USA’s Indecency at Solheim Cup Leaves 9x DP World Tour Champ Seething With Anger: ‘Going Too Far’

The Solheim Cup was already in the news due to logistical issues and NBC’s poor coverage. On the first day of the tournament, long queues formed as only 5-7 buses were available for thousands of attendees. Recently, fans expressed their frustration with NBC because they could not show the score breakdowns. Amid these issues, another on-course incident caught the attention of the golfing community and divided opinion.

After the opening day, USA held a 6-2 lead and maintained their after splitting foursomes on Saturday. Alison Lee and Megan Khang were taking on Europe’s duo of Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom. However, things took a dramatic turn after Lee, making her first appearance at the Solheim Cup in nine years for Team USA,  spun in a wedge from 86 yards on the par-4 second for an eagle.

Following that, her bagman, Taylor “Shota” Takada, and her partner Megan Khang’s caddie Jack Fulghum ripped their shirts off in front of thousands of fans as a celebration, and almost everyone on the greens was in laughter. The caddies hugged the players and each to celebrate Lee’s eagle giving them an early 1 Up lead. But not everyone was a fan of the celebration.

DPWT pro Pablo Larrazabal made it clear that he didn’t like it. He shared a post on X, expressing his disappointment over the incident. “Shirts off from caddies to celebrate a great shot at the Solheim Cup? The game that I love is going too far the wrong way.” The Spanish golfer turned pro back in 2004 and has a total of 9 DP World Tour wins to his name.

Many fans in the comment section of Larrazabal seemed to agree with him. One fan echoed the golfer’s sentiments and wrote, “100%…. I love the passion but FFS 🤷‍♂️…. Where are we going,” while another pointed out, that the act was “Inappropriate, weird and out of place.” A fan also listed that such an act may not have been tolerated in the Ryder Cup. They wrote, “Embarrassing …if that was the Ryder cup they would have been told to leave.”

NBC broadcaster Terry Gannon was also left stunned as he was commentating on the events live. “Well hang on a minute,” he said before light-heartedly adding, “Stop right there. That’s enough.” While Larrazabal expressed his displeasure, the reaction of other pros differed.

Max Homa seemed to enjoy the moment and cheered on Team USA on his Instagram. He shared a clip of Lee’s shot on his IG story while tagging her on his Instagram story and wrote, “Traps Off! Lfg.” Michelle Wie West also took to her X and wrote, “LETS EFFING GOOOO.” Though the incident will divide opinion, there is a backstory to this celebration which may give it a different spin.

As per Golf Channel’s on-course reporter Kay Cockerill, Khang’s caddie, Jack Fulghum, suggested on the second tee that if any player holed out, the caddies would pay them $500, but Lee refused. Instead, she suggested, “No, if we hole out, you guys [the caddies] take your shirts off.” So there you go. This incident will also take golf fans back to the 2022 TPC Scottsdale with Harry Higgs and Joel Dahmen.

After making his par putt, Harry Higgs lifted his shirt and faced the crowd in the stands to celebrate. This was noticed by his playing partner, Joel Dahmen and he decided to join the action. He took off his shirt and waved it around as Higgs ran across the green celebrating.

Meanwhile, even though the situation involving the USA’s caddies at the Solheim Cup is unusual, the event has run into bigger problems with fans not happy.

The 2024 Solheim Cup is becoming a “mess”

The Solheim Cup had a difficult start with NBC’s coverage coming under scrutiny. Fans bashed the “awful camera angles, poor sound feed, badly timed walk-ons” during the opening ceremony of the tournament.

Moving to Friday, the situation didn’t get better. No, this time it wasn’t the broadcast, but the transportation nightmare the fans faced. There were only 5-7 buses available for the thousands of fans. This led to more fans being lined up outside to get to the Solheim Cup than on the first tee.

Then on Saturday NBC had to witness the golf community’s wrath once again as they were unable to display the score breakdown of the Solheim Cup on TV. This again turned the fans angry who lashed out saying, “Total garbage coverage by NBC, as usual. Add that to the list of f-k-ups associated with the Solheim Cup today. What a total mess.”

Well, in between all this Jack Fulghum and Taylor Takada may not have done the Solheim Cup’s image this year any favors, but it may not be the most frustrating part of the experience for fans at the event.