Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis responds to ‘awkward’ house row

No golf tournament does controversy quite like the Solheim Cup. 

The 19th edition of the biennial showdown between the LPGA and LET’s finest is yet to get underway and we’ve already had our first tense back and forth.

Dubbed “housegate”, there has been some rumbling in the home team’s camp about the players’ accommodation for the week – notably that the Europeans were breaking clauses in their Solheim Cup contract at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

But while US captain Stacy Lewis admits it is problematic, she insists there is no “bad beef” over the incident.

“The closeness is a little bit awkward with the driving range and everything being right there, but we’ve worked through a few things,” she explained in her first pre-tournament press conference. “We’ve worked through a few issues, but we’re in a good spot now.”

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The issue, according to Sky Sports, is that Team Europe’s house has four driving bays incorporated into it, and they were using them when they’re not allowed.

The 39-year-old added: “Their team room kind of exploded onto the driving range a little bit, but we reeled it in. It’s all good.

“We adjusted the way the range was set up a little bit and moved the US team further down, so Europe could do what they wanted basically.

“The inside of their cottage doesn’t have a lot of room for tables, so their tables have to be outside. It was just that our players were warming up and they’re there eating breakfast and talking.

“We were just trying to get everybody some space so they didn’t have to listen to them eating breakfast. There’s no bad beef.”

Veteran Anna Nordqvist, who will play in her ninth Solheim Cup this week as well as acting as an assistant to captain Suzann Pettersen, added: “I don’t know if they are happy with their choice, but we’re obviously very happy to be right there on the range.

“The European team has done a fantastic job, the way they put our team room and everything together, and it’s just been such a good atmosphere with all the helpers and caddies and players and everyone involved.”

The Solheim Cup gets underway on Friday – and we previewed the competition in the latest episode of The bunkered Podcast!

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor