SOLHEIM CUP

February 20, 2024

Stacy Lewis

Morgan Pressel

Angela Stanford

Paula Creamer

Brittany Lincicome

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us everybody. We're excited today to have Stacy Lewis, captain of the 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup team here with us.

Stacy, I'm going to turn the floor over to you for this exciting announcement. Can you confirm what we're here to talk about?

STACY LEWIS: Yes. I think the word is already out, but just exciting day to kind of finalize the team that's going to help me at RTJ in September. Two familiar faces with Morgan and Angela. They're coming back from last year, and then adding Brittany and Paula.

So it was actually a hard decision to figure out where I wanted to go with putting this group together. You know, throughout that process, kind of came up with the idea of adding a fourth. Had to go through the channels to make that happen, but I'm excited. I think this group is going to work really well together.

I think having them all out on tour in various roles is going to be very helpful as well. The girls will get to see all of them quite a bit throughout this process, and to get to know them better.

Obviously the experience. I mean, gosh, I don't know how many Solheim Cups it is if you add us all up on this screen. Lots of Solheim Cups, lots of matches played. That was really what I was going for with this group of assistants.

THE MODERATOR: You certainly do have a ton of experience here. I'm going to start out with a question for Paula. You talk about experience. Paula, you're one of the most decorated U.S. players in Solheim Cup history: 17 match victories, seven foursomes wins, 19.5 points scored overall. It's an incredible stats.

Now you're going to be seeing it from the flipside. What do you think you're going to expect? And I'll also ask the question I love to ask everybody, what were your thoughts when Stacy pulled you aside and asked you to be on the team?

PAULA CREAMER: It's funny, the first thing I said to her was, you know I want to play for you. That's my goal. She goes, I know, you can still play. I'm like, but we all know Solheim Cup, there is just something about it that has always brought the best out of me.

I've played with Morgan, Brittany, and Stacy. I've never got the chance to play with Ang, but we have been on plenty of teams together. When she asked that, I said, well, I want to play.

But it's not about me. It's never been. I think that that's kind of when you're able to take yourself out of everything and wear the red, white, and blue and play for your partners, I hope I can pass that down. There are just so many things bigger going on that week.

The fact that we have the ability to go and represent our country and play for one another, we just don't get that opportunity all the time. It's now in D.C., my goodness, it couldn't have been a better picture painted.

I'm honored, truly honored to be asked.

THE MODERATOR: And Brit, pivot to you and ask the same thing. When Stacy asked you the immediate answer was yes, yes, yes. What was going through your mind when you get that request, and was it something that had crossed your mind before that you would want to do?

BRITTANY LINCICOME: For sure. I think kind of took me by surprise because we were walking out of daycare. I think it was like maybe would you want to do to someday, not like, no, you're going to do it this time.

When it finally processed in my brain quickly and I got chills on my legs, it was like the coolest thing. Being on the team and playing on the team is one thing. Just sitting out the last couple, whether it's through kids or not playing well enough, being on the sideline, so being pack back a part of it and wearing the red, white, and blue, there is literally nothing better.

Gives me chills just thinking about it, and just being able to give any advice, whether it's to a rookie, I'm going to tell you you're probably going to be feeling like you're going to throw up on the first tee, how I was way back to the day.

Whether I'm running to get peanut butter and jellies, I want to be there as much as I can, any way I can, and just an honor to be a part of team.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned the kids, Brit. I think it's so cool between you and Paula and Stacy we're going to be adding four little girls to the team room. Any of us who got the chance to go to the team room in Spain and realized Chesnee was the 13th member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team. Any one of you, I'll take it to Paula next, how excited are you to show that little curly haired Hilton this room of amazing women they're going to look up to?

PAULA CREAMER: Goodness, even talking about it I get goosebumps. I used to sit there and think, gosh, I would see everybody who had their kids raise the flags and their kids watching. Gosh, I would love to be able to do that. Now the fact that Hilton is going to be able to participate in things -- we'll manage which ones she's able to come to or not.

The wild loud ones, we can take her for sure. I can't wait. The fact that Brit's kids, Chesnee, Hilton loves Che-Che. It's so neat that we're able to kind of go through all of this together, and hopefully one day all of them are on the same team. That would be pretty cool. I know that's asking a lot, but dream big, right?

THE MODERATOR: Brit and Stacy will be keeping Bardene and team busy that week.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: For sure. Just to show them what we have done before and now being assistants, just to have them there for opening ceremonies, show them an event that mommy has played in before, it's going to be so cool to have them there.

I need to start shopping for red, white, and blue now.

PAULA CREAMER: I've already done that.

STACY LEWIS: 4th of July is the best time for that. Chesnee had such an unbelievable experience. She knows what Solheim Cup is. We talk about it and she loves wearing her Go, USA gear. I think it's so great for her to be around the other girls and see strong women and just to have people to look up to.

To her they're just her friends. She'll realize it one day who these girls actually were. To have this experience and get to do it together, and dancing on the first tee and having no clue there are thousands and millions of people watching, it's just so cool to see things like this from a kid's perspective.

THE MODERATOR: It is incredible. Stacy, you were at RTJ last week. Got to do really your first major drive-around on the golf course and finally see it.

STACY LEWIS: Yes.

THE MODERATOR: What are your thoughts and how are you going to rely on the team here to get around that? It's got some spread-out parts.

STACY LEWIS: It does. For those that were in Spain it's a much better walk than Spain. Much more accessible than Spain was. It's a beautiful golf course. The back nine along the lake there, just the scene that it's going to set, a lot of holes are next to each other, which is great for the crowds. You'll hear roars in various parts of the golf course. The golf course itself is going to be unbelievable.

The biggest takeaway is the first hole is really hard. That's what all the members decided to tell me about how hard the first hole was. Don't like starting the rounds with doubles. We'll pay attention to the first hole from there.

But I'll use -- I think the best part about this group we have is they're all playing in some capacity, so they can go play the golf course, get a feel for the different shots we're going to need to hit and the type of players that are going to play well there just to help narrow this list and when it comes times for picks.

Q. Stacy, I know you mentioned the process to get the four assistants. What value do you see in having four this year?

STACY LEWIS: Obviously I got experience in Spain in an overseas Solheim Cup. Then just kind of last fall as we started going through what we were going to need this year, how it was going to be different hosting versus being away, and things just kind of started to pile up.

I felt like we needed more bodies, a little bit more help. The girls are going to have -- they have more people with them. They have trainers, more family traveling. It's bigger. There is more going on. So just felt like it would be great to have more people to help behind the scenes.

Then also on the golf course itself, last year we tried to divide practice rounds up a little bit where the girls weren't playing in foursomes so they would just play a little faster and didn't take so long, which I thought was very successful.

The bad part about that was we always had one group that was without a captain. So that was also part of adding a fourth, was so we can continue to do practice rounds that way and everybody felt like they had somebody with them all day.

Q. Stacy, didn't bring Natalie back this year. What led you to decide to not bring her back, especially given such a short turnaround from last year?

STACY LEWIS: Yeah, and probably the hardest thing I've had to do in this whole captaincy was to talk to her. It really boiled down us being prepared for the future.

Natalie was great. She did everything we asked. She was so positive. I know the girls loved having her there. I just felt like you look back to especially when Juli was captain for those three years, she had the same assistants every time. I feel like that set us back a little bit in not having our captains prepare for the future.

So I personally think everybody should be an assistant at least once if not twice prior to being captain. There are so many moving parts and so much to learn. It was really more about the future, and unfortunately that kind of took Natalie out of the mix.

It was more about the future and having us ready for eight, ten years from now so there is not so much transition from year to year.

Q. Does that mean terms of the future that either the group that selects future Solheim captain didn't see Natalie as a future captain, or she didn't express interest in being a captain down the road?

STACY LEWIS: I don't exactly know if it's a written criteria, but it's the criteria we used, is we go Solheim Cup experience and major champions. I think you look in our past, other than Rosey that's what we have stuck to.

So I just see us going that way in the future because we have so many players that have won majors that are basically in line to become captains that I think we will continue that way.

Q. Question for Paula and Brittany. You both have loads of highlights over the years in your career. What role has the Solheim Cup played in defining your career? Brit, start with you.

BRITTANY LINCICOME: Oh, gosh. I mean, just, again, to wear red, white, and blue, it's probably the biggest highlight of my career. Winning majors, first tournament, all these wonderful accomplishments. We haven't had the Olympics picks until recently, so it had always bee our Olympics. To be able to put on the red, white, and blue. Morgan made the hair bows back in the day. The face paint. There is nothing better. To be a part of it again is truly incredible.

PAULA CREAMER: For me, I think it was -- I made the Solheim Cup my rookie year on my own; made the team. That was a goal.

Then I made it for a couple years and then I was a pick and then I was an alternate. I have literally done every role that you can imagine through Solheim. I think all of it just came back to playing for a team and having a partner.

Morgan was always my partner, and having her with me, it didn't matter how bad I was playing or how uncomfortable, always figured out a way to do it. Took a part of me as a person, I learned more about who I was actually through that week, and that determination and whatnot.

And seeing all the fans and seeing everybody, you know, wearing the red, white, and blue of course is such a big thing. Being on a team with girls that you compete against every week and being in a locker room with them and they're sitting there saying, come on, let's do this. How do you do it. There is nothing better than that honestly. It doesn't matter what ranking you are or any of that. You just become 12 players and that's it. You go out and try to retain the Cup and win the Cup. So that's what I took from it.

Q. Stacy, I know you have many roles for your assistants. Can you elaborate on where Morgan and Angela fit in, what they did last year and coming into this year, and where you think Paula and Brittany will fit into that scheme.

STACY LEWIS: Brittany already told me she's not on stats. I do know that. No, I mean -- well, part of that is we're still working through it, to be honest. Literally at the DriveOn event was when this was all finalized, because I wanted to ask them in person, not over the phone.

So kind of working through that. Obviously Morgan has been my go-to with all the clothes, so we've continued to move down that path. Just opening ceremony clothes and things like that, she has been an unbelievable help. No idea how much she's helped me with all that.

And Ang, I kind of gave her the task last time of really learning the players and the stats and being really helpful there. So I know she'll continue with that because she loves it. We'll figure out where Brittany and Paula feel comfortable. Do they want to know the stats stuff? Do they want to look and say, yeah, this looks good. We're going to figure that out, how they work into this group.

Right now it's about getting everybody on the same page of what the week is going to look like, the schedule. We're planning the week out right now, using all their past experiences to make sure we get everything right.

Q. I was wondering if anyone has a specific memory from a Solheim Cup where a captain or assistant was really impactful for you, if they said something that really turned a match around or anything like that.

PAULA CREAMER: Go ahead, Morgan or Ang.

ANGELA STANFORD: I want to hear what you all have to say.

MORGAN PRESSEL: For me, and maybe it's one of the most recent, but Juli and her passion and energy that she brought as captain into the team room, keeping everything light, energetic. You never felt like it was as serious and heavy as it can be. We can all feel that way putting so much pressure on ourselves to want to perform.

And maybe just being the most recent is the one that really sticks in out the most to me. The way that she would come on the golf course and be so positive and so upbeat. Even when you weren't playing well. You don't want to disappoint Juli. She's one of the grittiest players you'll ever see and was that way as captain, and that I think rubbed off on all of us a good bit.

I would have to say these are five of some of the grittiest players you'll ever find, too.

STACY LEWIS: Mine is a Juli one, too. I learned this after the fact, but I think it was when I was paired up with Gerina in a match Des Moines. I was not playing well and not very happy. I know that's shocking.

She went up to my dad and was like basically do I yell at her or give her a hug? My dad was like, yell at her. She came up and we yelled at each other and I was fine.

That's what I learned from her, is just how she treated everybody differently, like what they needed. She made sure to get to know you, or if she didn't know you, she asked, to go about things the right way.

That's what I appreciated most about playing for Juli.

THE MODERATOR: Morgan and Ang, you've been quiet, but wanted to get your reaction on adding Brit and Paula to the team, what you learned from last year and how they'll fit in. Angela, you get to go first.

ANGELA STANFORD: I think the cool part about Brittany and PC coming along is that I think we're all friends. That's first. And then we've all played against each other. That's second.

The thing that is the coolest is we all have this respect and love for the Solheim Cup. You know, everything that I felt like Morgan and myself and Natalie hopefully did for Stacy in Spain, this is just another boost. Like we're on the same lines here. It's nothing out of the ordinary or not going to surprise anybody.

The ultimate respect and love that we all share for the Solheim Cup is just going to bring that much more energy. And that week, I think it matters to have people in the room that -- Paula winning that much, Bam being on winning teams. I've always said you have to learn how to win. I said that to Stacy when we were still in Spain driving back to the clubhouse.

I said, you have to turn the tide. I know a lot of people were upset with the tie, but we learned how to do something that week. Having the experience and adding Bam and PC, I think we're going to surge to hopefully winning this time.

They have a lot of experience, but mostly I think just the respect and the love for the Cup is pretty cool. That we're all going to share.

MORGAN PRESSEL: Going off what Angela said, I think the thing I come back to is passion and energy. We certainly know Brittany and Paula both have tremendous experience. And truly winning, we think so many of the players that will be on that team in Virginia will have never celebrated on Sunday night a victory, and we hope to change that tide. We have some unfinished business.

I think the passion, really teaching the next generation. It's still going to be a young team. What does it mean to represent your country. These are some of the most passionate people you'll see ever about the Solheim Cup. More important, as both said, than winning majors or anything we've really ever accomplished in our career. How do we really share that message with these younger players who are coming out and maybe playing in Solheim for the first or second time, really sharing that passion and message.

I think Brittany and Paula will be an incredible addition to the team room in those moments where nobody else really sees what happens. But we all know how important that encouragement is, having been in those team rooms, having had other players before us, past captains and assistant captains share that message with us. They will definitely add to at that fold.

Q. Angela, for you, I think one of the biggest things I feel like you talked about after Solheim last year was there was a culture shift. How excited are you to continue to capitalize on that this year, and how much do you think Brittany and Paula are going to help move that further forward with their passion and spunk?

ANGELA STANFORD: Yeah, I'm trying to think of a good analogy that I can get away with on this Zoom. It's almost like experiencing the highest high you can experience. I think that team, those ladies, they got a little bit of it. Like they saw, wow -- I mean, like Paula was saying earlier, we are together in this. We weren't successful. We didn't lose.

It was almost like kind of dangling the carrot now. I think we want more of that. That was interesting. Really enjoyed that. I want to see if I can get more of that. They're going to find out with Paula and Bam that, hey, we already know that. We know what you're going after and you're going to love it.

So I think it's just reinforcements that when they're in the team room they're going to be like, yeah, I know exactly what you're feeling and exactly how amazing this is going to be when we hold the Cup on Sunday.

I think they got a taste of it. They started to gel and they were kind of like, this is kind of fun. And Stacy said it, too. Right after when we were all huddled, we don't have to wait two more years. I think that's going to work in our favor. It's fresh on their minds. Oh, cool we get to do that again in '24.

Q. For any of you, I know obviously all colleagues and have been colleagues for quite sometime. How cool is it to be in this position and to not only serve alongside each other and serve Stacy as friends and teammates and people that have been in this environment? I don't know who would want to answer that. Maybe Paula. Feel like it's a cool group of friends getting to take this on and shift the Solheim Cup in a positive direction for the U.S.

PAULA CREAMER: It is really neat, the fact that Morgan and Brit and I played on a junior Solheim Cup team together and played in the real Solheim Cup together and now assistant captains. And like having Stacy captain us? Like I feel like I'm -- I'm not playing, but I want to do everything I can for her. I feel like I'm playing -- well, I'm not playing right now, but it's so neat that our whole golf career we have gone through so many ups and downs and so many highs and we've all experienced it together.

Ang has been on as many teams as -- how many teams have you've been on Ang?

ANGELA STANFORD: Six, 2003 was the first one. I don't even know if you were...

PAULA CREAMER: I wasn't on that one; '05 was my first one.

ANGELA STANFORD: You were a baby then, 15.

PAULA CREAMER: 16, I was 16. But it's so cool how that just shows the strength of American golf as well. We are lasting through all this. We're still so involved and we want to continue to grow the game.

Yeah, we all are friends. I think that's a pretty neat thing. That we can sit there and be like, no, I don't like that and, yeah, that's awesome. That's a great thing. Stacy did that last year. She knows what she's doing.

I have all the amount of respect for her for being a mom, wife, playing on tour, and being a captain. Like my God, I can't even imagine doing all those things and here I am excited to be the assistant captain.

I just tip my hat to her. She did a great job with the girls last year and knows what she's going to do this year. To be a part of that and with this group, I mean, I don't know, but it's kind of -- it's pretty awesome. I feel like it's some good mojo going on with that.

STACY LEWIS: To me, it's really just kind of a full circle thing. We all kind of came out on tour somewhat together at the same time. You're stuck in your own ways and worrying about yourself and people start growing up and figuring out the person they're going to be. To see the five of us all come together is to me really cool.

I remember in college and watching Paula and you guys at those Solheim Cups. It's just really I guess full circle of where you kind of -- how your relationships evolved with people throughout your career to now have kids the same age and kids are playing together, it's just really cool.

I think you think back ten years and I don't think any one of us thought we would be in this position.

PAULA CREAMER: No, goodness.

MORGAN PRESSEL: I'll jump in on Stacy as captain for a minute having experienced it for now almost the last three years, which is quite crazy, two and a half years.

She's an incredible leader. She is exceptionally thorough. Doesn't leave any stone unturned. Knows how to speak to each and every player with hard conversations. I watched her do it last year, some really hard conversations.

Just very up front, and I think the players have tremendous respect for her because of that, and I certainly do. I took a lot of notes, Stacy. I don't know if you know that. Like you said, Paula, all the hats she wears and does it all, makes it all look so easy.

I don't quite know when she sleeps. Granted, we don't get much sleep Solheim week, so prepare for that. It's just she's really a tremendous leader. I think the respect that she has gained from the players, especially the 12 last year and then whether there will be a couple of changes, we don't really foresee too many changes within one calendar year, but it's been impressive to watch from the sidelines.

THE MODERATOR: I think Stacy ate and slept when Meaghan Francella reminded her to sleep and eat.

STACY LEWIS: Yes. Shoving peanut butter sandwiches in my face.

THE MODERATOR: It was a great week, and I know we're really excited. I guess I'll throw a question out to Stacy. I know you let your potential Team USA players know this morning of the team you built around you here. You've been talking to them about potential opportunities coming up with fittings and visits to RTJ, but managing that around their schedules. What have you heard from the players in general and how psyched are you to get ready to go to RTJ in September?

STACY LEWIS: I heard from a couple. Most are asleep in Thailand right now. Good thing we're not hearing from them. I was actually talking to some of the players about this process and who was going to be captains. Now it's time to really dive into it. The players are going to be busy this year. We're planning fittings and dinners down the road, and kind of -- but they're going to see a lot of the same from last year from me, so trying to leave them alone, let them go play great golf.

I'll keep them informed on what we're working on and not try to bug them too much until we get closer to Solheim.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks to everybody for joining. We're really excited. I'm thrilled to work with you five, and we'll see everybody before then, but in September at RTJ. Thanks for joining us so much everybody.