Thursday 17 August 2017 10:09, UK
Annika Sorenstam has revealed that her pairings for the Solheim Cup this week have effectively been decided by the players themselves.
Sorenstam analysed various statistics when she and her backroom team were deciding on the four captain's picks, but she admitted her players had a huge say in the pairings for the 15th staging of the contest in Iowa.
The European captain believes having "happy players" will inspire her team to play better golf if they are comfortable with their partners over the first two days, although the Swede has had to make several adjustments to her plans following the withdrawal of the injured Suzann Pettersen.
"I do like numbers, but I think I was using the numbers more to pick the team," said Sorenstam at her press conference, shortly after announcing that Catriona Matthew will now play in her ninth Solheim Cup while Pettersen will replace the Scot as vice-captain.
"Now we're going with feel, and I can tell you that the pairings, they are 99 per cent the players' choices. I want them to be happy, and if you have happy players, there's hopefully good golf.
"So I'm literally doing what they want them to do, and I want them to have fun out there and play with the people they want to play with. They are professional enough to know which players and partners they want to have.
"They ask for input, and I give them that input or tell them what I think. Some of the holes, they asked how I would play them. They've asked some other questions, but as far as who they want to play with, it's up to them."
Sorenstam is also confident that Anna Nordqvist will be fit enough to play a key role for Europe despite the possibility of her fellow Swede being unable to play two sessions in one day following a bout of glandular fever.
Nordqvist, the highest-ranked player in Europe's line-up, was able to get through 72 holes at the Ricoh Women's British Open, and Sorestam was encouraged by her performance as she finished in the top seven.
Asked if Nordqvist could play two matches in a day, Sorenstam said: "I feel pretty confident about that and so does she. Obviously we've spoken every day, and she's been part of the pairings in the sense of what she needs. I obviously want her to play her best, but what does she need to play her best?
"So I think open communication is so important. Different players want different things, so you try to put that into the equation. Just look at Anna's performance at the British Open. First of all, I didn't think she was going to play, and then to go out to play the way she did was great.
"So she's taken it a little bit easy in the afternoons here, and obviously we're letting her do whatever she needs to do to prepare. I'm not so worried about Anna."
Sorenstam is well aware that Europe will start this Solheim Cup as underdogs, but she believes her experience in the competition in every role will be a huge asset to the team.
"My approach is really to just do what I normally do, the way I would approach anything in life," she added. "I'm very analytic, and I take my time making decisions, but once I make a decision, I stick to it. I try to be thorough, I try to have good communication with the team and I think you just have to be yourself.
"Certainly I bring experience to the table. I've been in every single role; I've been a player, I've been a vice captain, and now I'm the captain, so I can relate literally to any situation, at least I feel that way. And I don't know how the players feel like I am as a captain, but I try to be me, the way I go about things.
"I feel like I have a great leadership team around me that certainly pick up my weaknesses, so I'm here to have fun. This is about having fun, and I want to spread that through the team and just show them that I believe in them, that's why I'm here. And I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe in them, and I believe in the Solheim Cup."
