“It was cute because Kathy Whitworth was our captain and she would call us into the room and say, ‘OK guys, what do you want to wear tomorrow?’,” recalls Sheehan, one of eight American players competing in the inaugural event. “It was very low-key. We didn’t have a lot of spectators.”

My, how things have changed. From those humble beginnings, the Solheim Cup will come to Colorado Golf Club in Parker next year as one of the most popular women’s golf events in the world. It draws big, boisterous galleries and its TV ratings are high.

Over the weekend, Sheehan was in Denver promoting the 2013 event — which will take place Aug. 16-18 — and signing autographs at the Solheim Cup booth at the Denver Golf Expo. (Sheehan, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, is pictured at left on Saturday with Coloradan Hollis Stacy, who will join the World Golf Hall this year, and Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Joan Birkland.)

The Solheim Cup “has grown exponentially, and I just see it continuing to grow and get more popular.,” said Sheehan, winner of 35 LPGA Tour events and six major championships. Sheehan played in the first four Solheim Cups, and was the last two-time U.S. Solheim captain (2002 and 2003).

Not coincidentally, the Solheim Cup was launched at a time when its counterpart on the men’s side, the Ryder Cup, was reaching its peak in terms of fan interest. After the U.S. won seven straight Ryder Cups over the GB&I/European teams, the Europeans prevailed in 1985, and sports fans started paying attention in a big way.

The Solheim Cup may be at a similar juncture now. After the U.S. won the Cup in eight of the first 11 meetings, the Europeans took it back last fall in Ireland by the closest margin in the history of the competition (15-13).  If that doesn’t get the buzz going for the 2013 event in Colorado, nothing will.

“It was close and really did look like the U.S. was going to win it, and right at the end it slipped away,” Sheehan said. “It was great to see the Europeans win it on their home soil, but I’m looking forward to bringing it back to the U.S. so that we can win it back. It’s going to be super exciting. The competition is going to be better than ever.”

The type of event the Solheim Cup is makes for a completely different atmosphere than any other golf tournament, Sheehan noted. A team format and having national pride on the line gives the competition a unique flavor.

“You’ve got singing, chanting, cheers, booing; all the great stuff you get at football and baseball games, you can find at the Solheim Cup,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s completely different from any other golf tournament that (people) have ever been to or seen on TV.”

And next year, the Americans will have home course advantage, which is no small matter when it comes to the Solheim Cup. In fact, the U.S. is 6-0 when the competition is played on American soil. Of course, that makes for more pressure on the Americans and captain Meg Mallon as they host the event at Colorado Golf Club.

“I know I felt (that pressure),” Sheehan said. “It’s got to be even more so for Meg. It’s going to be great. (But) I don’t see us losing the Cup. I see us winning it back.”

Sheehan like the choice of Mallon to lead the Americans. Besides being a success as a Solheim Cup player (13-9-7 in eight Solheim appearances), Mallon has an effervescent personality that may fit right in for a leader of the U.S. team.

“She’s such a great competitor … (and) she pretty much eats and breathes USA, so she’s a perfect captain, and to do it here in the States is great,” Sheehan said. “She’s a lot of fun to be around. The players are going to love here. I think it’s the perfect pick.

“She’s so sincere, so kind and very sweet, and yet she has that competitive fire inside. The players are going to feed off of that.”

So, if Sheehan were captain in 2013, what would she do to motivate the U.S. team?

“I think I would say, ‘We’ve never lost on U.S. soil, and I’m not about to start now. Go out and win it,'” Sheehan said.

Sounds like a theme Mallon may very well pick up on.
 

Two women who have made their mark in national and international golf circles are scheduled to be on hand Saturday as part of the 2012 Expo at the Denver Merchandise Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave.). The show runs Friday through Sunday (Feb. 10-12).

World Golf Hall of Fame member Patty Sheehan will be at the Expo to promote the Solheim Cup, which will be held Aug. 16-18 next year at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. At roughly the same time on Saturday, Colorado’s own Christie Austin, just the fifth female ever to join the USGA Executive Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Season Tee-Off Luncheon, an event presented by the Colorado Golf Alliance and attended by many prominent members of the state’s golf community.

Austin, since 2007 one of the 15 members of the powerful USGA Executive Committee, became treasurer of the USGA at the association’s annual meeting Saturday in Houston. She’s also now chairman of the USGA Rules Committee, which, along with its counterpart from the R&A, writes, interprets and maintains the Rules of Golf.

“We always like to have keynote speakers who can talk about trends in the game,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who noted that previous Tee-Off Luncheon speakers have included then-USGA executive director David Fay, First Tee CEO Joe Louis Barrow Jr., and PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka. “Using our local resources, Christie Austin is a perfect person to address our group.”

As for Sheehan, she won 35 times in her LPGA Tour career, including six major championships. She’s also a two-time captain of the U.S. team that faces Europe every other year in the Solheim Cup. Sheehan will be available to sign autographs at the Expo’s Solheim Cup booth from approximately 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Beyond the appearances by Sheehan and Austin, there will be plenty going on this weekend at the Expo, including much involving the CGA and CWGA, who team up with the Colorado PGA and the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents to form the Colorado Golf Alliance. The Alliance will join forces to conduct many events over the three days at the Merchandise Mart.

The CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA will play prominent roles in operating the Junior Golf Experience — an interactive exhibit for youngsters — and in conducting free seminars for the public. And the ever-growing CGA/CWGA Used Club Sale will benefit junior golf development programs.

The Junior Golf Experience, an Expo fixture in recent years, will be expanded for 2012. New this time around are areas devoted to putting and fitness that will supplement the existing chipping station and video-gaming area, which this year will feature Microsoft Xbox. Professionals from the Colorado PGA will provide much of the instruction.

“We have more room this year and we’ll fit more kids into each station,” said Eric Wilkinson, director of junior competitions for the CGA.

Kids 12 and under will be admitted free to the Expo, which encourages junior participation.

“We really roll out the red carpet for juniors,” Mate said.

As for the Used Club Sale, last year it raised over $8,000 for junior programs, and more could be in store this weekend. With the CGA and CWGA partnering with the PGA Tour Superstore this time around, the amount of equipment that’s been donated has increased significantly. Wilkinson estimated that 500 pieces of equipment came from Superstore donations alone, and that overall there may be several times that many pieces that have been donated.

The Superstore partnership “has been a huge, huge help,” Wilkinson said. “The response has been great. We’re poised for a very big year.”

And while volunteers will help price the clubs on Thursday, the associations will accept more donations Thursday (noon-3 p.m.) and Friday (8 a.m.-noon) at the Merchandise Mart.

The CGA and CWGA, meanwhile, will be conducting a couple of the free education seminars organized by the Colorado PGA. Pete Lis, director of rules and competitions for the CGA, will handle a Rules of Golf Seminar each afternoon (2 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday), while the CWGA will put on “Getting Started in Golf for Women” (4:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday).

The latter seminar “is designed for women who have been intimidated by the game or not gotten into golf for a variety of reasons,” CWGA executive director Robin Jervey said. “We’ll try to give them some answers” to help them break down the barriers to becoming involved.

At its Expo booth, the CWGA will be promoting its Affiliate membership, designed for women more interested in social golf or instructional events than in competing or having a handicap.

CWGA officials hope to entice women, through a drawing for a $250 shopping spree at the PGA Tour Superstore, to fill out a brief survey. Later, the CWGA will contact those who submitted a survey, inviting them to come to an April 4 CWGA event at the CWGA Superstore or to a CWGA Experience instructional event in May.

Meanwhile, at the Colorado PGA exhibit, Section professionals will give free 10-minute lessons to those interested.

Expo hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets for the Expo — available at the door or at King Soopers stores — run $12 for those age 13-49, $10 for seniors (50 and over) and for military and veterans with I.D.