LPGA commissioner takes the blame for Solheim Cup transportation issues

GAINESVILLE, Va. — LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan took responsibility Saturday for the tour’s failure to get fans to the Solheim Cup in time to see the opening tee shots a day earlier but did not offer a full explanation of the debacle. The stands were full on Saturday, but the damage had been done, with media coverage more focused on the logistical problems than the dominant first day of golf by Nelly Korda and the U.S. “At the end of the day, I’m the leader of the organization and I have to own it,” Marcoux Samaan said. Marcoux Samaan said there simply weren’t enough buses at Jiffy Lube Live, the concert venue where fans paid $30 for parking, without explaining why the LPGA didn’t have a fleet of vehicles ready to shuttle spectators who were motivated to get to the golf course before dawn. The commissioner said the tour staff spent much of Friday in “triage mode” trying to diagnose the problem and ensure departing fans would be shuttled off the golf course efficiently.