Why Laura Davies has never been Solheim Cup captain

Laura Davies has arrived at Finca Cortesin ready to resume her role as a Solheim Cup vice-captain for the third time.

After assisting Catriona Matthew in 2019 and 2021, Davies will now support Suzann Pettersen as Team Europe bid to make it an unprecedented hat-trick of victories over the United States in southern Spain.

And nobody at Finca Cortesin boasts Solheim Cup experience quite like Davies, who holds the record for both appearances made and points scored in the fiercely contested match.

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The 59-year-old has long been a shoo-in to lead the European team herself, but has so far resisted the captaincy role for which she will be perennially next in line.

So why hasn’t Davies ever taken the top job? We’ll let her explain…

“I’ve been indirectly asked before and they don’t want someone to knock it back,” she says in the latest issue of bunkered. ‘You want to be the captain?’ I’d be like, ‘No!’ I was still trying to play my way in.

“Now I do commentary so I can’t really give it a hundred per cent. I haven’t got the time and it’s not something I want to do.”

Davies competed in every single European side from the inaugural match in 1990 until 2011, and for a long period would not accept that her playing days in the showdown had come to an end.

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“Playing at a decent level you never think you’re over,” she admitted. “But I’ve known for the last four or five years I’m never going to get anywhere near the Solheim Cup and nor would I want to. That’s too much pressure.”

Now, though, Davies is relishing being part of captain Pettersen’s backroom staff as Europe chase the historic three-peat.

“When Suzann rang me up, I didn’t have a clue she’d want me to be a vice-captain, so it was really nice,” she said.

“I like being around the young players and because I still play on tour I know them all really well. I don’t do a lot. I give them encouragement whenever I can and if they want something I do that. I’ll just do whatever Suzann asks me to do.”

The 18th Solheim Cup takes place at Finca Cortesin from September 22-24.

• Read the full interview with Dame Laura Davies in issue 205 of bunkered, our Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup special which is now on-sale in all good newsagents. Alternately, click here to subscribe.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.