Welcome to my second Captain’s Corner! This year, you can follow my journey as the European Solheim Cup Captain all the way up to the event, taking place in the Netherlands for the first time, on September 7-13.
The season is under way and we just finished the first major of the year, The Chevron Championship, in Texas with a strong showing from a lot of the European girls.
There has been some movement in the Rolex Rankings in the early part of the season and a lot of different players have shown good form so it will be exciting to continue to follow the team shape up as we move along in the season with another four majors approaching quickly and where points are even higher.
We had the PING Europe apparel team join us at The Chevron Championship for the first potential player and caddie clothes fitting last week.
We have worked closely with the PING Europe apparel team now for the last three Solheim Cups, so it makes the process very smooth, and they are very open to feedback and improving the fits and styles to our liking.
The outfits will be a surprise for the players and caddies until they arrive in the Netherlands, but I got a sneak peak of all the accessories we picked out and designed, the materials and colours we went with and saw some other fun surprises we are working on as well.
We are in the process of finalising our official outfits for the Gala Dinner that takes place on the Wednesday of the Solheim Cup week, as well as what we will be wearing during the Opening Ceremony.
We are working with a Dutch company on this and I am very excited to see the players reaction to this as well. I can give some of the players a sigh of relief, including my vice-captains Mel and Carro – that we are not doing a dress this year either.
Nordqvist talks to Jamie Weir on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast about how she has become captain of Team Europe and her decision-making around no longer participating as a player
The rest of the work continues behind the scenes with conversations with players and caddies and the support team. Zoom has become one of my most used apps these days.
Everyone is very excited about it being a Solheim Cup year and it’s rare I have a conversation with anyone without the Solheim Cup being mentioned or asked about once.
It’s been quite crazy for me on tour this year trying to combine playing and being the captain, but I have been fortunate to have great support from the LET, LPGA and my management company, trying to navigate this dual role this year.
Charley Hull gears up for a big year of golf that includes all five women’s majors and Solheim Cup. These massive events are exclusively live on Sky Sports!
Doing this journey alongside the players is ultimately why I signed up to do this now, and it’s been great when I have been paired with the European players, because I got the best seat in the house watching them inside the ropes and getting to know them.
Stay tuned for my next Captain’s Corner!
Anna Nordqvist’s column was provided by the Ladies European Tour ahead of the Solheim Cup, live from September 11-13 on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
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