Solheim Cup rookie refused to give her opponent a tap-in putt

Gamesmanship. It’s the best part of any and every team competition, especially in golf. We saw a healthy dose of it at the 2019 Solheim Cup on Sunday, first with Caroline Hedwall’s concession of a putt that was hanging on the edge for little more than a second, and later with Solheim Cup Rookie Megan Khang’s refusing to give a tap-in.

It came on Gleneagles’ 17th hole of Khang’s match against Charley Hull. Hull, leading one up at the time, had lagged her put to what looked to be less than a foot short of the hole. Make that, and she’d half the match.

Hull looked over quickly but no concession came, so Hull marked her 11 inch putt and went to work. She went through her hole routine, reading it…

Lining it up…

Then, finally, knocking it in.

Classic piece of gamesmanship. It didn’t pay off on this occasion, but perhaps it affected the next hole. Hull lost the 18th hole to help Khang halve the match.