GAINESVILLE, Va. — Those expecting a raucous first-tee atmosphere for the opening of the 19th Solheim Cup were in for a rude awakening Friday morning. Instead of a grandstand packed to the brim, members of the American and European teams were met with three-quarters-full stands and hollow cheers.
It’s not that the fans didn’t show up to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club to watch their favorite players kick off the Solheim Cup — it’s that they couldn’t. Due to shuttle-bus issues from the main spectator lot five miles from the venue, thousands of fans could not reach the course in time to watch the opening tee shots.
Melanie and Eric (who declined to give their last names) told GOLF.com they traveled from Washington state to watch the Solheim Cup for the first time. They spent $1,000 on grounds tickets for the entire week and hoped to be in the grandstands for the opening tee shots. But despite arriving at the spectator lot 90 minutes before the first group teed off at 7:05, they did not get through the gates until 7:30.
“We were there at 5:30 in the morning and then just stood in line,” Melanie said. “They’re talking about no one being in the stands, but we were all back there waiting.”
Many fans took to social media to air their grievances as they desperately tried to get to the course in time for the opening tee shots.
According to several fans, there were two main issues that led to the transportation hiccup from the spectator lot. One, there were not enough charter buses to handle the number of fans who arrived early in the morning. And two, volunteers (who use the same lot as fans) were able to jump to the front of the line and bypass many of the fans who arrived well before them.
“Absolutely ridiculous,” said one man who declined to be identified by name. “We get to the line and volunteers are zooming, jumping the line. Bus after bus after bus. Why do you need volunteers if there aren’t any fans at the course? I am pissed.”
The man said he woke up at 4:15 and arrived at the parking lot at 5:15. He breezed through security and got in the shuttle bus line at 5:30. Despite his early start and arrival, he did not get through the gates until the last group of the morning foursomes session was already on the tee for its 7:41 a.m. tee time.
An influx of buses eventually arrived at the spectator lot to account for the huge demand, but by then most of the fans in line had already missed the first-tee festivities.
The LPGA issued the following statement regarding the bussing issues:
“We recognize and deeply apologize to all fans affected by the challenges with shuttling from parking to the golf course. We’ve made significant changes to our transportation system to mitigate these issues moving forward, and we’re working on ways to express our regret to those impacted.”
There were similar logistical issues following the opening ceremony on Thursday evening. Once the event — highlighted by a concert by country-music singer Jordan Davis — ended, the line for the shuttle bus to the parking lot stretched back to the range as hundreds of fans attempted to get back to their cars. One woman, who spoke to GOLF.com on the condition of anonymity, said it took her nearly four hours to get to her hotel (roughly seven miles from RTJ Club) once she got in line for the buses.