Pat Bradley wants to end Solheim captaincy

Winning Solheim Cup captain Dale Reid wants to return. American captain Pat Bradley wants to call it a captaining career.

``I expect myself to be a spectator,'' said the 49-year-old Bradley, who played in three Solheim Cups before taking over as captain this year. ``On the American side, we have a number of great players in line to take over and - you know - they deserve an opportunity to experience this great moment.''

Bradley, who described herself as ``single-minded and focused'' for 27 years on the LPGA Tour before she became captain, bonded with her players, with Juli Inkster saying that, for the first time, ``we got to know Pat Bradley.''

``We played our hearts out for Pat,'' Meg Mallon said. ``Pat was just a great captain. The hardest thing for us right now is the fact we feel we let her down. It's just a shame she didn't take the cup away.''

Reid, who played in four Solheims, made it clear she wants to return in 2002 at Interlachen.

``I have to admit I would love to defend it,'' Reid said. ``I don't like to go lying down. I mean, I want to keep that thing going over there. So who knows?''

And that's OK with her players.

Reid, who bragged about lugging her players' sandwiches and drinks around during matches and doing their ``washing and drying afterward'' at waterlogged Loch Loomed, led Europe to its first victory since 1992.

Helen Alfredsson has no doubts. ``You will be back,'' said the Swede, who has also played in all six Solheims.

``I definitely wouldn't be a playing captain, I don't believe in it,'' Reid said. ``It is too tough a job out there. There's no way I could play a round of golf and run after these guys bringing rain suits and towels.

Swede Catrin Nilsmark was the only player to go 3-0. Two other Europeans also won three points - Swede Carin Koch, who dropped the 10-foot clinching putt Sunday, and Scot Janice Moodie.

The only American with three points was Kelly Robbins, who was embroiled in the 13th-green controversy with Annika Sorenstam. The Swede was forced to replay her shot after she holed a 25-foot chip and the Americans noticed she had played out of turn. Pat Hurst had 2-1/2.

Laura Davies and Dottie Pepper, the only American to play in all six, scored 1-1/2 points and are tied as the all-time points leaders with 14.

The most unlucky player must have been Mallon, who lost both of her Friday foursomes (alternate shot) matches with Beth Daniel, going down 1-up each time to Sorenstam and Moodie.

The 37-year-old American halved with Davies and Raquel Carriedo in fourball (bestball), then defeated France's Patricia Meunier Lebouc in singles 1-up.

``It was a privilege to be a part of those two matches the first day,'' Mallon said. ``I felt Beth played the best golf I'd seen her play in an awful long time, and I felt like I started out not helping her, but then we clicked coming to the end of both matches.

``You couldn't have found two better matches between Janice, Annika, Beth and myself.''

The 2000 Solheim format had eight foursomes on Friday followed by six fourball matches Saturday and 12 singles on Sunday. The fourball matches were reduced from eight to six because of the early dusk in October in Scotland.

Reid wants to return to the Ryder Cup format with foursomes and fourball mixed together over the first two days.

``The public recognizes that format and everyone watching at home relates to it,'' she said.