For The Good of Golf, It's Time For Solheim To Bring On Asia

For the eighth time in 11 chances, the United States beat the Europeans in the Solheim Cup.  The USA is undefeated on its home turf and a very respectable 2-3 in road games.  With a resounding 72% winning percentage in the event, I think it's time for the patriots to have a new opponent.  Kick Europe out of the Solheim Cup.

Now, the reaction is going to be one of shock and horror.  Let me anticipate a few responses:

"Ryan, you can't do that!  Europe played so closely against the Americans.  They proved they belong in the Solheim Cup!"

"The Europeans chicks were hot!  Don't take that eye candy away from me."

"The Solheim now has two decades of history behind it.  Why stop now?"

True.  Yes, some of the Euros are hot.  And if I have been alive longer than something, that's not enough history.

Look, this week's Solheim Cup was thrilling and interesting.  The Americans almost went out of their way to get the crowd pumped.  The golf was excellent.  The gallery was out of sight.  Even with the phony swans at the 17th hole, Rich Harvest Farms provided for some genuinely compelling match play. 

The problem is that the expected result happened - yet again. Sure, the result - 16 to 12 - may not have indicated how close the match appeared to be halfway through the Sunday singles matches, but the Americans pulled through in the end to vanquish their familiar and weaker opponent.  Winning on foreign soil is indeed a tough thing to do, but the Europeans made no excuses for that fact or anything else as to why they lost.

The Euros are fun to play against.  They are more familiar with team competitions and match play than most of their American counterparts.  It gives them a strong advantage when it comes to team creation, course management, and general strategery.  Though the USA prevails an overwhelming percentage of the time, the mental edge and the unending underdog mentality gives the Europeans a fighting chance. 

The Euros have a different philosophy when it comes to expression.  Their celebrations are shorter, more resolute, and defiant.  Diana Luna's butt bump with her caddy following a victory over Nicole Castrale was the perfect example.  Losing had clearly gotten under her skin and the win provided a chance for her to stick it to the victors in an individual way.  Their passion for this competition - despite the thorough setbacks - has helped define this event's story.

That said, that is not enough for this competition anymore.

2009 has been one of the roughest years in the history of the LPGA Tour.  Former Commissioner Carolyn Bivens oversaw a hemorraghing of events unseen in the Tour's half-century plus history.  Economic conditions and stubborn demands have created the perception that this product has an inflated sense of identity.  This competition may well show that women's golf can be awfully riveting, but it does not showcase a reality that the Tour struggles to confront.

Don't call it by name, but no American has won on the LPGA Tour since May.  That came when Cristie Kerr won the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill.  Since then, the Americans have gone 0-fer on the Tour.  Curiously enough, two members of the European team - Anna Nordqvist and Catriona Matthew - did win events.  Every other winner in between was of Asian descent.

Asian players are dominating women's golf.  Half of the last eight majors have been won by Asian golfers, one by an American, and two by Europeans.  Lorena Ochoa claims the other.  The second generation of Asian players - largely influenced by Se Ri Pak's initial success in 1998 - are now coming into their own.  Two years from now may well be the watershed year that propels Asia into the position of being the most talented continent for women's golf.

The problem is that this transition is being received very poorly by American fans.  Fans complain that the Asian players do not speak English very well.  Others complain that they don't show much personality.  While that's not really true, perception is reality when it comes to things like this.  Perhaps because of their superb focus and calm demeanor, they have garnered the reputation as being robotic competitors.  Eun-Hee Ji's celebration after a birdie to win the US Women's Open may have done some good to destroy that imposed barrier, but Ji is just one example. 

For the health of women's golf, Europe needs to be replaced by Asia in the Solheim Cup - even if temporarily, or in some kind of three team rotation.  (I'm completely open to suggestion on how it would work.)

Having Asia play some kind of part in the Solheim Cup would provide the public relations mercifully needed to boost the personal reputation of Asian players.  Team-based match play brings out emotions that fans do not normally see in individual, grinding stroke play.  The American players - with the very notable exception of Christina Kim - do not show nearly as much emotion on the course when it is only their hyde on the line.  Insert a nationalistic theme and surround these girls with a team of their peers, and all of a sudden women's golf becomes more emotional, compelling, and stirring to LPGA Tour fans and the general sporting public.

The same thing can be true for Asian players.  These girls are no different than any other competitor.  Put them in a situation that enstills teamwork and continental pride, and the personalities of players flourish and become very evident.  The girls on the LPGA Tour had very little clue that Michelle Wie was as emotional and fun as she is before this weekend.  It took them being locked into some kind of wood-paneled team room to figure that out.  This weekend was a public relations win for Wie that was not anticipated.  The combination of her solid play (3-0-1 this weekend) and the way she carried herself with fans, press, and her teammates gave her a public rebirth that may be the springboard to finally meeting the burden of expectations that she has carried since before she could attend high school.  Even if it is not, the public regard for Wie has drastically improved.

It's not a guarantee that the same thing would happen for Asian players, but it is tough to deny the strong possibility that it would help.  After berating Gwladys Nocera for shooting 91 at the Women's British Open last month, I am a bigger fan of hers for putting up a hell of a fight this weekend.  Who knew that Tania Elosegui was such a fiery and tough match?  Diana Luna is kind of spunky, and I liked that about her.

Replace those names with the depth of talented Asian names.  Perhaps then the barriers placed by American and European fans to embracing the supposed invaders from the East would begin to crumble.  Asian golfers would be more perceived as a true part of the women's golfing community as opposed to strangers that have suddenly taken over the sport.  That can be nothing but good for the future of the LPGA Tour that seeks to become the most globetrotting of any circuit in the game today.

The Solheim Cup serves a great purpose as a team competition, but its bigger purpose is an exhibition to showcase the humanity of players that often fail to show it when they play on their own.  Solheim is a chance for fans to discover players they may not know from abroad and better understand the personalities behind the names they see on the leaderboard.  Given that so many Asian-born players are on the LPGA Tour's leaderboards, breeding some familiarity with those names may well give Solheim an even bigger purpose as the game continues its transition to becoming a truly global game.

We may have to wait seven years for golf to get into the Olympics, but the Solheim Cup can certainly help showcase the global strength of the game sooner.