The Solheim Cup will be contested this September in Sweden and the United States Captain Betsy King announced Laura Diaz and Nicole Castrale as the final two picks for this year’s team.
This week’s Safeway Classic was the last event for which players could earn points to qualify for the team, and immediately after the event, King announced her picks saying, "(We have) a good combination of veterans such as Juli Inkster… and of rookies such as Morgan Pressel, Stacy Prammanasudh, Brittany Lincicome and Nicole (Castrale). We have solid Solheim Cup experience and we have a lot of youth and energy, as well."
King had strong reasons to choose Castrale and Diaz, both of whom played very well at the Safeway, "I have to say this is probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. But I’m very happy with the two players that I’ve chosen to complete our team. Some information about Nicole Castrale, she became a Rolex First-Time Winner this year at the Ginn Tribute, hosted by ANNIKA. And she had 5 top 10 finishes including a tie for 10th at the (McDonald’s) LPGA Championship. Laura Diaz, it will be her 4th appearance on the Solheim Cup team. She has 4 top 10 finishes in 2007 with more than $450,000 in earnings. And she has three top-10 finishes in her last five events prior to this week. She’s top-10 in greens in regulation at 67 percent," said King.
Another major factor that went into King’s decision was experience, especially since the Solheim Cup will be contested in Sweden this year, "I thought that was very important, particularly going over to Sweden to have someone that had played over there before. As you all know it’s a little bit of a different time when you’re over in Europe playing, you’re not drawing a lot of people rooting for you. You have to be pretty self-motivated. And I took that into consideration with my picks. I’m very happy with this whole team." Castrale was ranked 11th on the Solheim Cup Points List while Diaz was ranked 13th. The two provide a solid combination of youth and experience which will fit in very well with the rest of the team. This will be Laura Diaz’s fourth Solheim Cup appearance while Castrale will be the fourth rookie on the team along with Brittany Lincicome, Stacey Prammanasudh, and Morgan Pressel.
2007 U.S. Solheim Cup Team
Captain: Betsy King
Assistant captain: Beth Daniel
1. Paula Creamer
2. Cristie Kerr
3. Morgan Pressel
4. Juli Inkster
5. Stacy Prammanasudh
6. Pat Hurst
7. Natalie Gulbis
8. Brittany Lincicome
9. Angela Stanford
10. Sherri Steinhauer
Captain’s picks
Nicole Castrale
Laura Diaz