DUNSANY, Ireland – Stacy Lewis lost consecutive foursomes matches with Angela Stanford as a partner. The fiery Solheim Cup rookie was not happy and everyone else on Team USA knew it. So she and captain Rosie Jones had a little chat.
Jones wanted to put Lewis out in the afternoon fourballs so Lewis could play her own ball, but she needed reassurance that she would remain upbeat and put the losses behind her.
‘She’s the kind of player that gets down on herself and she wants to be great all the time,’ Jones said. ‘She doesn’t really let herself make mistakes. When it’s not there, she gets harder on herself.
‘That’s kind of what I was letting her know. Your little funk is bigger than just your little funk. You need to try to get out of it and have a little bit of an attitude adjustment. You can’t play with a partner and think you’re not affecting that person.’
It worked. Lewis paired with Ryann O’Toole in the afternoon and defeated Sandra Gal and Christel Boeljon, 2 and 1, in a match that helped the Americans take a 3-1 advantage in the fourball session.