More.

It’s the word veterans Catriona Matthew, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen use to describe the changes they’ve seen in their years of playing in the Solheim Cup.

More attention, more media, more hype, more amped.

“I think when I played in my first one, I felt as though it was huge,” said Matthew. “But when you look back, they have gotten bigger and bigger, just more, bigger crowds, stands are bigger. There’s just more media attention. So you just try to not get too hung up on all that and just concentrate on what you’re doing.”

Matthew, Kerr and Pettersen are making their eighth appearance in the matches this year. Since joining Team Europe in 2002, Pettersen has earned 17 points playing alongside some of the biggest names in the game.

“It’s been a great ride for me,” said Pettersen. “I got to play with some of the best players at the time, Annika obviously on our team, but also some of the great Americans of all times, Juli included, Beth, Meg, Rosie, which kind of for me sets a standard of how to play this Solheim Cup.”

It’s the same standard Kerr has tried to uphold on the American side since joining the team in 2002, going on to win 14 points for Team U.S.A., all the while learning how to balance the emotions that arise throughout the week.

“The magnitude of the event. It just makes you more amped up, you have more adrenaline going through your system,” said Kerr. “One of our goals has really been to try to just keep our rhythm this week.”

No matter how many times they represent their country, come Friday, the pressure is beyond what even the most seasoned veteran could deny.

“You still get the butterflies,” Kerr said. “You want to play so well. Yeah, you put pressure on yourself, but I think the experience of having eight now gives me perspective. And I feel like I played pretty well the last couple because I know that to play well, I can’t put that much pressure on myself. And I think that’s what I’ve been trying to impart on our teammates is, don’t let the situation become bigger than hitting the same shot you hit ever week.”

“I think nerves will always be a part of it,” said Matthew. “If you’re not feeling that, I don’t think you perhaps perform at your best. But yeah, walking through it, I felt like I was walking into a stadium yesterday when we walked onto that first tee. I’m sure there will be a few jitters.”

Those first tee nerves are something players look to Matthew for advice on how to manage, having become a leader of sorts for Team Europe.

“Catriona is calm, and just looking at her makes me more relaxed,” said fellow teammate Caroline Hedwall. “Catriona is kind of a silent leader, I would say, she’s been on the team so many times and she’s always there if we have questions and stuff. She’s a great leader that way.”

“I think the good thing about our team is even though we have people like Catriona, they’ve won majors and they’ve played Solheims eight times and they are super experienced, they don’t act like it,” said Azahara Munoz. “I think that’s one of our strengths that we don’t get caught up in the silly things.”

As their focus has grown so has the talent of Team Europe, ushering in a new type of player that Pettersen says keeps her and her fellow veterans sharp.

“For the team it makes a huge difference because they bring so much energy, feistiness,” said Pettersen. “They all want to go out there and compete and win. And I think it’s been great. It’s been a great transition. But this is my eighth, but these youngsters, these kids keep us on our tippy toes.”

Striking that perfect balance between youth and experience will be the key to clinching the Cup on Sunday.

We’ll be waiting, on our tippy toes.

Solheim Cup Veterans - By The Numbers

	Suzann Pettersen	Cristie Kerr	Catriona Matthew
Appearances (Tied 3rd Most All-Time)	8	8	8
Winning Teams	3	4	3
Matches Played	29	30 (5th Most All-Time)	29
Matches Won	14	12	11
Points Won	16	14	17
Foursomes Points Won	7	3	6
Four-Ball Points Won	7 1/2	9 (2nd Most All-Time)	4 1/2
Most Frequent Playing Partner	Sophie Gustafson(7)	Michelle Wie(4)	Annika Sorenstam(6)

Youth Find Balance with Veterans Catriona Matthew, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen

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