09/13/24 06:54:00
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09/13 06:53 CDT Solheim Cup begins with half-empty grandstands and fans stuck
waiting for buses to course
Solheim Cup begins with half-empty grandstands and fans stuck waiting for buses
to course
By BEN NUCKOLS
AP Sports Writer
GAINESVILLE, Va. (AP) --- The opening matches of the Solheim Cup began in front
of half-empty grandstands surrounding the first tee at Robert Trent Jones Golf
Club on Friday morning, with transportation issues preventing fans from getting
to the golf course.
Fans posted on social media that they were stuck for hours waiting in lines for
buses at Jiffy Lube Live, a concert venue near the golf course about 40 miles
west of Washington, D.C.
In the 20 minutes before the matches began, a small trickle of fans
speed-walked toward the grandstand, but there was no sign of the record crowds
that organizers had promised.
LPGA Tour officials had no immediate comment on the transportation problems.
Esther Henseleit struck the opening tee shot for Europe in the team competition
against the United States as part of an alternate-shot pairing with Charley
Hull. Allisen Corpuz followed for the U.S., paired with top-ranked Nelly Korda.
Europe is seeking to capture the Solheim Cup for a record fourth straight time.
Players frequently describe the opening tee shot at the Solheim Cup as more
nerve-wracking than anything in women's golf, fueled partly by fans who fill
grandstands hours in advance to cheer the home team.
The few hundred fans who made it in time for Friday morning's opening remained
quiet for the European tee shots and cheered throughout as the Americans hit
theirs, a departure from golf etiquette that players have come to embrace at
team competitions.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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