Solheim Cup: Stacy Lewis credit win to KPMG Efficiency Insights

Stacy Lewis arrived on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership for final month’s Solheim Cup as assured as ever.

She knew her American crew had performed higher than her European counterparts all through the summer time. She additionally felt extremely ready, due to numerous hours of finding out potential pairings, potentialities, and knowledge.

However the Individuals had misplaced three straight Solheim Cups, together with the final one held on American soil in 2021. Then, with Lewis on the helm in 2023, the Euros retained the cup at Finca Cortesín in Andalucía. An undercurrent of strain permeated the U.S. crew, particularly into Lewis’ thoughts, as she felt destined to snap the U.S. shedding streak and get the job carried out this time. She assured herself that her crew would, however minor traces of tension lingered.

“What if we have now to reply the query as to why we misplaced 4 in a row?” was a query that lurked at the back of her thoughts.

That query by no means needed to be answered, although. The Individuals cruised to a wire-to-wire victory, profitable for the primary time in seven years. The U.S. raced out to a 6-to-2 lead after Friday’s Foursome and Fourball classes and by no means regarded again, profitable 15.5 to 12.5 as Lilia Vu clinched the profitable level on Sunday afternoon.

An enormous purpose for his or her success was by analytics, as KPMG’s Efficiency Insights helped Lewis make the suitable selections.

“The insights had been the idea of every thing we did, from deciding on the crew and who made the crew to my picks, pairings, and the way they performed all through the week,” Lewis mentioned to SB Nation.

“They had been integral to every thing we did.”

Computer systems spat out numbers, creating preliminary pairings. She felt assured in her “components” on Wednesday morning, when she scribbled out her plan primarily based on what the numbers steered. She then made slight modifications primarily based on kind, really feel, and camaraderie however nonetheless leaned closely on the analytics general.

But, Lewis desperately wished to place an all-star pairing collectively throughout alternate shot. She wished Nelly Korda to crew up with Lexi Thompson, a duo that may be a formidable pressure and ship shockwaves of pleasure throughout the property.

“I feel everyone would have beloved to have seen Nelly and Lexi,” Lewis defined.

“I used to be attempting to get them to determine alternate shot, and the golf balls they play are simply too completely different than I initially thought they’d be. So Lexi was going to should make some fairly huge concessions. We had different good choices due to the numbers, which clearly labored high-quality, however I want we may have made that pairing occur for the followers.”

The Efficiency Insights additionally performed a vital function in serving to Lewis make her three captain’s picks. On the finish of August, the numbers pointed to Sarah Schmelzel, Jennifer Kupcho, and Thompson, the three gamers Lewis chosen to hitch the U.S. crew.

“I made my captain’s picks primarily based on how we arrange the golf course, which we had been capable of set as much as the energy of my crew primarily based on the stats,” Lewis mentioned.

Photograph by Amy Lemus/Getty Photos

“Actually every thing we did revolved round it.”

KPMG has partnered with the LPGA for fairly a while. The agency additionally serves because the presenting sponsor for the KPMG Girls’s PGA Championship, one of many 5 majors on the LPGA annually. Amy Yang claimed her first main title at Sahalee this previous June on the 2024 KPMG Girls’s PGA Championship.

However KPMG continues to play a extra distinguished function inside the LPGA. They offered Lewis—and the gamers—with essential data for gamers to dissect and perceive, which in flip helped their general efficiency. The 2024 Solehim Cup is proof of that.

KPMG will proceed to take action going ahead.

“We now have a blueprint. Between myself and a girl from the LPGA, we’ve been engaged on a e-book we’re placing collectively for the following captain, saying, ‘That is what we did.’ Listed below are examples of stuff that we used,” Lewis defined.

“We wish to attempt to make issues the identical for the gamers going ahead, so we don’t reinvent the wheel each time, and KPMG helped make this all occur.”

The Solheim Cup will happen in Holland for the primary time in 2026. The U.S. crew will face a troublesome activity, as profitable a cup on the street is among the most difficult issues in golf. A minimum of KPMG and its efficiency insights will assist alleviate that problem.

Maybe Lewis will return for a 3rd consecutive stint as captain, making this tall activity extra manageable.

She didn’t rule out that chance.

“We haven’t had the conferences but, so we’ll in all probability get to that within the subsequent few months,” Lewis mentioned of her 2026 prospects.

“Some gamers and their dad and mom have already requested if I might do it once more. I’d have a tough time saying no, simply because I loved it a lot.”

Regardless, the U.S. Solheim Cup crew has an incredible system in place, thanks partially to the Efficiency Insights offered by KPMG. Due to that, each future U.S. captain ought to arrive on the Solheim Cup feeling as assured as ever—simply as Lewis did this previous September.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. You’ll want to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.