DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --- The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has announced the publication of a new hard-cover commemorative edition featuring The Solheim Cup, the most prestigious team event in women's professional golf.
The book recounts the 15-year history of the event in 12 action-packed chapters written by top American and European golf journalists who covered The Solheim Cup. Included is a special chapter devoted to Karsten Solheim, PING golf equipment founder, for whose family the event is named.
The coffee-table-size book is sponsored by PING, the LPGA, the Ladies European Tour and more than 25 companies, associations and communities.
Poignant moments and spectacular action photographs punctuate each chapter, most of them taken by Getty Images' world renowned golf photographer David Cannon, who has personally photographed every Solheim Cup match.
"Some of the photography literally jumps off the pages," says Bob Cantin, editor of the book and Solheim Cup project coordinator for PING, which has sponsored The Solheim Cup since its inception in 1990.
"The opening photo of the Swedish Air Force aerobatic squadron gives you goose bumps," he said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime shot, taken at the 2003 Opening Ceremonies in Barsebäck, Sweden, by Kay Bagwell and Rick Sharp."
Published by Sport Graphics, Indianapolis, Indiana, the engaging 188-page volume is designed by graphic artist Jennifer DeLeonardis, who creatively combines large photo-spreads with candids and "just the right amount" of white space.
The commemorative work accurately depicts the meteoric rise of The Solheim Cup in the sports world through the passionately written, first-hand accounts of the writers. They include Tim Rosaforte (Golf World), Patricia Davies (The Golfer), Jaime Diaz (Golf Digest), David Davies (The Guardian), Lisa Mickey (freelance), Derek Lawrenson (Daily Telegraph), James Achenbach (Golfweek), John Garrity (Sports Illustrated), Carl Magnus Hellsten and Tobias Bergman (Svensk Golf), Phil Richards (Indianapolis Star) and Len Ziehm (Chicago Sun-Times.)
The book is available for $40 on the internet at www.solheimcup.com as well as at The Greenbrier hotel gift shop in West Virginia. It can also be purchased at The Solheim Cup, Sept. 5-11, at Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Indiana. It is only available in limited edition quantities.
The Solheim Cup is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the LPGA and the best European-born golfers from the LET. USA leads the competition, 5-3, but Europe has won three of the four events held overseas and in 2003 regained the Cup they lost in 2002. The USA has never lost on home soil and will be looking to bring the Cup home in 2005.
Media Contact:
Connie Wilson
LPGA
(386) 274-6271
Bob Cantin
PING
(602) 687-5480
