Matthew departs Solheim cup in tears

FOR the first time this week, the banks of Loch Lomond were looking more bonny than soggy yesterday, and the European and American captains were able to look forward to the sixth Solheim Cup, which starts today with the morning foursomes.

There have already been tears, for after answering European captain Dale Reid's SOS when Helen Alfredsson tumbled and hurt a hand, Catriona Matthew returned home to North Berwick after playing no more than a practice round.

Alfredsson has pronounced herself fit, which is probably a good thing because a late change would have left the 5ft 4in Scot having to don the 5ft 11in Swede's trousers and poncho for the opening ceremony. It probably also helped that Alfredsson played the full 18 holes in 69, which is rather better than she has managed for most of a very poor season.

"She's upset, I'm upset," Reid said after Matthew departed. "But Alfredsson was the player who was picked and once she said she was all right, that's how it had to be." Having had a public spat with her countrywoman - Matthew said Reid had never contacted her before leaving her out of the team - Reid also insisted "there is no bad blood between us".

Reid has left Alfredsson out of this morning's competition, while another Swede, Lotta Neumann, requested not to play after having a bad time in practice yesterday. To nobody's surprise, Reid has asked Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas to launch the proceedings against the Americans' top pairing of Dottie Pepper and Juli Inkster. "When Laura speaks, you stand to attention, and it would be crazy to split them up," Reid said.

Davies is more than ready for battle after enduring the best part of a week of pre-event formalities. "I'm sick of all the preliminaries and I've done more practice here than for the whole of the rest of the year," she said. "All we seem to be doing is getting ready for another ceremony. It's driving me insane. We are ready to play."

She also revealed that some of her team were annoyed at press coverage suggesting the Americans only had to turn up to win. "Stuff has been written about our players not being fit to lace some of the Americans' shoes but I treat it with the contempt it deserves," she said.

That was before Trish Johnson gave her view that the change of format this year - there are fewer matches because of the October weather - gave the Europeans more of a chance.

Davies's views on the captaincy were also illuminating. "Dale is really relaxed, but she calls a spade a spade," she said. "But how good she is will obviously depend on the result. If she loses she will go down as a totally rubbish captain, because that's the way it goes." Which was not said as harshly as is looks on paper.

The Americans have won all but one of the five contests so far, the exception being at Dalmahoy in 1992. There is a 'must win' feel about the European camp and Reid has already shown that for all her genial bonhomie she has a ruthless streak. Having played in four Solheim Cups, she has been on winning and losing sides and knows which she prefers.

Pat Bradley, her American counterpart, was twitchy yesterday, ducking questions about her pairings and sounding like a record stuck on the word 'focused'. Yet, however undervalued the Europeans feel about being deemed underdogs, after four wins in five attempts it is Bradley and the Americans who have most to lose.