Nine years ago, Alison Lee was an LPGA rookie playing in her first Solheim Cup. She doesn’t remember much of it, although there was one incident that might be hard for anyone to forget.
“I missed the opening gala because I had like food poisoning that week. I had no family there. I knew no one on the team. I just felt like such an outsider,” Lee said on Tuesday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., where they’ll play the 19th edition of the Solheim Cup later this week. It’s also her first time back in the event since 2015. “So to be able to play on the team now, being more familiar with all the girls and being really good friends with all of them, even though it’s only my second time, I do feel like a veteran out here because I’ve been on Tour for so long and I’ve played alongside these girls for a long time. Definitely a very different experience.”
As for that incident in 2015? Let’s look back at that (and more) as we rehash the biggest Solheim Cup controversies in the event’s history. Will we see more memorable moments come Friday? We can’t wait to find out.
A conceded-putt controversy
In perhaps the most well-known Solheim Cup controversy, Lee and Brittany Lincicome battled Suzann Pettersen and Charley Hull in a four-ball match that finished on Sunday morning of the 2015 Solheim Cup in Germany. With the match tied, Lee missed a birdie putt on the 17th hole and picked it up from about 18 inches away. She thought Europe conceded, but Hull and Pettersen informed the rules official that they did not.
“I could have sworn I thought I heard someone say, ‘That’s good,'” Lee said at the time. “It could have been from the stands, I don’t know. I looked at the putt and it was close, looked good to me. And Charley was walking off the fairway, and Suzann was already off the green, so I have no doubt in my mind that it was good. I didn’t even have to think twice about it, I just picked it up.”
Since it wasn’t technically conceded, Lee and Lincicome lost the hole and later the match, 2 up, and Europe led 10-6 heading into singles play. U.S. captain Juli Inkster said of her team, “they’re fired up, but you know what? They were fired up before, too.” The Americans responded with the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history, winning 8 1/2 of the 12 singles points and claiming the Cup with a 14.5-13.5 win.
Lee, who fought tears after the controversy, won her singles match 3 and 1 over Gwladys Nocera. Pettersen, the captain of this year’s European team, also apologized for her handling of the situation the Monday after, posting to Instagram and saying “I’ve never felt more gutted and truly sad about what went down Sunday on the 17th at the Solheim Cup.”
A botched ruling
At the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson were tied with Pettersen and Carlota Ciganda after 14 holes of their Friday four-balls match, but Ciganda hit her second shot into the water on the par-5 15th and a lengthy delay of over 30 minutes ensued. She was allowed to drop about 40 yards behind the point of entry — which the LPGA later clarified was the incorrect ruling — and still made par. The U.S. duo was fuming, and Europe went 1 up on the 16th hole and won the match.
“We regret that an incorrect ruling was given and we apologize for any confusion that was caused on the course for the players,” the LPGA said in a statement that evening. “Ultimately, Ciganda proceeded to play according to the final ruling she was given and the result of the match does not change.”
The 10-second rule
At Inverness Club in 2021, Nelly Korda barely missed an eagle putt on the par-5 13th, leaving it right on the edge. Europe’s Madelene Sagstrom grabbed the ball to concede the birdie putt and tossed it back to Korda. No harm, right? Wrong. In doing so, Sagstrom didn’t allow Korda’s ball the allotted 10 seconds to see if it might still fall into the hole for eagle.
A rules official approached the group and told them Sagstrom violated Rule 13.3b, which reads, “If the opponent in match play deliberately lifts or moves the player’s ball overhanging the hole before the waiting time has ended, the player’s ball is treated as holed with the previous stroke.”
The eagle counted, and Korda and Ally Ewing won the hole and later the match, 1 up.
Hot mic
At the 2007 Solheim Cup in Sweden, Dottie Pepper was a member of the TV squad and thought the broadcast had paused for a commercial break when she said that, ahem, Americans Laura Diaz and Sherri Steinhauer were “choking freaking dogs.” Pepper apologized, and six years later she served as a Solheim Cup assistant captain for Meg Mallon.
Mulligan
During a four-ball match on Saturday of the 2000 Solheim Cup in Scotland, Annika Sorenstam thought she chipped in for birdie to tie the match, only to find out she played out of turn since American Kelly Robbins was actually away. The future hall-of-famer had to replay her shot, failed to chip in and Sorenstam and Janice Moodie lost the match 2 and 1 to Robbins and Pat Hurst.
Concession parade
The 2003 Solheim Cup was easily won by Europe, but the matches all came to a surprising halt as soon as Catriona Matthew beat Rosie Jones 3 and 1 to give Europe the 14.5 points needed to win. Yet instead of the remaining matches playing out for bookkeeping purposes, four of the five were conceded by the trailing players, and the Europeans won 17.5-10.5.
“It went into instant chaos,” said U.S. captain Patty Sheehan. “I didn’t know what was happening.”
