GAINESVILLE, Va. — The atmosphere on the first tee to start the Solheim Cup is typically supercharged, excited fans waiting in anticipation as the opening matches between the U.S. and Europe get underway. But on Friday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, the scene was more subdued, with several of the 2,000 seats surrounding the tee left empty.
Posts on social media showed thousands of fans standing in long lines in the public parking lots roughly five miles from the course, waiting for shuttle buses to take them to the course. Fans described not moving in lines for long periods of time, with only a handful of fans getting on the limited number of buses that were transporting spectators to the course.
2 hours in the parking lot and only 200 yard from the front it’s a disgrace refunds need to be issued pic.twitter.com/Ky7eudA2Nc
— jon davidson (@davidson_jon) September 13, 2024
Waited in line for over two hours to get into the Solheim Cup this morning. Too many people, not enough busses. Do better next time @TheSolheimCup and @LPGA. #SoldheimCup pic.twitter.com/xKbZVnGXqy
— John Vrankovich (@vranko) September 13, 2024
What is going on @TheSolheimCup … these kids have been in line since 5.30am and end up having to watch the opening tee shots on a phone. They are not even close to getting on a shuttle bus. They haven't moved more than 10ft since they arrived
pic.twitter.com/xNoxUwft4J
— Michelle Holmes Golf (@mholmesgolf) September 13, 2024
Back at the first tee MC, Byron Kerr, extolled the crowd that was in attendance ahead of the opening match, saying, “You can make a big difference!”
U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis, who has been in every Solheim Cup as a player or part of the captain’s group since 2011, also noticed the small crowd size on the first tee. “We’ve gotta fill this thing up a little bit more,” Lewis told Golf Channel. It’s uncertain if she knew of the transportation issues that seemed to have arisen.
The stands never filled before the opening four matches got on the course, with numerous blue chairs in the grandstands sitting empty.
Sort of a nightmare scenario here on the first tee at the Solheim Cup with a ton of empty seats. Bus issues keeping fans from getting in. Shots in the air in a matter of minutes pic.twitter.com/nZ3JTmUEvs
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) September 13, 2024
While fans complain on social media that they are stuck in line waiting for buses to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, the grandstands on the first tee are mostly empty 20 minutes before the first tee shot is struck in the Solheim Cup. pic.twitter.com/Zc33qJwruy
— Ben Nuckols (@APBenNuckols) September 13, 2024
From the observation of fans on social media, the issues seemed to stem from a lack of shuttle buses and volunteers getting priority to take those buses that did arrive.
It’s not the first time this week that patrons have struggled with getting on shuttles. After the opening ceremonies Thursday evening, fans reported on social media that they waited multiple hours for a shuttle to leave the course.
The Solheim Cup is a marquee draw for the LPGA, with 131,000 fans attending the last match in America at Inverness Club in 2021. The LPGA’s Chief Marketing and Brand Officer Matt Chmura explained that this could be an even bigger Solheim Cup ahead of the competition.
“This could be the biggest event in the history of women’s golf,” Chmura told Sports Business Journal. “That’s the way I’m thinking about it.”
Golf Digest reached out to the LPGA for clarity on the situation. The tour eventually released the following statement via social media.
We recognize and deeply apologize to all fans affected by the challenges with shuttling from parking to the golf course. We’ve made significant changes to our transportation system to mitigate these issues moving forward, and we’re working on ways to express our regret to those…
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 13, 2024
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com