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THE SOLHEIM CUPAugust 16, 2013Brad AlexanderMeg MallonLisolette NeumannDottie PepperPARKER, COLORADO THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, we appreciate your patience. It's taken a little while to get this started, but for good reason. Before we address the situation that happened today, I want to get some brief comments from both captains just about how your day went overall, and then we will hear from two of our rules officials. So Lotta, 5‑3 lead. How do you feel? LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Obviously we were extremely happy with that. The girls played, I think the morning was our couple of key matches, we got off to a really good start. We got those first two matches in and even the fourth match was just solid play and just came off to that good start. And obviously a tie in the afternoon, but I think the morning matches just really put us in the right position. So we're‑‑ I think the whole team we feel extremely happy being 5‑3 at this point. THE MODERATOR: Meg? MEG MALLON: Just from what I could see from the matches in the morning, it just seemed like we struggled more with the speed of the greens in the morning and making putts. And it seems like the Europeans had adapted really well to putting early on. So, to me, that looked like the difference from what I could see out there. But it seemed like we got better as the day went on, and felt better about our afternoon matches. And 5‑3 is not awful, but we would like to be in a better position and hopefully, we can get all that back tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: At this point I would like to welcome in Brad Alexander and Sue Witters from the Solheim Cup Rules Committee, who will address the situation that happened on the 15th hole today. BRAD ALEXANDER: Thanks. Yes, there was a rules situation on the 15th hole today involving the player who hit a second shot into a lateral water hazard up by the green. The point that the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard was accurately established, and one of the options under Rule26‑1 C is for the player to drop her ball on the opposite margin of the hazard equidistant from the hole. This point was also accurately established. Rule26‑1 C allows the player to drop within two club lengths of that point on the equal and opposite margin. However, a mistake was made and the player was allowed to drop behind that point in line with the flag stick. Q. What are you saying? (Laughter.) Does that mean that something happened? That the result was wrong or what? BRAD ALEXANDER: The player ended up dropping in a wrong place. Q. So? What? BRAD ALEXANDER: But there was no affect on the player, because she was given an incorrect ruling. Q. So she had two club lengths, how far did she end up dropping from that spot? BRAD ALEXANDER: She dropped behind that spot by approximately 40 yards. So 40 yards further from the hole than she actually was. Q. Who made the ruling? BRAD ALEXANDER: Originally the match referee started with the ruling and then I got called in for the second opinion. Q. So this is this a decision that can't be corrected, so everything stands? BRAD ALEXANDER: Everything stands. THE MODERATOR: At this point I would like to let the captains address their feelings, starting with Lotta. I know you were there on the hole. LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, I was right there. But I‑‑ when I saw the ball cross the line into the water hazard, I just wanted to‑‑ can I say the player's name or. THE MODERATOR: Yes. LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Carlota ‑‑ I didn't know (laughter). Everybody knows who it is, but we talked about the player and the player. So for Carlota to know that she‑‑ when it's a red hazard markings, that she could have the option to go on the other side of the hazard. So I ran over there just to make sure that she knew that, and she said to me, oh, I didn't know that. But at the same time as the referee had told her that she had that option. So we started to measure and we went on the other side of the hazard and everything and we couldn't‑‑ the referee couldn't determine if that was closer to the hole or not. And he decided to call in Brad for another opinion about it. And basically, when they came out, they looked at the line and then they decided that wherever the ball had crossed over here, and then where the line came in, it was actually about 10 yards to the left. And he told her the option was to drop it in two club lengths of there or she can go as far back on the line, with the line, and the pin as far back as she wanted. So she ended up going back probably 40 yards and she dropped the ball there and then she hit it on the green. THE MODERATOR: Meg, your thoughts on the situation? MEG MALLON: Well, obviously, I'm not happy about it. The thing I'm most unhappy about is that it took ‑‑ and we can time it on the TV, I don't know ‑‑ I think it took about 25 minutes for this to happen. And from our perspective the momentum, which was coming in our favor at that point in time, obviously had stopped. Stacy Lewis, who is very adept at the rules, was quite angry about what was happening and I don't blame her. They had the momentum going in their favor, and I think it's not‑‑ people make mistakes in rulings, that's not my issue. We have four matches out there and we have officials with every group, and it shouldn't take that long for something like that to happen. So I think that's my only ‑‑ and it's a big one‑‑ issue, with what transpired, is that not only the momentum of that match, but there were three groups on that hole waiting in the fairway. Angela's and Gerina's match, the momentum had changed and they had to sit in the fairway for that long for them to, not only make the wrong ruling, but in favor, you know, and changing the momentum of the matches. So, obviously, I'm not pleased, but it's the Rules of Golf, and we have to accept that as a team, and we have to go out tomorrow and play our best and try and get those points back. THE MODERATOR: At this point we'll take some more questions and then we will get to the morning foursomes pairings for Saturday. Randy? Q. Meg, was there a clear advantage from where she got to take her drop from? What was the big deal about that? MEG MALLON: Yes. Q. What was the advantage? MEG MALLON: Yes. You'll see it on TV. DOTTIE PEPPER: I think it needs to be clarified that that was not a water hazard, it was a lateral hazard, and those options are distinctly different. And that presented part of the questions that were asked to be clarified at the end and still left the question mark. Q. Why were none of these questions raised at the 15th hole during the 25 minutes that this was taking place, if you had people who are adept at the rules, and could have suspected that this drop was not right? MEG MALLON: There were. It was quite a lot of confusion going on, like Lotta said, they were looking for two golf balls. You had the five minutes, or the amount of time that you had, to look for a golf ball. Then you had a hazard that meanders and trying to figure out what, where to drop. So when Brad came on the scene, things happened fast. Even though he made the wrong ruling, at least it was something done quickly. That was my issue with the whole thing.  Is that‑‑ you know, here's my team sitting there, after they are just charging and making a come back, and then they have to sit. And so not only does it change the psyche of my team, but it changes the psyche of the other team, because they can have time to regroup. Q. A follow‑up? So is there the suggestion that, I mean, you still had two players who had putts that would have won that hole and would have in some ways made this a moot point. But was Stacy's‑‑ was she upset because she felt like she missed that putt because she had gotten cold from waiting for so long? MEG MALLON: She was upset because she wasn't getting the right answers from the officials, about what they were doing. And it was obvious that the official that was on board in the first go didn't know what he was doing. And that's what took so much time. And like I said, Stacy is very adept at the rules, and was getting upset about the fact that the right things weren't happening. Q. Just to clarify, Stacy questioned the legitimacy of the drop at the time, is that correct? MEG MALLON: She was questioning everything that was going on. I mean, where, how the hazard was drawn out. Why they were getting a drop where they were. Everything that was going on. And ultimately these guys, it's their job. They're telling us this is the right thing to do. So the problem was, is how long it took. And Lexi Thompson is sitting over a chip shot for‑‑ maybe I'm exaggerating, 20 to 25 minutes. And Stacy's waiting for a putt that she's thrown up there, and if you know anything in sports, momentum's everything. And she's hit a shot up there close. Lexi is up there close to the green. We had the absolute advantage on that hole. They're both in the hazard. Q. Dottie, you were on the spot there. What would have happened had there been no official at all and it had been resolved between the players. How quickly would that have been ruled on? MEG MALLON: They still would have called an official. DOTTIE PEPPER: They couldn't determine where Ciganda's ball was. Q. So it wasn't enough, as you said, to know, to have ascertained what kind of hazard it was? DOTTIE PEPPER: Well I think it's very important to remember that that was in fact marked or is in fact marked as a lateral water hazard, it is not a water hazard. There are significantly different options there. You had two rulings going on at the same time and I think that's what compounded it. You had the Pettersen ball in the hazard, which had followed the Ciganda ball into it. And one needed to be located and one needed to be determined if she was going to play out of the hazard at all. So I think that that set the motion of having two different rulings going on at the same time. So that's where things started to run a foul early. But there was not clear definition about the definition. And I think that ‑‑ they just had to try to find Suzann's ball to see it if she was going to play out of the hazard. LISELOTTE NEUMANN: They found it right away. DOTTIE PEPPER: But they needed to determine if she was going to go ahead and play and then find Ciganda's ball. But they were all going on simultaneously. There was no ruling. There was no ruling it was just a definition of where the golf ball was. LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah. MEG MALLON: Yeah. Q. Meg, it was a tough day for Stacy, the top American in the world, what was her state of mind tonight and how important is that to the American team? MEG MALLON: She was upset about the day, because actually she was starting to turn her game around as well at that time. She started playing well and making birdies. So that's my job to go back and get her refocused for tomorrow, which I'm sure she's already there. She's a very bright person and knows that it's in her best interests to play her best golf tomorrow. But I have to go back and address the team and let them know this. And then deal with that as we can go forward into tomorrow, because they're going to hear about it, I can't keep it from them, so I got to talk to them about it. Q. For Meg and Dottie, you've been to this course a bunch, you've walked it, you've done everything with it. And Stacy had mentioned that she wasn't even sure if the boundaries on that hazard were drawn up correctly. So I guess the question is, are you looking for some more clarity on that hazard or did you ever ask any questions about it beforehand? MEG MALLON: I mean, you know, well, I guess the officials could say that, I don't think there's anything you can change once they have marked it. So really it's a moot point. To me. DOTTIE PEPPER: I just think that the conversation that Stacy and I had with the official afterwards was a clarification issue. And go back to the definitions of what a lateral hazard is and what your options are, what that equidistant point on the opposite side of the hazard is, because that is one of your options. Because there were so many things going on at the same time. A, locating the golf ball, where it cleared the margin of the hazard; and then bringing the equidistant portion of the rule, as an option. So as a player, you ask for all of those to be defined. And I just, I don't think we got the clear definition or how the process was handled and that's why Stacy was looking for more answers. MEG MALLON: And just to give you a time frame, I was with the last match when I heard this was going on. This was the first match. And you know what it's like to get across this golf course. Brad hadn't come on to the scene even close by the time I got to this match. So that's how long all of this was taking. Q. For Lotta, I believe it was 27 minutes between the time that they started this ruling and then and Carlota hit her shot in. Talk about her mindset, because then she had to hit a pretty, I mean her putt off the fringe to halve that hole. She kind of had to hold it together for a long time, just like the Americans had to wait a long time. LISELOTTE NEUMANN: No, of course, she was obviously looking for her ball and worried about everything that was going on. So obviously she hit a great shot in there and she knew she had to make the putt and she made it. So it was obviously a huge putt for her. Q. If Meg or anyone, if any one of the players, captains, anyone, recognized that it was the wrong spot from which Ciganda hit it from, did anyone make a complaint before the next tee and if not, why not? MEG MALLON: There was a lot of complaining going on. I don't know if it was a proper complaint, but there was a lot of commotion going on with the galleries and everything else. Stacy was complaining all the way through. And Lexi wasn't happy as well. But the right complaint? No. Because we didn't ‑‑ we didn't discover that they had made the wrong ruling. THE MODERATOR: At this point we'll announce the pairings for tomorrow morning's foursome matches. In match number nine the Europeans will play? LISELOTTE NEUMANN: The first out is Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall. MEG MALLON: Against Morgan Pressel and Jessica Korda. THE MODERATOR: Second match of the morning? LISELOTTE NEUMANN: The Europeans playing Azahara Munoz and Karine Icher. MEG MALLON: Against Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer. THE MODERATOR: In the third match? LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Catriona Matthew with Caroline Masson. MEG MALLON: Against Brittany Lincicome and Lizette Salas. LISELOTTE NEUMANN: And our fourth match we have Suzann Pettersen with Beatriz Recari. MEG MALLON: Against Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang. Q. What's Jessica having for breakfast? (Laughter.) MEG MALLON: Not bananas. Q. But she won. (Laughter.) MEG MALLON: Hey, yeah. Q. Give her two bananas? MEG MALLON: Bill Russell used to throw up before every game. Q. I wanted to ask Meg about Michelle Wie putting a point on the board. I know she was a somewhat controversial pick and just what you thought of her play today. MEG MALLON: I thought it was great. That's why I put her out in the afternoon in best ball, to see where she was and how comfortable she was on the golf course. And I liked what I saw. That's why I'm putting her out tomorrow morning. THE MODERATOR: Captains, officials, thank you very much for joining us tonight. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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