In the Swedish Monday-morning papers, the local sportswriters are practically mocking the European Solheim Cup team's Sunday performance, calling the players "outclassed" and "annihilated." Then they blame Europe's "key players" Annika Sorenstam, Suzann Pettersen, Sophie Gustafson and Maria Hjorth, all of whom lost their matches on Sunday. Even if three of these four had "done their duty" and won their matches, Europe would have come away victorious.

This is when I have to chuckle at the ignorance. Sure, the math is correct and sure, Sorenstam's loss to Morgan Pressel may have been surprising (unless, of course, you consider the fact that Pressel is a former U.S Amateur champ -- i.e., winner of the toughest match-play tourney there is -- and had been allowed to rest during one of the previous matches, and that 36-year-old Sorenstam had been playing golf 12 hours a day in really draining conditions and is still healing from two busted vertebrae in her back), but why, for instance, would anyone think Mimmi Hjorth, who's ranked  41st in the world, would have a chance against 7th-ranked Paula Creamer? Because she's Swedish? Get a grip. And with Prammanasudh and Hurst displaying the best putting of their lives (they had six and five birdies respectively on Sunday), why should Pettersen and Gustafson still have beaten them? Because they're on home soil? Right.

I agree it would have been nice to see the Euros pull a miracle on Sunday, but let's face it, it would have been a  shocker. The American team was full of players who, in 2007, are just better. I'll reiterate a stat I've used before: the average world ranking of the US players was 19. The average of the European players was 59. It should have been a romp in singles, and it was.

The papers go on to call local girl Linda Wessberg "best Swede" and say she was the only "shining light" during a dark event. Come on. Wessberg played two matches all week and was fresh as can be when she teed it up on Sunday. She only got a W against Cristie Kerr on Sunday after Kerr conceded her par putt on 18 long after the competition was over because it was the sportsmanlike thing to do. In the Saturday-afternoon four-ball match, Wessberg got a halve. Sure, she did well and it's nice to see my home town Gothenburg produce another world-class player, but was she the Solheim Cup's Swedish MVP? Heck no. (She barely played, and I doubt Kerr would have lost their singles match had it mattered.) That honor would have to go to Mimmi Hjorth or Annika Sorenstam, flaws and all.

Despite the clueless Swedish newspaper press, this was still an amazing week. It's ironic to watch the sun rise on a clear-blue sky in Halmstad Monday morning, considering the weather the Solheim Cuppers just endured over the last three days (Thursday was also beautiful for the opening ceremony -- it's as if the weather gods played a cruel joke on the Swedish Golf Federation by pinpointing the exact three days of competition to dump some of the worst weather ever seen on this part of the country).

But consider this: 36,000 spectators still came out to watch the play on Sunday; 33,000 were here on Saturday. In all, over 85,000 people attended the 2007 Solheim Cup. And even though the Friday crowd was a little subdued (it's hard to do the wave when you're trying to keep all limbs under the free rain poncho you're wearing to stay at least somewhat dry), the atmosphere over the weekend was as festive and raucous as any Solheim Cup. The Swedes know how to cheer, and it must have felt amazing for the players to walk the fairways of Halmstad GK with so much support.

Speaking of fairways, the golf course held up remarkably well. Despite a few puddles Sunday morning, it played fantastically all week. The superintendent and staff at Halmstad GK should be proud.

Lastly, there were many touching moments during the 2007 Solheim Cup, but none more than reading Svensk Golf's final interview with Helen Alfredsson. When asked if there was a particular player who surprised her in a positive way during the week, Alfredsson praised Laura Davies for her longevity and fire, then said, "But also Annika. We came together this week and had a blast. We've found our way back to each other after a few tough years." It's no secret Alfredsson and Sorenstam haven't exactly been best friends in the past, so this was a nice development. Sunday evening, during the post-round press conference, Sorenstam, who (after being comforted by fiance Mike McGee following her loss to Pressel) had uncharacteristically been sporting a yellow-and-blue curly wig for a while, seemed happy to praise Alfredsson as well. "One thing that we can give credit is to Helen for her attitude. She's a captain with a lot of spirit, a lot of heart. I've never seen anybody really care so much. So on behalf of all the players, we want to thank Helen for that. It's been great this week. Sometimes you cannot just look at the scores and decide, you know, if it was a bad week or good week. I thought we had a great week." I'd say she's right.

The US may have won the 2007 Solheim Cup, but did they come out victorious in the all-important Clash of the Competing Closets? Not exactly, but in my opinion, they got one back today. The trend of the European team's outfits looking very young and contemporary somehow went out the window on the last day of the competition. As you can see in the image of Morgan Pressel and Annika Sorenstam below, both teams opted for argyle sweaters on Sunday, but this time the Americans' cuts looked better. Why? Because the Euros' sweaters were actually cardigans. Come on, argyle cardigans? Isn't that a little too cliche? An easy 1-up for the Americans on the day, which brings the total fashion score for the week to (drumroll, please): HALVED.

Mickey Walker, four-time European Solheim Cup captain and Sky Sports Solheim Cup coverage co-anchor, shares her observations on the last day of the 2007 event:

SS: It's over, and it turned into a blood bath. Why?

MW: Europe did fantastically well in the four-balls [which were finished in the morning, before the singles started -- ed's note], but we just didn't perform in the afternoon. I don't know if having that many matches come down to the wire all week just left the players exhausted. Until singles, every time we had a critical putt, we made it, but not in singles. The [European] players are obviously devastated, or somewhere in between disappointed and devastated. The Solheim Cup is always a tough, emotional week, but because of the conditions, this one must have been tougher than any other for them. They were just physically and emotionally tired. I feel for them -- I'm emotionally involved in this myself. But the US team was outstanding as a whole, and had so much depth. I think it's hard for our top players, we're reliant on them. I don't know if they'd say this, but perhaps they didn't perform as well because they feel they've got to perform.

SS: You know what it's like to captain both losing and winning teams. Helen Alfredsson was very emotional after today's loss -- how do you think she'll spend the evening?

MW: Win or lose, the Europeans party no matter what, though Alfie doesn't really drink much. I don't know, as a captain, you're so deeply involved emotionally in this. For a long time after being captain, I would dream about it. When you lose, you second-guess everything. Eventually, you mentally crash. Alfie will be knackered.

SS: You've been covering this event for Sky Sports and have been working as a TV commentator for a while now. What are your thoughts on the Dottie Pepper incident that took place yesterday, when Pepper, who's commentating for Golf Channel this week, was mistakenly overheard calling Sherri Steinhauer and Laura Diaz of the US team "choking dogs" on live TV?

MW: This afternoon, I said to Judy [Rankin, Walker's co-anchor and two-time Solheim Cup captain -- ed's note], "What do you think Dottie would say about the Americans now?"
I heard she wanted to come into the player room and apologize but they [the American players] didn't want to hear it. But I also think it's definitely possible [her comment] spurred them on. I don't know if this will jeopardize Dottie's chances of becoming Solheim Cup captain in the future, but Judy said Dottie was very upset. It must be a pretty horrible thing to have your fellow teammates, your contemporaries, not want to see you after something like that.

SS: What do you think the audience reaction will be?

MW: The thing about Dottie that's so great is that you either love her or you hate her. She's like John McEnroe, so passionate.   

The final score, 16-12, says it all: the 2007 American Solheim Cup team was too stacked with top-20 players to ever be threatened in singles play. Cristie Kerr conceded her match to Linda Wessberg on the 18th green (a classy move) to give Europe a third singles win, but with one halve and eight US wins on the day (that's right -- eight), the red on the leaderboard may as well have been blood since this was a slaughter. Congratulations to Betsy King and her team. They played some magnificent golf under horrible conditions. The Euros put up a strong fight, but in the end, there was nothing they could do. This time, the yanks were just too good.

It's official: the US has won the 2007 Solheim Cup, the first time a team has taken the cup on foreign soil since 1996. Fittingly, US standout Nicole Castrale got to hole the deciding putt on 16 in her 3&2 win against Bettina Hauert. Rookie Castrale has impressed all week, and played steady golf against the struggling German in today's match.

With three matches still on the course, the Americans are on track to win eight of the day's 12 singles matches, plus score two halves. The only Europeans to win their matches so far today are Catriona Matthew and Laura Davies, who beat Laura Diaz and Brittany Lincicome. The most surprising upset came from the youngest player on both teams: Morgan Pressel. Her match against Annika Sorenstam was close all day, until Sorenstam missed a short putt on 15 to go 1-down. Pressel, showing a cool under pressure she's been lacking most of the week, then birdied the very difficult par-3 16th to go 2-up with two to play. Bothe players then parred the 17th, which ended the match 2-up for Pressel. It was the perfect scenario to illustrate the day. The US started strong and never really wavered, giving Europe little chance to make a comeback.

Going into the Sunday singles matches, the US was 0 for 10 on the 18th hole, failing to win the hole once. But this afternoon, Solheim Cup rookie Stacy Prammanasudh birdied the hole to beat heavily favored Norwegian Suzanne Pettersen, putting another nail in the coffin that is quickly closing around the European team. The US has won four of the matches that have already finished, to Europe's two. And in the matches that are still underway, the Americans hold a comfortable lead in five while Europe only leads one.

Considering the Americans' record of winning 60% of the points in Solheim Cup singles play, the Europeans knew they had to make something happen when they got up at dawn to finish the back nine of Saturday's best-ball matches. Going into singles with anything but a lead would mean an all-but-certain defeat in the 2007 Soheim Cup. And even though conditions were, if possible, worse than the first two days (with more rain this morning, the ground got so saturated that puddles filled the fairways and greens, and making solid contact and judging the green speeds on chips and putts became impossible), Europe managed to win three out of four points to take an 8.5-7.5 lead in the overall standings.

The undefeated power pair of Sorenstam and Pettersen once again proved that there is such a thing as a perfect match in these events (why captain Helen Alfredsson didn't pair them together until Saturday afternoon is completely unfathomable); they easily won their bout with Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel 3&2. Laura Davies is showing more spirit than we've seen from her since, well, the last Solheim Cup; she and partner Becky Brewerton beat Natalie Gulbis and Nicole Castrale 2-up. And once again, the Americans lost 1-up leads with two to go in both of the remaining matches, having to settle for halves. Perhaps Dottie Pepper has a point.   

However, two hours later, as the last of the 12 Sunday singles matches holes out on 1, the board looks very red once again. The Americans currently lead seven matches, the Euros lead two and four are all square. The Americans need six and a half points to retain the cup, and Europe needs six. In other words, The Europeans are in deep trouble. 

So who wore what on Saturday, and who looked the best? Once again, the two Solheim Cup captains chose very different styles and, once again, one dressed her team like old ladies and the other dressed her team like young girls.

The American uniforms (seen here on Cristie Kerr and Nicole Castrale) featured high-waisted gray slacks with a faint plaid pattern (I think I saw my accountant wear the same style just last month), paired with zip-up sweaters that read "USA" on striped bands on the arms. I get the patriotism, but these tops remind me of something my mother sported when I was in junior high. And that was a long, long time ago.

The Euros wore all black, in contemporary, snug fits and boy-cut pants (though for most of the day, the players, such as Sofie Gustafson here, added an extra layer on the bottom to stay warm). The backs of their sweaters had wide black-and-white stripes with a distinct bumble-bee feel. My 12-year-old niece thought they were "way cool."

I'd definitely give the best-wardrobe nod to the Euros on Saturday, even though I didn't love their uniforms (why go practically all black in a Solheim Cup?).  I just disliked the American duds a lot more.

Total score so far: Europe 1-up

After one-and-two-thirds of the 2007 Solheim Cup days have been completed (thanks to a weather-delayed Saturday start, the back nine of the afternoon best-ball matches will be played early Sunday morning, before the singles), the U.S. is up by one point but trails in three of the halted matches and is all square in the fourth. In other words, this one could go either way, and Sunday looks to be riveting.

Once play was stopped due to darkness, I once again checked in with former captains Judy Rankin and Mickey Walker to get their thoughts on the day and ask them which players they thought had been doing the best job so far. Here's what they had to say:

Rankin: "Rookie Castrale has played real well. I wouldn't call it a surprise, but she has just played well from the get-go. Pettersen always impresses me. She just is pulling these things off under pressure… They just get your attention. Kerr and Castrale this morning, to come back the way they did, to birdie four holes in a row in alternate-shot, that's hard to do on a pretty day. And it could very well have been five in a row. I think Creamer has really played well. I don't know if she’s going to get enough out of it, but she's played really well. And then the usual suspects. Juli's come through. Kerr has been up and down, but I have to say, she's playing like a team leader, even though she's not playing perfectly.

I cannot communicate well enough to people how miserable these conditions have been and how tough these players have been, all of them. Don't ever tell me that any of these players aren't tough, because they've proven themselves. I've probably seen three days in my life that were as hard as this. But I'd be hard-pressed to say I've seen two days in a row as hard as these two.

Walker: I think it was another great escape for the European team this morning. The finishing holes were just so exciting. I mean, it looked like it was going to be 3-1 again in the series this morning for the USA, and the way Pettersen and Gustafson made par, the up-and-down by Hjorth and Bocera to save a half, and the finish by Kerr and Castrale was amazing. To birdie four holes in a row in foursomes, that's just great golf. And to do it in these conditions is spectacular golf. Overall, I think today was tougher. Yesterday was probably more miserable because you had both the wind and the rain, but the wind today was borderline unplayable.   

Saturday's morning alternate-shot matches may have taken a couple of extra hours to get started (strong winds made the course unplayable), but once it got under way, it was one heck of an exciting ride. The Europeans started out strong, leading three of the four matches for much of the front nine. Then the Americans woke up and the Europeans caught the bad-putting plague. What had been a sea of blue very quickly turned to a crimson tide, and by the time all four groups had passed the 15th hole, it looked as if the morning would spell disaster for the European team.

Denmark's Iben Tinning and Germany's Bettina Hauert (who, by the way, is working hard to become Europe's answer to Christina Kim, the self-imposed head cheerleader of the 2005 Solheim Cup at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind.) went from 3-down after 4 to all square after 8, then lost four holes in a row between 13 and 16 to lose 4&2. Annika Sorenstam and Catriona Matthew played great golf on the front, which, in combination with their opponents Cristie Kerr and Nicole Castrale's rocky start, got them to a comfortable 5-up with six to play. At that point, Kerr explained after the match, Kerr said to Castrale, "You know what, you start getting it up and I'll start making it. Damned if we didn't." Kerr's stone cold putter all of a sudden caught fire, just as Sorenstam started spraying the ball a little and Matthew started missing birdie putts, so the Americans jumped on the birdie train and got it back to 1-down with one to play.

Moments earlier, on 18, Europe's group 1 and 2 (Maria Hjorth and Gladys Nocera and Suzanne Pettersen and Sophie Gustafsson) each managed to win the 18th holes of their matches to force back-to-back halves, so when Sorenstam/Matthew and Kerr/Castrale came to the 18th tee, the board had once again switched colors, this time to mostly green (the color for matches that are all square or halved). After Castrale split the fairway with her tee shot, Kerr knocked the approach to 12 feet, not a gimme but a definite chance at birdie. And since the Euros had to chip on for their third, the door was open for the Americans to take back that final 1-down and walk away with a halve of their own, a huge feat considering they had been 5-down just five holes earlier and were playing against the best alternate-shot player in Solheim Cup history, Sorenstam.

As the players walked to the green, most of the 33,000 spectators in place for today's play closed in behind them, filling the fairway and creating a ring of people around the 18th green that measured 15-20 deep in some places. It would have been the perfect setting for a major upset. But in the end, Castrale failed to hole the birdie putt and Matthew was able to sink the three-footer Sorenstam left her after her chip. The roar seemed never-ending.

So Europe got away with another one this morning, and they are currently up in two up the afternoon best-ball matches and all square in one. But that doesn't mean much, as we know. Anything can happen.

Angela Stanford books it to the clubhouse to find out if she's playing in the afternoon (since the  morning matches were delayed, most of the players were barely allowed a potty break before being called back to the first tee, and aren't expected to finish the afternoon matches until tomorrow morning). But she gets to take a well-deserved rest.

Here's a first: A wind delay at the Solheim Cup. Can you imagine how fierce the winds are in order for play to be halted for two hours? It's impossible to describe. And with temperatures struggling to get into the 50s, it's a brutal day out here. I've borrowed my father's size-XL rain suit so that I can fit at least four layers of clothing underneath it. I look like a gray-green Michelin Man (or, as my sister so kindly put it, a giant toad). But I'm staying warm, which is more than most others watching today's play can say. And here's the good news: the rain is gone. For now, at least.

I give the players on both teams a lot of credit -- they look a lot more comfortable than the spectators. And they're still playing some excellent golf, even though it's tough to stay balanced over the ball (especially for players like Pat Hurst, with long, loose swings).

As they're getting to the halfway point of the day's foursome matches, there is more blue than red on the board, but no team is running away with anything. And Europe desperately needs that blue -- they have to even out the overall match to have any chance at all after Sunday's singles. The average World Ranking of the players on the US team is 19, compared to the Europeans' 59. So if the Euros go into singles with a deficit, they're going to need a miracle to pull off a win on home soil.

There was an awful lot of red on the board for most of the first day of the 2007 Solheim Cup, yet when all was said and done, the Europeans came away with a miraculously small deficit of one point (the U.S. leads 4.5-3.5 after tying the afternoon 2-2) thanks to 11th-hour rallies both in the morning's foursome (alternate shot) and the afternoon's fourball (best ball) matches.

Once play was over, I visited with former European Solheim Cup captain Mickey Walker (1990, '92, '94 and '96) and former U.S. captain Judy Rankin (1996 and '98), who are anchoring the Sky Sports Solheim Cup coverage together. When asked about their thoughts on the day, Walker said, "I think Europe, tonight, will almost feel like they’re going in level [tomorrow] because today was such an escape. The turnaround was just incredible. That par from Laura was one of the best pars anyone’s ever seen in the history of golf."

The par Walker's referring to took place on the 16th hole in Laura Davies's best-ball match with teammate Trish Johnson versus Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel of the U.S. The young Americans had a firm grip on the match for most of the afternoon and were 1-up coming into 16. Both Johnson and Davies hit poor tee shots that all but ensured the U.S. would go 2-up with two to play, and Davies found herself buried in some nasty brush short and right of the creek that runs in front of the green. She almost chuckled when she saw her lie, took a while to asses her options, then gave the ball a whack it will not soon forget (when watching the slow-motion re-run on TV, you can see Davies's visor practically flying off her head from the forceful swing). The ball dislodged and careened across the creek and over the green -- in and by itself one of the most spectacular shots in Solheim Cup history. But the most impressive part came moments later, when Davis managed to hole out her chip, resulting in the loudest spectator roar the tournament has heard so far. It was one of those moments when you could feel the momentum shift in the air. Two holes later, after Europe's Annika Sorenstam and Maria Hjorth managed to eek out a halve by winning the 18th hole in their battle against America's Angela Stanford and Stacy Prammanasudh (a match in which the Euros at one point were 3-down), Davies and Johnson walked away with a halve. Those were two crucial half points that set the stage for a possibly riveting Saturday. But make no mistake, this is still the Americans' Cup to lose, and they played some spectacular golf on Friday.

Said Rankin after the last putt was conceded: "This was some extraordinarily good golf in some horrible, horrible conditions. I saw some bad shots, but I don’t know if it’s easy to communicate to people just how bad the conditions were. So I really think all in all, the players played magnificently."

It was a tiring day, so those competitors who will be standing on the sidelines for Saturday morning's alternate-shot matches are probably happy for the rest. Davies sure is -- when interviewed by SVT Swedish Television at the end of the day, she seemed more pumped about having Saturday morning off than holing out that chip shot I just mentioned.

Speaking of time off, every person I talked to Friday afternoon questioned European captain Helen Alfredsson's decision to bench Norway's Suzanne Pettersen during the best-ball portion of the day. "I do think it’s a mystery why Suzanne Pettersen wasn’t played again this afternoon," said Walker. "She’s got to be one of our best players. None of us could figure out why she wasn’t played. I mean, if you’re not going to play all the rookies, [why bench Pettersen?] And not to play her in four-ball, especially. There were other players not to play ahead of Suzanne. But obviously, there was some thinking behind it. Having said that, America is stronger in depth and they have a team of great players, so I do think it’s a different situation for Europe. There’s an onus on our top players. They have to play more [matches] and they know that coming into it."

When asked why she didn't play Pettersen, who's currently the top-ranked European on the official LPGA Tour money list (she's in second place, behind Lorena Ochoa of Mexico), Alfredsson offered this cryptic response: "She was not very comfortable… She didn’t feel comfortable at all, she didn’t play well in the morning, and she was very happy not to play in the afternoon. Because of the weather, and if you feel really uncomfortable and you continue, obviously we’re going to need her for the rest of the week. Therefore I didn’t play her." Huh? One could argue that Pettersen played pretty well in the matched she and Sophie Gustafsson halved against Cristie Kerr and Pat Hurst in the morning (at least a lot better than a couple of the other players who were called upon for an encore in the afternoon). And no one in the press room could figure out what "not comfortable" meant. Is Pettersen injured? Was she THAT bothered by the weather? (Considering her Norwegian heritage, she should be more familiar with the blustery conditions than any player on either team.) Chances are we'll never know.

Alfredsson is an admittedly "emotional" person who seems to thrive on living outside the box and going with her gut, and she makes no excuses for it. She also doesn't feel the need to elaborate on her decisions. When later asked why she hasn't played Linda Wessberg yet (and hasn't put her in the Saturday-morning lineup), Alfredsson seemed a little, well, perturbed: "You guys all talk about all these players -- I mean, who’s going to sit? Whoever I’m sitting, there’s going to be a question why. She [Wessberg] wasn’t really playing that great when we were practicing. Hopefully she finds her game for tomorrow afternoon, but you can’t play everybody. I can only play eight players, four have to sit. That’s just how it is." Enough said.

Forget the matches, let's pause for a moment to talk about what REALLY matters in a Solheim Cup: which team is dressed better?

European captain Helen Alfredsson turned to Swedish apparel company Abacus (which has the pithy slogan "Count on It") while US captain Betsy King gave the clothing nod to good ol' LizGolf, which has been dressing the red, white & blue team for as long as I can remember. So who won Friday's clash of the competing closets? Well, let's take a look:

The American Friday uniforms (as modeled by Cristie Kerr) are patriotic in color and a much better fit than what we've seen in the past from this team. But I still have a tough time with the prepubescent hair ribbons combined with LizGolf's "mature" styles -- there's something very 1984 about the whole picture. And the pinstripes in the pants have got to go.

The European's Friday garb (seen here on Annika Sorenstam) is much younger -- in fact, it's too young. This shirt would look good on a 14-year-old boy. But the cuts are modern and more flattering, and the colors a lot fresher.

Final score: Let's call it a draw. Or, pardon me, ALL SQUARE.

Friday afternoon best-ball pairings:


US                                        EUROPE

MATCH 1

PAT HURST                            CATRIONA MATTHEW                                             
BRITTANY LINCICOME               IBEN TINNING          

MATCH 2

ANGELA STANFORD                ANNIKA SORENSTAM      
STACY PRAMMANASUDH          MARIA HJORTH

MATCH 3

NICOLE CASTRALE                 SOPHIE GUSTAFSON      
CRISTIE KERR                        GWLADYS NOCERA

MATCH 4

PAULA CREAMER                          TRISH JOHNSON
MORGAN PRESSEL                    LAURA DAVIES

If you asked anyone who watched which players dominated the alternate-shot matches this morning at the Solheim Cup, they'd say Sherri Steinhauer, Lara Diaz and Juli Inkster for the Americans, and Becky Brewerton and Suzanne Pettersen for the Europeans. None of these five are playing in the best-ball matches this afternoon.

If you asked anyone which players played the worst this morning, they'd say Morgan Pressel for the Americans and Catriona Matthew and Laura Davies for the Europeans. All three are playing this afternoon.

I don't get it. But I guess that's why I'm not team captain.

The roof of the tent-like temporary building that's housing the media center here at Halmstad GK is flapping so hard in the wind, I'm not sure it's going to stay on. Outside our window, the rain is coming down hard and sideways. And the 2007 Solheim Cup got off to a shaky start on the golf course as well: in the first hour, there were more missed putts and botched chips than at the typical hacker's muni on a Sunday afternoon. This is usually the type of weather that suits the European players better than the mostly southern-state-bred Americans, but the US took two and half of the four points up for grabs, and the biggest upset came in the match between Laura Diaz/Sherri Steinhauer and Annika Sorenstam/Catriona Matthew, which the Americans won 4&2.

You know what they say, putting well is the key to winning match-play golf (especially alternate shot), and you needn't have looked further than to this match for evidence. Sherri Steinhauer missed a short one in the beginning of her round, then started to make everything. Her back-nine putting (with a long putter) was just spectacular -- and the way she'd point at the hole after rolling her putts while walking away with the other arm raised (see pic), long before the ball reached the hole, must have irked the Euros tremendously. Especially when practically every one of those putts went in, as if Steinhauer had commanded them to. And since Catriona Matthew was putting as poorly (she barely scared the hole all morning) as Steinhauer was putting well, the outcome, in the end, couldn't be helped. Diaz, too, was on fire, and since Sorenstam couldn't produce many miracles (except for a holed-out short pitch on 9, which woke up the crowd and momentarily helped the Euros to even out the match on 10), the Yanks dealt a powerful blow to the European side by taking this match, in which the Euros had been heavily favored.

The American players showed great resolve this morning, and a lead after the first foursomes is very unusual for them. In the past, the Europeans have dominated in foursomes and to some extent four-ball, while losing to the Americans in singles. Unless the Euros take the afternoon matches 4-0, this is going to feel like a very good day for the U.S. team. Stay tuned.

I'm thinking the town of Halmstad had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they signed on to host the 2007 staging of the Solheim Cup matches. If they did, they may have brought a more elaborate PA system for the opening ceremonies.

There are two hosts of this year's Solheim Cup: Halmstad GK and the town of Halmstad, the latter of which is co-sponsoring the event to bring global attention to this lovely community, which is celebrating its 700th anniversary this year. For that reason, the 2007 Solheim Cup opening ceremonies were held in the town square in the center of Halmstad; a darling venue where cobblestoned streets and cute little shops and restaurants abound.

But it's safe to say the organizers may not have accurately predicted the sheer onslaught of people that would show up to this event. I tried to get through the crowd to a spot where I might be able to see something, but it was pretty much impossible. And forget hearing anything; I was so far away from the nearest speaker that all I could pick up were mumbles and the occasional laughter coming from the podium. People were climbing on lamp posts and hanging out of windows; the only time I knew what was happening was when Natalie Gulbis was introduced and the crowd's roar overshadowed everything else (that girl is popular here).

I still had a great time. There's nothing like listening to tone-deaf golf fans try to sing along to national anthems of countries they've never even visited. And there's nothing like knowing they've all come out to watch some really talented chicks play some really awesome golf. Because as much as this day is about flag-waving, back-patting and honoring thy favorite players, tomorrow is something different altogether. Tomorrow is all about the game. And it's going to be good.

Annika Sorenstam may be busy anchoring the European Solheim Cup team this week, but she's not busy making wedding plans. The 36-year-old golf icon was engaged last month to longtime boyfriend Mike McGee (who, by the way, was having dinner with fellow golf-widower Ty Votaw, husband of Annika's teammate Sophie Gustafsson, this evening at Pio restaurant in Halmstad, while their significant others dined with their teammates and caddies — "We weren't invited," Votaw told me when we chatted over my plank steak). To check out a close-up of Sorenstam's pretty engagement ring, click here.

However, she told Svensk Golf yesterday that they're not planning to tie the knot until the spring of 2009. The reason for the delay? Sorenstam's going to give golf "her all" in 2008. So don't count the former no. 1 out just yet — she's playing pain-free and is pumped to begin competing on a world-class level again. "I'm going to go full steam ahead for the next year and play at least 18 tournaments," she told the magazine's reporter. "My thought is to start the season earlier than usual."

Music to any golf fan's ears. Sorry, Mike.

Thursday has turned out to be a beautiful day in Halmstad, Sweden—it's 68 degrees and sunny, and the north course at Halmstad GK looks as picturesque as it ever has for the 2007 Solheim Cup, as players are joyfully making their way through their last practice rounds. There are smiles all around and a fierce sense of anticipation hangs in the air. Juli Inkster almost holes out her 130-yard second shot at the par-4 17th in her late-afternoon practice session with Laura Diaz and Pat Hurst—only to be outdone a minute later when Diaz's approach from almost the same distance takes one skip on the green before disappearing into the hole.  There's hootin' and hollerin' all around. The group takes a good 15 minutes to practice different putts and chips on and around the green, until the silence is interrupted by a shriek from Diaz, who has just heard from a team insider that she'll be playing Annika Sorenstam in the morning's kick-off match (the official announcement regarding the Friday-morning pairings will be made at the opening ceremonies in about an hour). She's belly-laughing as she exclaims "I always get Annika in alternate shot!" One might think being matched up against the winningest Solheim Cup player in history should concern Diaz, but she's fist-pumping and high-fiving and doesn't exactly seem too disappointed. The game is on.

But unless there's some miraculous shift in the jet stream, the idyllic setting in which the players have been warming up for the 10th Solheim Cup is going to look mighty different come Friday afternoon. According to Halmstad GK club manager Mats Malmberg (who, coincidentally, is my brother's wife's brother—I told you it's a small country), the meteorologist that's been brought in just to call the weather for this event predicts heavy rainfalls to start mid-day Friday and continue through the night. Saturday the wind is supposed to kick in (with gust predicted to reach 40 mph) and the rain continue to fall on and off. Normally, this wouldn't present a huge problem, but since this part of Sweden has received 28 inches of rain since late June, the water levels are already extremely high so the slightest bit of rain is bound to cause serious flooding. 

In other words, this might become a mudder's Cup. The players who can manage the weather problems best will come out victorious. And since puddles on the fairway won't exactly help make the already long course play any shorter, the smart money is also on the players whose short games are on.

I'm about to head over to the opening ceremonies, which will take place in Halmstad's center square. And as I watch the celebration, I'm sure I won't be the only one who'll be sending a quiet prayer to the weather gods. 

Don't tell the Swedes that the European Solheim Cup team looks like the weaker of the two battling it out in the 10th staging of the women's version of The Ryder Cup this weekend in Halmstad, Sweden. Sure, the Americans may have racked up a lot more LPGA Tour wins this season, and sure, the European team has more unproven names (Becky Brewerton, anybody? Bettina Hauert?). And, of course, there's the little issue of team anchor Annika Sorenstam's still-healing ruptured disc and den mother Laura Davies's general lack of form. Plus the fact that the U.S. team is stacked with both rookies and veterans that all seem to be playing the golf of their lives this year (it's hard to find one weak link when you skim through the American players' names)... What was my point again? Oh yes, the point is that none of the above is deterring the Swedes.

Sweden, as a whole, is currently eating, drinking and sleeping the Solheim Cup. It is by far the biggest thing happening in the country this fall, and the entire population seems dialed in. I'll be jockeying for position with more than 80,000 spectators this week (and when you consider that there are roughly 8 million people in the whole country, that's not too shabby) and every shot will be watched on TV by a good portion of the Swedish population. European team captain Helen Alfredsson has called the home crowd her "13th player," for good reason. It seems most of them believe wholeheartedly that the Europeans will win.

Speaking of Alfredsson, she is an ace in the hole for the yellow and blue. Admittedly unorganized and "sprallig," (Swedish for, well, spazzy), she has more gumption and fighter instinct in her pinkie than U.S. captain Betsy King has in her entire body (in this humble blogger's opinion). Here's a perfect snapshot of the differences in the two captains: According to Natalie Gulbis' Solheim Cup blog on thegolfchannel.com, since arriving in Sweden, King and assistant captain Beth Daniel have been "spoiling" their players with daily gifts (Waterford crystal and USA hat pins), handing out snacks and giving bunker-shot tips. At the same time, according to Swedish golf magazine Svensk Golf's website, Alfredsson has been keeping busy with edgier tasks, such as helping team veteran Sophie Gustafsson locate a cat burglar to break into Gustafsson's car, in which she'd locked her golf shoes. "A woman has to do what a woman has to do," was Alfie's response to questions about that situation. She has also done her best to set up the Halmstad GK course (home-field captain's prerogative) in a way that suits her players best: loooong. With the rain that's been falling (and is expected to keep falling through the weekend), this track will play like 7,000 yards. And that's a big advantage for the bombers on the home team. Alfredsson is not a captain who is not going to let her team go down without a fight, and her straightforward personality, experience (she has played in seven Solheim Cups herself and lead the European Ping Junior Solheim Cup team to victory on Swedish soil in 2003) and unbridled enthusiasm will be great assets to her team.

Speaking of the weather, it's cold here, the winds are expected to be strong on Friday and Saturday and the rain will be coming in and out. That's another plus in the margin for the Europeans.There are six Scandinavians and four players from the UK on the team, all of whom grew up playing golf in horizontal rain and 40-degree temperatures. That's not exactly the case for the Morgan Pressels and Paula Creamers on the U.S. team.   

So while it's only been seven hours since I landed on Swedish soil (and most of those seven hours have been spent sleeping on my mom's couch), I'm beginning to question my own predictions that this Solheim Cup will be a slam-dunk for the red white and blue. It may actually be a lot closer than it looks on paper.

Navigating the World Golf Hall of Fame's new online Solheim Cup exhibit could be compared to Britney Spear's VMA performance last night: surprisingly skimpy and underwhelming.

I'm sure the actual on-site exhibit, entitled "Pride, Passion, Patriotism: A Celebration of The Solheim Cup," running until the end of this year, is wonderful. I had an opportunity to tour the Hall of Fame several years ago and was quite impressed by the variety and thoroughness of the memorabilia on display (see the online tour of the museum). I guess that's why I'm left scratching my head over the online version.

Granted, the Hall of Fame does note its online offerings are a sampling; I just wish the Hall had drawn a larger one.  The interactive exhibit features a left-hand navigation listing the year of each competition; each year's highlight contains a  slideshow featuring a limited number of very small pictures. An "In their own words" link allows you to read a few scant quotes from the players. There's a short overview of the matches, a listing of the players, and that's pretty much it. I was hoping to at least view some of the video in the exhibit, as you'll find on the baseball and football Hall of Fame sites.  My recommendation: Since the exhibits are usually pretty good in person, book your fall getaway to World Golf Village, make the Hall of Fame a part of your itinerary and check it out for yourself.