What’s it take to win the Solheim Cup? Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen have different answers

GAINESVILLE, Va. — At this year’s Solheim Cup, both the Europeans and Americans have team rooms set up in houses on property just next to the driving range at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Only minor details separate the exteriors of the two plantation-style grey-and-white homes. Red "U," "S," and "A," along with blue "E," "U," and "R" letters are hung in windows above their front doors. Their respective flags are raised at attention. Lawn chairs face outward from the deck of the U.S. home, while chairs on the European home face towards each other.

The groups inside the team rooms are led by two varying approaches to being a Solheim Cup captain: the calm aura of the U.S. team leader, Stacy Lewis, and the tempered, fiery nature of European captain Suzann Pettersen. Both are back as in charge of their respective squads after last year's 14-14 tie at Spain’s Finca Cortesin, the first time both teams returned the same captains since the second Solheim Cup in 1992.

Lewis claims she learned from the four past Solheim Cup captains who she played for or worked as an assistant for that the best way to lead was to be herself. Arguably, Juli Inkster has been Lewis's most significant influence. The current captain was impressed by how infectious Inkster's energy was through the team room. Pat Hurst, the 2021 U.S. captain under whom Lewis was an assistant, was not the same first-tee dancer-type captain as Inkster. Lewis' assistant captain Angela Stanford sees the 39-year-old Texan's approach as a middle ground between the last two styles: loose while bouncing around the first tee to Taylor Swift with her daughter Chesnee, and more serious when having tough discussions with her players.

Lewis sees her personalized mark on American captaincy in her thorough approach. "I like to be organized," Lewis said. "I like to get all the information possible and then make a final decision."

The meticulous Lewis brought a much more prepared mindset to last year's Solheim Cup than Pettersen. The U.S. captain maintains an extensive journal starting from last year's Solheim Cup to keep track of every detail for the week, from the hours the team would be at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, the clothes the players would wear, to bus schedules to and from the team hotel.

"She has left absolutely no stone unturned," U.S. assistant captain Morgan Pressel said. Minutes after that answer, Pressel had to laugh: she got a text message in the captain's group chat confirming bus schedules for the week.

Lewis communicates with the American players in an up-front, direct fashion. She maintained an open-door policy all year, answering any players questions about where they stood and what they could do to make the team. It was easier for Lewis to have those conversations while still playing full-time on the LPGA, building relationships over small moments— a five-minute catch-up in the locker room, a practice round together, a shared meal in player dining— that she couldn't have if she only was only on tour on occasion.

Building those relationships and understanding the nuances of each player's preparation style helped shape how Lewis scheduled her team's time at the course. The captain wanted to give each player the space to stay as close as possible to their ideal routine and keep them relaxed. A karaoke machine for their bus rides to and from the course? Lewis jumped on getting it. The thorough-natured approach has made the time on the course easier for Lewis's players.

"It's great to see how organized she is too, so our days are planned out to a T," Nelly Korda said. "We have nothing to worry about other than our business on the golf course."

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While Lewis thrives with her no-nonsense approach, Pettersen leads Team Europe using a more laidback philosophy, allowing her emotions to impact her decision making—and leading to last-minute changes. It worked in Spain, so far as the Europeans managed to rally on Sunday and retain the Cup when the matches ended in a tie, Pettersen says she’s learning that the lack of organization had a negative impact on her communication with the team.

Maja Stark remembered that Pettersen shared pairings plans at Finca Cortesin on Monday that week, only for it to be switched around and unclear what the changes were, leaving her players in the dark on the captain's plans. At times, the Euro leader's players felt the retired-from-competition Pettersen was more focused on being buddy-buddy with the team rather than leading, causing misunderstandings in where players should go with their varying questions.

"Last year I tried to be quite transparent," Pettersen said. "I think that was maybe not … it didn't come across the way I was hoping it was going to."

Pettersen was receptive to feedback from all 12 players last year, processing their thoughts and incorporating a more direct approach to Virginia. Instead of uncertainty, she's assigned a specific helper to two players and two caddies to create an easier chain of command. The team, reflecting their captain's direct approach, was frank in discussing Pettersen's communication learning curve last year.

"She knows when to say it," Stark, a Solheim Cup rookie in 2023, said. "She knows what's appropriate. Yeah, she seems more comfortable this year."

That’s not to say Pettersen is suddenly a completely different person than the passionate 43-year-old Norwegian golf fans have come to expect. She remains the fiery flip side to the last European captain Catriona Matthew, who led her team to victories in 2019 and 2021. Dame Laura Davies, a Solheim Cup legend who has been around the European team since the first matches in 1990, has served as vice-captain to both Pettersen and Matthew. While the younger players didn't see either of their captains at their major-championship-winning peak powers, Davies knows their teams can look to their captain's extensive success in the Solheim Cup and understand their decisions are rooted in results.

"Maybe that's why we've won the last three,” Davis said, “because what they bring is a good combination of great history in this tournament plus respect [from their players]."

The Euros have chosen not to invest in analytics quite like the American side. The U.S. brought on Justin Ray and his Twenty First Group team to have a broad set of data to comb through, pointing out what players are performing well. Lewis lived her adage of wanting as much information as possible the Friday before the Solheim Cup, staring at a sea of spreadsheets across her kitchen before calling Ray to process the overwhelming number of potential pairings.

In 2023, Lewis made minor tweaks up to the evening before play started, asking Lexi Thompson to prepare to play foursomes with Megan Khang with three holes remaining in their Thursday practice round. This year, Lewis is already in a comfortable place on what her likely opening session pairings are two days before the Solheim Cup begins.

"She's so knowledgeable and she knows each one of our games probably more than we do ourselves with the behind the scenes work she's done," Thompson said.

Pettersen shared that she had decided on her opening foursomes pairings two months ahead of the matches in Spain, trusting her instincts to make decisions. Her vice-captain, Anna Nordqvist, affirmed that the process has not changed much for 2024. The captain sticks with making pairings choices amongst the team's brain trust and a few helpers. The group believes that whatever pair they pick, those two players will find a way to get a point.

"I think you can look at stats and dive really deep into that," Nordqvist said. "I think you see that more going into Solheim Cups and Ryder Cups like in recent years, but I think at the end of the day it comes down to when you're out there, whoever you get paired up with. Some days you can have chemistry, and you've just got to get the job done."

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Even the team's practice round approaches reflect the demeanor of their captains. On Tuesday morning, the four American threesomes were quiet in their early preparation on the back nine, with the occasional cheer piercing the calmness. The Euros had music blasting from their captain's cart on the other side of the course.

Despite the contrasting approaches in how they lead their teams, what's clear is that both captains have extensive buy-in from their players.

"It's been so fun playing for [Lewis]," Korda said. "She's really, really involved, and I feel like she's been such a great captain, a leader, so she's been great to lean on."

"Suzann has been one of my heroes," six-time Solheim Cup veteran Carlota Ciganda said. "She inspires me a lot. She has a lot of power, determination, and I love how she is. I love when she talks. I love what she says to the players, how she treats us."

"I know she might not be for everyone, but I think she's a great captain."