FUTURES Tour Alums Play Key Roles In First Day Of Solheim Cup CARMEL, Ind., September 9, 2005 -- Leave it to Cristina Kim to put a different spin on the first day of competition at the Solheim Cup. When asked how the experience of playing the first match of her rookie start in this biennial team match play compared to her expectations of the event, the Californian called it "the difference between heaven and a bean." Huh? But that's Cristina Kim, the outrageous rookie who earned her LPGA Tour card through the FUTURES Golf Tour in 2002. With morning foursomes (alternate shot) and afternoon four-ball (best ball) matches between the 12 best women professionals from Europe and America, the first day of the 2005 Solheim Cup featured plenty of drama from both rookies and veterans of each side. Following the morning matches, Europe grabbed a 3-1 lead, and by completion of the afternoon rounds, the visiting team had built a 5-3 advantage. The Americans were up in three of its four morning matches before succumbing to a roaring finish by the Europeans. The Yanks again led in three of four matches in the afternoon, but could do no better than split with the Europeans, winning two of the four nightcap matches. By day's end of Day One in this year's ninth Solheim Cup, rookies had been properly initiated in one of the most prestigious and widely attended events in women's golf. But it was veteran experience that stepped up time and time again to set the pace for the newcomers. "A lot of the veterans told me if I puked on the first hole, it wouldn't be the first time," said Kim, of San Jose, Calif., who admitted she had never played an alternate-shot format in competition before this week's event. "It was the most emotionally raw experience I've ever had in my life. But it's a beautiful thing." Kim and partner Pat Hurst of California held a 3-up lead with four holes to play over Europe's veteran team of Sophie Gustafson of Sweden and Trish Johnson of Great Britain. But the Europeans surged late to win holes 15, 16 and 17 to draw the match back to all-square. The two sides halved the match. "That's the way match play is," said Hurst, competing in her fourth Solheim Cup. "We've got to learn to close the door." Playing in the first group in the morning foursomes, rookie Paula Creamer and veteran Beth Daniel were 2 up over Sweden's Carin Koch and Scotland's Catriona Matthew from holes eight through 14. But Europe fought back to win holes 15 and 17 to square the match going into the last hole. Once again, the overall match was halved. "I told Paula we needed to hit fairways and greens today and I feel like we gave ourselves really good opportunities for birdie," said Daniel, 48, of Creamer, her 19-year-old foursomes partner, who was co-medalist in the 2005 FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament. European-team stalwart Laura Davies of Great Britain and partner Maria Hjorth of Sweden mounted a 4-up lead over American Cristie Kerr of Miami and Californian Natalie Gulbis with four holes to play. The Americans, both rookies in the event, trimmed that lead by two, but Europe closed out the match 2 & 1. "We tried to get the momentum back, but we just couldn't do it," said Kerr, who played on the FUTURES Tour from 1995-1996. FUTURES Tour alums Michele Redman and Laura Diaz held a 4-up lead after 12 holes. But a late charge by Europeans Annika Sorenstam of Sweden and Suzann Pettersen of Norway rendered birdies on four of their last seven holes. "You just get those moments," said Pettersen of her morning match. "We did what we had to do." Conversely, the morning results were disappointing for Redman and Diaz, who is playing while five months pregnant. "Laura and I had it going and we just didn't make any birdies coming in," said Redman of Minneapolis, who played on the FUTURES Tour from 1989-1991. "Sometimes you can get a little too comfortable when you're too far ahead," added American team captain Nancy Lopez. The momentum seemed to turn by the afternoon four-ball matches. Solheim Cup veterans and FUTURES Tour alums Meg Mallon and Rosie Jones were the first American team to score a point in today's afternoon matches, grabbing a 3 & 2 victory to trim Europe's overall lead to 3-2. The duo went up early with five birdies on their first six holes and never let Europeans Hjorth and Iben Tinning of Denmark back into the match. "I was just reading [the greens] really well today," said Jones of Atlanta, who played the FUTURES Tour in 1982. "I started to get a little sloppy on the back side but Meg was right there and we're glad to take the point." Kerr and Gulbis got a second chance to redeem themselves after their morning loss and earned the second point for the American side with a 2 & 1 win over Gustafson and Karen Stupples of Great Britain. That evened the matches to three points each for the two sides. But the all-square match status was short-lived when the pairing of Davies and Pettersen handed Creamer and veteran Juli Inkster of California a 4 & 3 defeat in the afternoon. Davies, often known for her balky putter as much as her prodigious length, had six birdies on her own ball and gave the Europeans a 5-3 overall lead in its quest to retain the Cup. "The Solheim Cup brings the best out in my putting," said Davies, who played on the FUTURES Tour in 1986 and has played in all nine Solheim Cup events. "A two-point lead [going into the second day] is fantastic." Sorenstam and Matthew paired to win Europe's final point this afternoon with a 2 & 1 defeat of Americans Hurst and Wendy Ward of Texas. That gave Europe its 5-3 edge heading into Saturday's morning foursomes. "I'm obviously proud of our team," said Sorenstam, appearing in her seventh Solheim Cup. "We never gave up." Saturday's foursomes will begin at 8 a.m., with the team of Kim and Gulbis kicking off the day's matches against the European rookie team of Frenchwomen Gwladys Nocera and Ludivine Kreutz. The Solheim Cup is being televised this weekend on The Golf Channel. Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, FUTURES Golf Tour, 863-709-9100, Ext. 2 or lisa@futurestour.com.

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