Team USA players are backing Stacy Lewis after the captain ditched the pod system for the Solheim Cup to encourage a greater togetherness in the team room.
First introduced into the 2008 Ryder Cup by Paul Azinger, the system placed players into smaller groups to suit both style of play and personalities in order to make pairings easier during the week.
Solheim Cup captains have been using the pod system but Lewis has ditched the concept in favour of trying to make the team one big group again.
Ally Ewing has backed the approach and thinks it will create a stronger team bond at Finca Cortesin in Spain during the match against Europe.
“I think it’s a new approach. It’s a great approach,” said Ewing. “I think, if anything, it’s going to bring us together.
“It doesn’t really cluster us or categorize us to certain people that we’re around, for the most part, so I think we’re going to see even more strength in the team room as an aspect of it. So I think it’s going to be nothing but great for us.”
With Europe winning the last two Solheim Cups, USA need to find something different to avoid losing three in a row, and Lewis believes this is it.
And as she’s also captain for next year’s quick return Solheim Cup back in America, many of the same players will likely be used – so having a bond between the entire squad would be beneficial.
Lexi Thompson is playing in her sixth Solheim Cup, a decade after making her debut as a teenager, and she agrees that Lewis is making the right decision.
“Yeah, I agree. Not that the pod system was a bad thing by any means, but I think Stacy has a great strategy in mind and just all keeping us together and not really breaking us apart,” said Thompson.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“We all get along very well and we know each other’s games well too, so that always helps. But I definitely believe that Stacy knows what she’s doing, so we’re excited for the week.”
Danielle Kang had the best answer when comparing a full team collective responsibility to the pod system.
“It’s been pretty cool,” she said. “When I’m late, I have everybody calling me instead of my pod, so we’re good.”
There’ll also be an increased use of statistics for this Solheim…
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