Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup gets rare crossover at first tee at Bethpage

• European Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist will also be present at the Ryder Cup’s first tee.
• U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford will attend the Ryder Cup to observe and learn.
• Stanford believes having Ryder Cup captains at the Solheim Cup would show valuable support.

CROMVOIRT, Netherlands – U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford has never been to a Ryder Cup. The 47-year-old Texan asked the LPGA if she could go to Bethpage Black and get a sneak peek behind the scenes.

What could the women learn from the men, she wondered.

“It was more of ‘hey, nobody needs to know I’m there,’” Stanford told Golfweek while on a site visit to the Netherlands for the 2026 Solheim Cup.

“I just want to learn. I want to see the behind the scenes. And then when we started talking about it more, credit to (LPGA commissioner) Craig (Kessler), he was the one that was like, ‘hey, you’re going to be on the first tee. It’s important for maybe us to start,’ he said, ‘just like the Ryder Cup captains need to be on our tee.’

“I think the guys don’t realize it, but just showing their support for the event that’s just like theirs, goes a long way. Like to have a Ryder Cup captain, European or American on our tee box? It makes a world a difference … just little things like that.”

Two years ago in Spain, then U.S. captain Stacy Lewis expressed frustration that there hadn’t been more synergy between the back-to-back Cups in Europe. The Ryder Cup took place one week after the Solheim Cup in Rome.

“I think it was a missed opportunity for the sport of golf,” said Lewis, who added that she worked hard trying to get some synergy between the organizations.

European Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist will also be on the first tee Friday when the matches get underway on Long Island.

It’s worth noting that before Kessler became LPGA commissioner, he served as PGA of America’s chief operating officer.

Stanford attended her first Solheim Cup in 2002 in Minnesota as a fan. She was already playing on the LPGA at the time, and took good friend and Minnesota native Angie Oberhoser (formerly Rizzo) with her to Edina.

“I purposely went to Interlachen in 2002 because I thought, OK, if I want to be a part of this, which I do, I need to go see one first,” recalled Stanford.

“I remember thinking, yeah, I gotta be a part of this. I knew it. … Little did I know that 2003 would be my first one. I didn’t see that coming.”