My Top 10 Rulings

9 Annika Sorenstam
2000 Solheim Cup
Loch Lomond

At the biennial Solheim Cup in 2000, the European pairing of Annika Sorenstam and Janice Moodie were 1-down to Pat Hurst and Kelly Robbins playing the 13th at Loch Lomond. With Hurst only 3-feet away for birdie, it looked as though the American’s were going to increase their lead. But then Annika miraculously holed her chip from off the green to great cheers from the partisan galleries. However, seconds later Robbins claimed that Sorenstam had played out of turn. Although Robbins was on the green, she said that Annika’s ball was in fact closer to the hole that she was. The match referee called the chief referee and then both captains appeared. A long discussion followed, after which the US captain Pat Bradley insisted that Annika replay her shot. At this point, Annika promptly burst into tears. After a several minute delay, she replayed the shot and, of course, missed. Hurst rolled in her own putt to take the Americans 2-up, which they turned into a 2-up victory four holes later. The match didn’t affect the overall result, a European win by three points. But the American “win at all costs” attitude certainly didn’t go down well.