LPGA Tour Notebook: Europeans set date for Solheim team The 2007 European Solheim Cup team will be announced after the Wales Ladies Championship of Europe in August, Ladies European Tour officials have announced. The event, set for Aug. 16-19, will be the final event where players competing for a spot on the 12-woman team can earn Solheim Cup points.
Captain Helen Alfredsson will then announce her team on Tuesday, Aug. 21, in Sweden, allowing time for the Rolex Women's World Rankings to be updated. This year's European Solheim Cup team will consist of 12 members of the Ladies European Tour, comprising the leading five players in the European Solheim Cup standings plus the leading four players from the Rolex Women's World Rankings not otherwise qualified on Aug. 21. In addition, Alfredsson will make three captain's picks. The 2007 Solheim Cup is set for Sept. 14-16 in Halmstad, Sweden. Michelle Wie has been offered a sponsor's exemption into the Kraft Nabisco Championship, among seven pros and six amateurs invited to the first LPGA Tour major of the year. Tournament Director Terry Wilcox said Wie will be making her fifth appearance at the Kraft Nabisco. The 17-year-old from Honolulu missed the cut at the Sony Open while playing with an injured left wrist that was tightly wrapped. She is not expected to play either of the two LPGA Tour events in Hawaii next month. Wie had a chance to win the Kraft Nabisco last year until her eagle chip went 10 feet by the cup on the par-5 18th, and she missed a birdie putt that would have put her in a playoff with Karrie Webb and Lorena Ochoa. She has played every season since 2003, when she played in the final group at age 13 and tied for ninth. The six amateurs who received invitations included U.S. Women's Amateur champion Kimberly Kim, who grew up in Hawaii and now lives outside Phoenix. Other professionals receiving exemptions were Gwladys Nocera of France, who played on the Solheim Cup team for Europe two years ago. Former European Tour CEO Ken Schofield has criticized Michelle Wie's determined bid to take on the men, claiming she will continue to suffer as a result. Wie has made 13 starts in men's events and the only cut she has made was last year in South Korea against a low-quality field. The Hawaiian-born 17-year-old is drawing increasing criticism among male professionals for her persistence in playing against the men, finishing near-last on her four most recent appearances. And Schofield has joined those ranks. "Will someone please tell the lovely Michelle Wie that the ladies have a superb tour and history?" he said. "She would do well to focus on that and add to it or maybe she believes she is right to play with the men and suffer and suffer." But Alexandra Armas, executive director of the Ladies European Tour, argued on behalf of Wie. "If she believes she can do it, then why not?," she said. "These players are there to elevate women's golf to another level and we have to work with that." Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |