Is Dottie Pepper the Solheim Cup's Version of Sandy Lyle?
by Ryan Ballengee on Feb 25, 2010 1:30 PM EST
in Pro Golf
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PrintWith the naming of Rosie Jones as the 2011 Solheim Cup captain, it only seems natural to entertain who could've been captain instead. Golfweek's Beth Ann Baldry talks with future captain Juli Inkster about Meg Mallon's chances to assume the position following her work on the '09 team. Provided their contractual relationship with her, Golf Channel's Randall Mell inquires about why Dottie Pepper was snubbed.
This is probably why.
Is it fair to hold Pepper in contempt for a comment that she never intended to be heard outside of the booth? Probably not. Is it held against her? Almost certainly.
Perhaps the American male counterpart to Pepper is Larry Nelson. Nelson never said anything like that on the air, but seems to have been permanently discarded from contention to be named captain. As a three-time major champion, it seems that he was snubbed for political reasons.
How else could Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin had the post first? I don't know.
The more appropriate global comparison, though, is probably Sandy Lyle. Lyle was in the running to become the European captain for 2010, along with Jose Maria Olazabal. Now '10 Captain Colin Montgomerie even endorsed Lyle for the position. Then, somehow at the last minute, Monty became the '10 Captain when he was slated to do so in '12, and Ollie got the post for '12. Lyle was shut out, perhaps for good.
Then it turned ugly with accusations of cheating, accusations about accusations, and all that.
The stain of besmirching fellow players or a competition usually is a death sentence for a player's hopes to lead, no matter their resume.
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She’s still with them: http://www.thegolfchannel.com/talent-bios/
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroomryan, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
I'm not sure that's why Lyle wasn't picked
I think the aggro between Sandy & Monty may have been the final straw, but I think the committee decided to make a break from “Buggins Turn” as they knew Sandy, nice guy though he is, has no leadership qualities whatsoever and was out of touch with the current players.
I hadn’t heard Dottie’s comment before (probably not on UK coverage) and didn’t read about it afterwards, but don’t see why that would preclude her for captain. I like her and think she has good fighting spirit.
The thing with Sandy
apart from being a nice guy, the Euro masters probably never forgave him for playing full time in the States. As one of the big 5, Sandy did a lot for the European tour in those days, but after he won the Masters and the Players, he stayed in the US. One can’t blame him then, but he didn’t come over much for Europes big events. Faldo would always come back over . The captaincy is a strange one. Sandy would never get the jump on Seve, who really got it too early, he was only 40, but he had to make way for Torrance and James. After Langer, once Woosnam was picked, Sandy was out on a limb. If they could have got away with it, I think Faldo too would have been overlooked, but the public outrage that would have ensued even forced them to name him the same time as Woosnam. By this time, it was too late for Sandy. Monty was always going to get it. Had Faldo took Sandy as an assistant, he might have had a chance, but as the Ryder Cup is such a cash cow these days, there is a lot of politics involved. Look for Bjorn to get it next, he , like James and Torrance before him , has his feet firmly under the table at the Euro headquarters.
I wrote at the time
in my 2007 year end awards that Pepper blew herself out of a future Solheim Captaincy. This is old news.
I keep reading the Mell article and all I see are contradictions and legitimate reasons that Pepper hasn’t been and won’t be chosen as captain any time soon…and none of them seem wrong or out of line. Yes – she made that stupid statement (sorry RB – intentionally on the air or not – she’s supposed to be a professional and she had a mic in her hand – at least put the thing down) – but SHE says that she can’t even consider a captaincy as long as she has her Golf Channel responsibilties – so why even consider her if you know the answer for the time being is “I can’t” ?
Mallon wasn’t chosen this year because she wants to play….Inkster will get the next team because of some link to a club in Colorado. Pepper is still with xxx Golf Channel.
That leaves Rosie Jones – why is this an issue ? And to imagine that there is some bizarre link with Sandy Lyle or Larry Nelson is a real stretch.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Pepper is popular for her "Seve like never say die spirit."
But Seve would never say that about fellow Ryder Cup teamates. Blurting out that about fellow players who were doing their best for the team says a lot about her. Respect goes both ways and she didn’t show any.
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