Carin Koch: Excellent Open displays from top europeans

We saw some terrific performances from the European players in the Ricoh Women’s British Open at the Trump Turnberry Resort last week, where double Solheim Cup points were on offer for those finishing in the top 20.

In fifth place for the championship, Suzann Pettersen earned 32 points, cementing her place in the team, while Anna Nordqvist tied for seventh and earned 27 points to move into fourth position on the ranking.

Melissa Reid tied for ninth and earned 22 points, which means she’s now in fifth position with the chance to qualify for the team at the final counting Ladies European Tour event this week, the Tipsport Golf Masters in Pilsen in the Czech Republic.

Amy Boulden also tied for ninth earning 22 points, while Maria McBride earned 18 points for 12th and Hannah Burke earned five points for tied 17th place.

I was particularly impressed with the performance of my good friend and vice-captain Maria ‘Mimmi’ McBride on Friday, when the weather was really bad. Only Suzann and Maria broke 70 on Friday, with Maria’s round of 66 being the best score of the day.

Her determination and motivation to stay in it when she wasn’t doing well, to go out and grind in the bad weather, is very impressive. She keeps motivating herself to play and get out of the slump that she’s been in for two years now. She’s been a great friend for so many years and it’s fantastic to see.

This week, I’ll be watching the Tipsport Golf Masters from home to see if Melissa and Carlota Ciganda can play their way into the team. It’s another week for me to see how all of the Europeans are playing and after this I’ll know my four players from the Ladies European Tour points list.

There are two more tournaments to take place in the United States before the next four players from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are determined on 24th August, although the World Rankings don’t change as much as the LET points. I’ll complete the team by naming my four picks on Tuesday, August 25th, ahead of the matches in Germany from September 18-20.

This week we also have a team practice day at Golf Club St Leon-Rot, but the aim is for the players to see the course and I won’t be judging how they play. I just want them to be a team and have fun together.

The focus for me, my vice-captains – Annika Sorenstam, Maria McBride and Sophie Gustafson – and our strategic advisor Fanny Sunneson is to review the course. We’re looking at different distances on the holes to make it a good showcase of golf with some long holes and some short.

There is a really good variety of holes: some tighter fairways and some wider, and a mixture of flat and tricky greens.

It’s a straightforward golf course which is going to be a fair test and therefore the team that plays the best will win.

Follow me on Twitter! @Carin_Koch

Tagged Carin Koch, Ricoh Women's British Open, Solheim Cup 2015, Team Europe, Turnberry