One of the great international golf competitions is the Solheim Cup, which is taking place in the state of Virginia this week. The event occurs every other year, and matches twelve great female players from Europe against twelve from the United States. The players earn the right to be on the team by how they've performed over the previous two years. Some spots are also open for team captains to pick
The actual competition will occur Friday to Sunday, but today's players were pairs of celebrities and guests competing as two person teams. The format was a two person scramble. For each hole, each person hits, then the pair decides who's shot to use. That is repeated each time until the hole is finished, then repeated for every other hole until they are done.
I walked with this group, reporting their scores after each hole was finished. The two celebrities in my group were reality TV and social media stars Wells Adams and Taylor Smith, both of which I don't know. Which was fine. All that mattered to me was that they were fun, courteous people to be around.
A normal round of golf is eighteen holes. These groups played nine, fitting into the overall time windows of the event. One of our two groups would up tied for the lead when they were done, which was very exciting.
Even more exciting to me was meeting chef José Andrés, who's World Food Kitchen charity is feeding many thousands of devastated and displaced people around the world for free. He and his teams go into war torn regions, risking their lives, to provide nourishment and care. They are currently feeding tropical storm survivors in Puerto Rico, displaced peoples throughout eastern Europe, flood victims in Bangladesh, and displaced Palestinians in the eastern Mediterranean. I'm proud to be a regular supporter.
(All photos are property of the author)