Michelle Wie has been named an assistant captain for the U.S. team at the 2021 Solheim Cup at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The LPGA announced the news from U.S. captain Pat Hurst Wednesday morning, marking Wie’s sixth Solheim Cup appearance and first since 2017.
“Michelle called me early on and said, if you haven’t picked your assistants, can you please consider me,” Hurst said in a conference call with media announcing her decision. “I know she’s very patriotic, loves the red, white and blue just like I do, and her intensity is there. All the players love her. They respect her, and that’s what I need.”
Wie, who welcomed her first child, Makenna, in June, has played on three Solheim Cup-winning teams in her career and holds an overall record of 8-9-1 in the biennial event. Heading into her first Cup in a leadership role, Wie didn’t rule out the possibility she could be a playing assistant captain.
“I definitely want to compete again,” Wie said. “It just depends really on the state of the world more than the state of my game at this point, unfortunately. Whether or not I’m going to be a playing assistant or not, I’ve talked to Pat about that, and that’s a bridge that we’ll cross when we get there, if we even do get there.”
The 30-year-old hasn’t played competitively in more than a year due in equal part to various injuries, her pregnancy and the spread of Covid-19. But even if she’s itching for her first competitive action since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June 2019, Wie has already embraced the leadership role that comes along with her title.
“I think being on the younger side (as) an assistant captain and still playing a lot, I’m hoping that I can relate to the players a lot, the younger players, the older players, because I’ve experienced it all,” Wie said. “I think I’ve experienced a lot of it, so whatever our players are going to be experiencing, hopefully I can guide them and use my experiences to help them.”
There are few golfers capable of drawing off the breadth of matchplay experience Wie has accumulated to date — experience that she hopes will serve the younger players on the U.S. side well.
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“I think because it’s so fresh to me, hopefully I can help the rookies a lot by making them feel comfortable,” Wie said. “I want to be that role that Pat (Hurst) was to me of making players feel comfortable. I think comfortable players and relaxed players make good golf and make for a fun time, and that’s what we’re here for, good culture and the fire to win.”
And this year’s crop already holds an advantage over much of Wie’s previous Solheim Cup experience. In late-July, the LPGA Tour will head to the Inverness Club — the site of next year’s Cup — for the Drive On Challenge. The all-new, three-day event will give players and captains a chance to get comfortable with the course (not to mention, a sneak peek at course setup) ahead of next September’s tournament.
“When we found out that they were going to play Inverness, we were all very excited because you never really get an opportunity to watch players play in a competitive state on the golf course where you’re going to have a Solheim,” Wie said. “I mean, I don’t know if that’s really ever happened. To have a home course where you know that all the American girls are going to play, it’s going to be really interesting to see how they play. That’s definitely going to be something that we look closely at.”
While there might be goals of glory as a Solheim cup captain, for now Wie says the focus is simple.
“As you can imagine, with the title of assistant captain, I just want to help her as much as possible,” she said. “I just want to make her week easier, her year easier, and to assist with the team so we can come home with the trophy.
