European wildcard picks prove decisive

They drove some people wild when Dale Reid announced them, but the European captain's five wild cards came up trumps at Loch Lomond as the home side dragged themselves out of a singles mire and saw off the resurgent Americans with a mixture of grit, determination, luck and je ne sais quoi -- even some of the players were thinking "How the hell did we do that?"

It was a team effort -- every member of the side earned at least half a point -- but Reid took special satisfaction from the performance of the picks and had a little dig at the press for criticizing her selections. "Thank you," she said, "you inspired this team this week. They showed you guys that they can play all right."

The quintet of Helen Alfredsson, Liselotte Neumann, Catrin Nilsmark, Carin Koch and Janice Moodie produced 4 1/2 precious points in the singles, enough to ensure that the celebrations would go on long into the night and beyond and give the Europeans bragging rights for the next two years.

Alfredsson and Neumann, who have played in all six Solheim Cup matches, and Nilsmark, who holed the winning putt on her debut at Dalmahoy eight years ago, had had difficult seasons. Those observers who like to choose teams by numbers, going down the money list, tut-tutted at Reid's reliance on an old guard whose time had surely passed. What about Catriona Matthew and Charlotta Sorenstam they roared? Remember the humiliation heaped on Curtis Strange when Lanny Wadkins chose him for the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill against all known form?

As Reid said, she went with her gut feeling, as a captain must but sentiment did not come into it. She wanted to win, and she picked the match-players that she thought would do that. The players more than repaid her trust.

Neumann and Alfredsson, who made their first appearance together in the Friday afternoon foursomes, lost narrowly to Pat Hurst and Kelly Robbins. In the fourballs on Saturday, Alfredsson was paired with Alison Nicholas and went on one of her birdie blitzes to see the pair home against Juli Inkster and Sherri Steinhauer; Neumann and Patricia Meunier Lebouc, the rookie from France who took to the cup like a duck to water, halved with the formidable duo of Dottie Pepper and Brandie Burton. No duck eggs, null points or noughts for the Swedish veterans then, so Reid was looking prescient rather than prattish.

When Alfredsson defeated Beth Daniel in the singles, providing a lonely, defiant and ultimately inspirational splodge of blue in the sea of red that was the scoreboard, she also demolished the doubters. Neumann scraped a half with Hurst, and Nilsmark, Koch and Moodie, in the anchor matches 9, 11 and 12 respectively, carried Europe to glory.

Nilsmark and Koch, who was making her Solheim debut at long last (she should probably have been selected in 1996 when Reid was chosen instead), sailed through the week with a 100-percent record. They won their foursomes together on Friday morning, were rested on Friday afternoon, then won their fourball match.

In the singles, the two mothers -- Nilsmark has a daughter, Tuva and Koch has a son, Oliver -- were simply immense. Nilsmark withstood a determined challenge from Rosie Jones to win on the 18th, and Koch, who had been 3-down to Michele Redman after 10 holes, squared the match at the 13th after some wobbly play by the American. In near darkness, Koch then birdied the 16th and 17th -- a fearsome short hole even in benign conditions, which these were not -- to win 2 and 1 and clinch the cup.

It was joy unconfined as Europe celebrated, but Moodie, a natural show- off who had turned her match against Nancy Scranton around (the Scot was 4-down after six holes), was determined to keep going to the very end. A birdie at the 17th put her 1-up, and she hurried to the 18th tee and hit her drive into the night. It was left to the valiant Scranton to give up the unequal struggle and concede the match, to give Moodie the point she coveted and a record of three wins from four starts (with a little help from Annika Sorenstam, the world No 2.)

Between them, Reid's wild cards had an 11-3-2 record and accounted for 12 points. Enough said.