Golf clap? Not at this tournament
Few events in golf feature - heck, actually encourage - players to display emotion like the Solheim Cup does.
With partisan crowds cheering every shot and players revved up playing for their country and their teammates, it's common to see usually stoic players do things they would never do in an ordinary tournament golf.
"You get more emotion than you ever thought you had," said Natalie Gulbis of the U.S. team. "The highs are higher here and the lows are lower when you're playing for your team because you want to play well so badly."
It's the ability to guard against emotions getting the better of you that is often the key to an event like the Solheim Cup, and few know that better than Juli Inkster, who at just over 49 will be the oldest player to compete for the Cup when she tees it up this week.
"I don't think you can get too high or too low," Inkster said. "I think that's why I enjoy playing with Paula (Creamer); we're both fiery on the inside.
"I don't think you ever want to let your opponents know if you're down or up. You kind of want to just hit the shots and hit the putts, and at the end of the round see how you do."
Creamer, who has an outstanding 70 percent winning percentage in Cup play, thrives on the pressure.
"It's an interesting thing - you feel things in this tournament that you never felt before," she said. "You find out who you really are in these situations."
By the numbers: Rich Harvest Farms will play at 6,670 yards and a par 73. ... More than 700 pounds of canned goods were donated Monday by spectators at RHF to benefit the Between Friends food pantry of Sugar Grove. ... The U.S. Solheim team has a combined 63 LPGA Tour wins; Juli Inkster has accounted for 31 of them. ... On Friday and Saturday the Golf Channel will air more than 10 continuous hours of daily live coverage of the Solheim Cup beginning at 8 a.m. central.
Dress like the pros: Like what the players are wearing during competition?
Well, you too can dress like the pros because for the first time in Solheim history, uniforms worn by the U.S. players will be available to the public in the merchandise tents the day after they were worn on the course.
I know you: Bo and B.J. Wie, the parents of rookie Michelle Wie, were spotted walking the course Monday morning.