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.
“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.”
