For Immediate Release
Solheim Cup Spirit Extends to Legends Tour’s Handa Cup
BOSTON – Following the recent Solheim Cup, players and captains are ready for The Legends Tour’s eighth ISPS Handa Cup, which stages an annual competition between Team United States and the World Team.
Two former Solheim Cup team captains will head their squads in this year’s Handa Cup, set for Oct. 12-13, at the Hermitage Golf Course in Old Hickory, Tenn., outside Nashville.
Hall of Famer JoAnne Carner, a former Team USA Solheim Cup captain, will lead the Americans while former European Solheim Cup Team Captain Pia Nilsson will guide her international squad in the competition.
“The competition in this event is getting very close and it brings out the true spirit of competition in all of these champions,” said Nilsson, who captained Europe’s 1998 Solheim Cup team. “Team competitions bring out a different energy than individual events, and it’s the energy, team spirit and confidence I think we all feel.”
Each team will be comprised of 12 U.S.-born Legends and 12 internationally born Legends. The World Team will include players from Australia, Canada, South America and Asia, as well as Europe.
The event will feature stroke play modified for a team format. Six 18-hole team matches (with teams of two players) will be staged on Saturday, Oct. 12, with the first nine holes using modified alternate-shot and the second nine holes played as a best-ball competition. In the 12 singles matches on Sunday, Oct. 13, players will compete in 18 holes of stroke play.
At last year’s Handa Cup, the World team led 20-14 with seven matches remaining, but Team USA came back and won the next four matches to regain the lead at 22-18. American player Nancy Lopez won the next match to give Team USA the final two points it needed to retain the cup. The World Team won the last two matches to move into a 24-24 tie, but the defending champion Team USA retained the cup with the tie score.
“It was a thrill for me to have done that and I had no idea while I was playing that I was in that position,” said Lopez, who will return for this year’s Handa Cup. “The people in Nashville were very supportive of the LPGA event there for years and bringing the Legends Tour back to them for the Handa Cup should be a terrific experience."
The Handa Cup began in 2006 and has been held annually since that time. The World Team has never won, but just as the European Solheim Cup team won for the first time on American soil last week, the World Team hopes to begin leveling the competition this year against the Americans.
Golf fans will enjoy seeing a number of former Solheim Cup players and captains on both teams this year. Team USA will have 10 former U.S. Solheim Cup team players on its squad, including 2013 U.S. Team captain Meg Mallon of Florida, and 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup Captain Rosie Jones of Georgia, who has not lost a Handa Cup match since 2007.
The World Team will feature five former European Solheim Cup team members, including recent captain of the winning 2013 Solheim Cup European team, Liselotte Neumann of Sweden. Her side will benefit from the services of past European Solheim Cup stalwarts Laura Davies, Alison Nicholas and Trish Johnson, all of Great Britain.
“This year, more than any other year, we will have to be confident with our game plan,” said Jones, making her seventh Handa Cup appearance this fall. “Adding Laura Davies and Helen Alfredsson to a team that now has Lorie Kane, a long-ball hitter who is still playing on the LPGA Tour, will really boost the World Team with renewed confidence. We will have to get off to a good start in each match.”
Tickets may be purchased online starting Sept. 1, at www.legendstourTN.com and will be available at the gate for $10 per adult each day. Kids under 17 and all military personnel with ID get in free. Advance tickets will also be available at area Walgreens stores at a discount starting September 16. Purchase a “Legends Pass” and get tournament access all weekend for $10.
For more information about the ISPS Handa Cup, visit www.thelegendstourcom.
About The Legends Tour
The Legends Tour is the official senior tour of the LPGA. The tour began in 2000 by LPGA professionals to showcase the talents of some of the greatest women’s golfers of all time. The Legends Tour has more than 120 members, including 12 LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame members. Legends Tour players have over 675 combined LPGA Tour victories, including 70 major championships. In its 12 seasons, The Legends Tour has awarded more than $10 million in prize money and helped raise more than $13 million for charity. The Legends Tour has hosted events in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Japan and Australia. For additional information on The Legends Tour, log on to www.thelegendstour.com .
Contact: Lisa Mickey at lisamickey@me.com or Sue Fracker at 617-513-4716 and at sfracker@jbcgolf.com.