After an Unsatisfying Stalemate at the Solheim Cup, It's Time to Ban Ties

Europe retained the Solheim Cup after a 14-14 result but Alex Miceli says rules should be changed to allow for a clear winner.

ANDALUCIA, Spain — The Solheim Cup ending in a tie felt like unfinished business to most that watched the three days of competition at Finca Cortesin.

For the first time in 18 Solheim Cups, both teams have something to crow about, but the Cup stays with the previous winner in the event of a tie—the Europeans—and that must sting just a little.

Stacy Lewis's U.S. team didn't win the Ryder Cup Sunday but the Europeans didn't win it either :: John Walton/Getty Images

“I looked forward to going back with the Ryder Cup on the Concorde,” said Raymond Floyd in 1989. “I’m not going back with the Ryder Cup, but at least I’m not going back a loser.”

Floyd’s sentiment seems like how both captains felt in Spain, but the Europeans were a little more animated since they got to keep the Cup.

When Floyd made those comments, he was the 1989 U.S. Ryder Cup captain at The Belfry and, like Lewis, he was coming to Europe with a team that was trying to break a two-Cup losing streak.

Of course, they didn’t and left Europe without the Cup, needing to wait until 1991 and the "War on the Shore," where nerves got a little frayed on both sides and the Dave Stockton-led U.S. team clearly made the event a competition versus an exhibition.

In 1989, no one asked the question if ties made sense, but in 2023 the question should be asked.

“Should it be a playoff?” Lewis asked. “I don't know, I mean, it obviously would be better TV. It would be a better experience for the fans if there was a—whether it was a team playoff or something like that, I think that would be pretty cool.”

Lewis didn’t know how she felt about a playoff format but there is precedence for one, with the 2003 Presidents Cup having Tiger Woods and Ernie Els play three extra holes before captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player decided enough was enough and the Cup was shared.

But even that was 20 years ago and eventually the Presidents Cup rules were changed to eliminate playoffs and allow ties.

“Believe me, a tie is better than a loss,” Floyd said. “We lost the last two and have stopped a skid.”

What would Floyd have said if he had the option to have a playoff in 1989?

He clearly didn’t see the three days at the former potato field called The Belfry as finished business.

The world of sport is different now, fans want a winner and a loser, and we got neither in Spain this weekend.

The next Solheim Cup is next year at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in suburban Northern Virginia with the U.S. team hoping to finally get their hands on the cup, but what if it’s a tie again? Would that really be acceptable?

"Ban the Tie" should be fans' rallying cry, because it just doesn’t make sense in 2023.