organisers Tourism Ireland said “To have Alison at Edgbaston and Fulford Golf Club will be great inspiration for the local golfing community. We can’t wait to meet her and support the team in September for the Solheim Cup.”

Guests at the evenings will have the chance to win a trip to Ireland and attend the Solheim Cup at the beautiful Killeen Castle. Information will also be available on event tickets and Solheim Cup packages.

Event Details:
Wednesday, June 1, at Edgbaston Golf Club, Birmingham
Thursday, June 2, at Fulford Golf Club, York
Both evenings start at 7.30pm and include a complimentary drink and canapés

To register email news@englishwomensgolf.org confirming which evening you wish to attend (Edgbaston Golf Club or Fulford Golf Club), your name, golf club and contact phone number. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

European captain Alison Nicholas had seen her team put in a fantastic performance in the pairs event, but then watched her side comprehensively beaten by the US hosts going down 8-4 on the day and 16- 12 overall.

The European team struggled after losing the first three matches on the trot, Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford and rookie superstar Michelle Wie getting the best of Suzann Pettersen, Becky Brewerton and Helen Alfredsson in their respective fixtures.

It was left to veteran 45 year old Laura Davies to get Europe’s first points on the scoreboard having  halved her match with Brittany Lang. Gwladys Nocera with half against Juli Inkster and Catriona Matthew with a 3&2 win over Kristy McPherson helped to keep the match alive.

Brittany Lincicome and Christina Kim added two more wins for the USA, with Sophie Gustafson and Tania Elosegui on the losing side for the visitors, before Morgan Pressel scored the decisive point for the USA on the 16th green after Anna Nordqvist missed an eight foot putt in the eleventh match.

Diana Luna then beat Nicole Castrale with a 3&2 and Janice Moodie and Natalie Gulbis halved their match to bring the tournament to an end and victory to the United States for the third consecutive time.

European captain Alison Nicholas said after the tournament;

“The girls have played well, it was good fun, but it’s still disappointing. The girls tried to keep up with them but they just holed a few more putts than us. It’s tough to come over here and win, and to be honest with you, we were huge underdogs to start the week.”