Solheim Cup tie: Should we use a playoff to decide a stalemate?

US captain Stacy Lewis believes it would be better for TV and the fans if a playoff decided the 2023 Solheim Cup.

Europe retained the trophy when drawing 14-14 with Team USA after home favourite Carlota Ciganda holed the decisive putt against Nelly Korda at Finca Cortesin.

As Suzann Pettersen’s side held the trophy from the 2021 matches in Ohio, it will stay on the continent until the 2024 Solheim Cup in Virginia.

“I was sitting there at the closing ceremony next to Mollie (Marcoux Samaan, LPGA commissioner),” she said.

“We were talking about whether there should be – when it is a tie, should it be a playoff, should it be ‘a retain the Cup?’ I don’t know, I mean, it obviously would be better TV.

“It would be a better experience for the fans if there was a – whether it was a team playoff or something like that, I think that would be pretty cool.”

This was the first-ever draw in the event’s history and it has only happened twice at the Ryder Cup.

Should there be a decider if the Solheim Cup results in a draw, and the Ryder Cup too? Should retaining the trophy be held in the same regard as winning it?

NCG’s Tour team cracked their heads together and debated the topic:

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Solheim Cup tie debate

Team Europe earned the right to keep the trophy

I have to ask the question, writes Matt Coles. Would Stacy Lewis have made the same comments if the Americans had retained the Solheim Cup on Sunday?

The fact the 2023 Solheim Cup was the first to end in a tie shows how close the two teams were, and for me, a tied-team event is a perfect way to end things.

For the Europeans who won on American soil two years ago, being able to retain the trophy after this 14-14 draw is a testament to their efforts at the Inverness Club.

If we briefly hop over to the Ryder Cup, ‘The Concession’ of 1969 when Jack Nicklaus picked up Tony Jacklin’s marker on 18 at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s is one of the most famous moments in the event’s history.

Another draw happened again two decades later at The Belfry, this time with the Europeans retaining the trophy.

Golf is not the only sport where a draw results in possession of the trophy. For instance, Australia retained The Ashes after a 2-2 draw across five test matches in England earlier this summer.

The retention of the Ryder and Solheim Cups is a thing of history and something that does not need changing.

If you draw a fight as boxing’s world heavyweight champion, do you lose the belt? No.

The celebrations that we saw on Sunday after Ciganda won her match showed exactly why both competitions should stay exactly as they are.

Celebrate all night, but Europe didn’t win the Solheim Cup

It’s a tricky one, writes Matt Chivers. I understand if you hold the trophy from the last event and if you don’t get beat in the next one, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t keep it.

But there is no reason why America should feel any different to Europe after this Solheim Cup—they weren’t beaten, and the score is evidence that they didn’t lose.

Ciganda holed the decisive putt and celebrated how you’d expect her to, but Korda’s teammates ensured they didn’t lose the match by picking up the same points as Team Europe.

A big storyline approaching the week was ‘Can Europe complete their first-ever Solheim Cup hat trick?’ The answer was no because they didn’t win the Solheim Cup for the third time in a row.

After such a tense singles session last Sunday, perhaps the rapturous celebrations at Finca Cortesin were for avoiding defeat rather than claiming victory.

I’m sure if I was part of a team that had just retained a prestigious trophy, I’d also be jumping in a swimming pool and drinking through the night.

But Suzann Pettersen did no better job than Stacy Lewis last week. The teams collided to produce a stunning match that didn’t find a winner.

I don’t think there should be a playoff or anything to that effect, I just don’t believe retaining the trophy via a draw is the same as winning the trophy outright.

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