Suzann Pettersen hits back after criticism from 'bitter' and 'short' Leona Maguire
Suzann Pettersen insisted she had no regrets after Leona Maguire criticised the European Solheim Cup captain for not playing her much.
Team Europe captain Suzann Pettersen insisted she had no regrets after she left out Leona Maguire for the majority of the Solheim Cup.
Team USA ended a seven-year wait for a victory in the Solheim Cup on Sunday.
The red, white and blue saw off a late European fightback in the singles to secure a three-point victory at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.
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Maguire immediately put her captain under the spotlight by telling reporters that it was 'a bitter pill to swallow' at not getting the opportunity to play as much as she would have liked.
She played just twice all week.
The Irishwoman had previously amassed a stellar 7-2-1 record in the previous two contests but didn't play at all on Saturday.
Maguire and Georgia Hall were defeated 6&4 by Nelly Korda and Megan Khang in the day one fourballs.
Maguire, 29, said that Pettersen, 43, did not give much of a reason for her omission.
She did say, though, that she believed Pettersen thought she was 'a little bit short' and did not make 'enough birdies'.
"I felt like I played great golf today," Maguire said after her 4&3 victory over Ally Ewing.
"I feel like I’ve been playing really great golf all week in practice, and it was a bitter pill to swallow to be sat out for as many sessions as I was, but I thought I got a point to prove today, and I love the Solheim Cup."
Of Pettersen, Maguire added: "She didn't give much reason, to be honest.
"The feeling I got was that I was a little bit too short and didn't make enough birdies, but I think proved today there's more than one way to skin a cat, and I think I made plenty of birdies today.
"[It was a] captain's decision. I'm a team player, and all I could do today was come out and win my point, and that's what I did."
Pettersen later said in her news conference that she just followed her gut.
"And sometimes you get outplayed," she said.
"It's always going to be hard to do the pairings. Sometimes you get it right. Sometimes you get outplayed.
"Maybe you could have played other players, maybe you could have faced different opponents.
"You can always look back but I don't think we as a team have any regrets of what we did.
She added: "It's extremely difficult to seat any players on this team.
"The way it turned out, that's how it turned out."
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