Team USA is struggling to make sense of what happened last week at the Solheim Cup. Most of all, captain Angela Stanford is looking for things to blame when it comes to their defeat. She did find a few culprits, including their analytical team and the conditions, none of which the European captain, Anna Nordqvist, entertained.

In a passionate statement following Sunday’s beatdown, Stanford confessed it was too early to say whether she would have done some things differently, but firmly placed the blame on the greens. It was, according to Stanford, way too slow for the Americans. Nordqvist, however, did not buy it.

“I mean, we’re in Europe and in September. We know how the weather can be,” Nordqvist said when asked about Stanford’s claims. “… We worked really hard… I’m not sure I believe a lot in setting up a way to fit Europe because these girls play the same golf courses week in and week out competing… But that’s obviously the weather; we can’t control that… Greens might have been a little bit slower, but it was nothing we really could control.”

The European team had arrived at the course in July to better prepare for the Solheim Cup. At that time, however, it was summer, so the course played differently. Over the following weeks, it rained heavily. That means that the greens that were once firm played slower and softer than before. The European team still played it, and played it better.

The loss, however, appears to have weighed heavily on Stanford. She admitted that she made a tactical mistake that may have contributed to her side’s defeat. According to the captain, she failed to emphasize enough to her players that the greens at Bernardus were expected to be unusually slow, leaving some of them struggling to adjust to the conditions.

“I think we just didn’t make enough putts. Europeans always putt better. I don’t know why. Apparently I didn’t get to know the superintendent as well as I should have.” Much to the chagrin of many, that wasn’t a good enough excuse, especially considering the performance from her players.

Take the case of Megan Khang. Sure, Khang did better than expected in the first two days. But it was harder to hide the real culprit behind her poor season in the Sunday singles: her putter. She ranks 147th in SG: Putting on the LPGA. Charley Hull defeated her, 3 and 2. Angel Yin played 15 holes at 5-over in singles.

The only relief came thanks to Jennifer Kupcho on Saturday. Kupcho sank two big putts on the last two holes, including one from 93 feet, to win an unlikely point for her team. There was some hope, but it was limited. The problem is, Stanford had other issues as well.

She blamed a lack of analytical support, saying, “Like in Spain, we had people giving us strokes gained in each match, even in practice. And we didn’t have that this year.” Add to that the team’s much criticised untimely celebrations on Saturday, and you have a proper argument for how and why Team Europe won seven of the singles on Sunday.

Stanford spoke in defense of that, too, saying, “That’s kind of tricky because you don’t ever want to take away from that moment. The worst thing I could have done is go in there and be like: ‘OK, y’all. Come off this high.’ You don’t want to take away from those moments. We’re never going to see anything like that again.”

Team Europe’s vice-captain Mel Reid, however, didn’t like it either way. “I think it was probably misinterpreted a little bit, but seeing them with beers like they’d won the Solheim Cup yesterday, we were aware of it. The Solheim Cup is supposed to be celebrated on a Sunday, not a Saturday,” she said, as per Golf Channel.

While Nordqvist doesn’t agree with Stanford’s claims about the slow greens at Bernardus Golf last week, the US captain felt her players needed to be more aggressive with their putting, particularly after several putts came up short during the event. Stanford explained that the greens had been faster when the team visited the course earlier in the summer, making the conditions during the Solheim Cup somewhat unexpected.

Whether the slower setup existed, or whether it ultimately benefited Europe, the fact remains that Team USA still leads the overall Solheim Cup record with 11 wins to Europe’s eight, along with one tie, which came in 2024.

On European soil, however, Team Europe holds the advantage with six victories compared with three for the Americans. Team USA will now have two years to reflect on the defeat and prepare for the 2028 edition, which will return to American soil.

In any case, Stanford’s comments about the slower greens may remind some fans of similar remarks made by U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.

Keegan Bradley had a similar problem

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley pointed to Bethpage Black’s unexpectedly soft and slow greens as one of the factors that worked against Team USA during its 15-13 loss to Europe. He admitted after the defeat that he “made a mistake” with his course setup, including reducing the rough and moving up tees, but also acknowledged that the greens never became as firm or fast as anticipated. 

“The greens were as soft as I’ve ever seen greens without it raining,” Bradley said. “Especially here, it can get pretty firm, and they never firmed up. We didn’t want the greens to be like this soft.” 

The U.S. had expected faster putting surfaces to provide an advantage, with Bradley noting that PGA Tour players typically compete on quicker greens than European players. Vice captain Jim Furyk later revealed that American players questioned whether the greens actually reached the requested 12.5 on the Stimpmeter. 

“Guys had a hard time getting putts to the hole, and it did appear to be a little gluey,” Furyk said. 

Having said that, blaming slow greens can appear to be an easy way for captains to explain away a loss. But had the Ryder Cup been played on American soil and produced the same result, would Stanford have viewed the issue in the same way?