Laura Davies tell Europe to forget about making her Solheim Cup captain

Laura Davies has never been afraid to mince her words

Captaining Europe at the Solheim Cup is arguably the biggest honour that can be bestowed on any female golfer from Europe, but for one of the stalwarts of British and European golf, it would be the furthest thing from convenient. Dame Laura Davies has never been one to mince her words and if you’re looking for some straight answers on the current affairs of women’s golf, you can always rely on the 54-year-old to hit you straight between the eyes.

When asked about her willingness to captain at the Solheim Cup, Davies was at her devastating best and dismissed the idea right off the bat, “I’m not interested, I don’t want to do it,” she said. There’s nothing ambiguous about Davies’ desire to do the job and her words may have ruffled a few feathers of the younger players on tour by saying she would never be captain.

The main reason behind Davies’ decision not to be captain is that she feels that the players on the team would be too high maintenance and that is certainly something she could do without at this stage of her life and career. Davies said, “Solheim Cup players lose the ability to function for one week every two years, and it would drive me insane to go and get bananas on the third green.”

It’s obvious from her statements that Davies would feel put out by having to wait on younger players and possibly she also feels there is a line of respect that would be crossed. Being a captain is a thankless task and ultimately it’s about going above and beyond to give your players everything they need to succeed. There are some who feel they can do it and there are others like Davies who aren’t interested and certainly don’t identify with that culture.

It would have only been a matter of time before Davies was chosen to lead as the 54-year-old is Europe’s highest Solheim Cup points scorer and the player who has appeared in the most Solheim Cups. It will come as a blow for the European team that someone with the experience and know-how of Davies won’t lead but at the end of the day, that’s Dame Laura Davies and the reason why she is so revered on tour.

It has always been a case of my way or the highway for Davies and no one can ever accuse her of not saying how she feels. The pressure will be on the Europeans at Gleneagles this month after America’s 2017 Solheim Cup win and Catriona Matthews will have her work cut out as captain.