The LPGA Tour has issued an apology after it was reported that thousands of fans had missed the start of the Solheim Cup due to issues taking fans in shuttle buses to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.
The match promises three days of top action between the US and the Europeans before huge and raucous crowds. Typically, the tone is set from the very first tee shot, and Team Europe’s Esther Henseleit had the honor of getting the 2024 edition underway at 7.05am ET on Friday.
However, the special atmosphere associated with the moment will likely have been tempered by transport issues afflicting thousands of fans trying to make it to the venue for the start, with long delays of shuttle buses scheduled to take fans from the parking lot at the Jiffy Lube Live amphitheater to the venue around five miles away
Following the issues, the LPGA has released a statement on social media, reading: "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."
Earlier, Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols was among those reporting on X of the delays. She also posted footage of sparsely populated stands less than half an hour before the action began.
She wrote: “First tee shot goes in the air at 7:05 (in 25 minutes) and there are so many empty seats. Serious transportation issues going on this morning. Wish they could push back tee times but too much golf to get in.”
Sure enough, many fans stuck in queues for the shuttle buses have also commented and posted photographs showing the extent of the problem.
One account wrote: “No busses have picked up Fans yet….there are thousands of people in line,” and Nichols responded: “This explains why there so are many empty seats on the first tee. What a disaster."
Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter also flagged up the problem, writing: “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.”
Golf Monthly's Women's Golf Editor Alison Root was among those facing delays even after having made it onto a shuttle bus over an hour before the first tee shot. She reported: "I was desperate to get to the 1st tee for the first match, got on the 6am shuttle, but had to get off again as the coach was full. The next shuttle wasn’t due for half an hour. Apparently the shuttles have been a problem all week."
Later, she revealed she had arrived at the course via alternative means, saying: "Got here for the third group, thanks to Skyscanner host driving to the course."
Some fans in line sent messages with photos showing they had been forced to watch the opening shots on their phones while they awaited their transport to the venue.
One wrote: "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."
Another fan described the situation as "absolutely atrocious" and reported that fans arrived at 5.00am only to still be waiting for a bus 90 minutes later.
Nichols later put the delays down to poor planning, and suggested the potential for problems should have been obvious far sooner than the first morning of the match. She wrote: "When I saw the shuttle schedule for the media at the Solheim, I sent a warning note before I even left Florida. This was poor planning from the start. Every day we’ve been talking to shuttle drivers hoping to prepare for today."
The problems have certainly got things off to an inauspicious start for arguably the most anticipated women's contest of the year. However, with reassurances from the LPGA Tour that the necessary changes have been made to improve the process, hopefully, attention can now turn to the action on the course.
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