THE BAGGAGE is nonexistent for Europe’s rookies, all five of them. Okay, so Europe have lost the last three Solheim Cups. So what? The new breed – raised in the slipstream of Annika Sorenstam’s reign as the sport’s most dominant exponent – are players with attitude, displaying a perceptible spring in their steps that exudes confidence.

There’s no hint of an inferiority complex. Why should there be? They’re the new kids on the block but they’re here because they’re good enough, and – as players who have learnt the art of winning, all over the globe – they possess winning expectations. It makes for an intriguing showdown.

The quintet of newcomers on the European team – Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, Germany’s Sandra Gal, England’s Mel Reid, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and the Netherlands’ Christel Boeljon – have accumulated a lot of experience into a short space of time.

All are proven winners, battle-hardened already by campaigns that have seen them criss-cross time zones and combine competing on the LPGA Tour in the States with the globe-trotting Ladies European Tour that seems to spend as much time in the antipodes as in Europe itself.

What’s very important to Alison Nicholas’s team is none of the rookies know what it is like to lose, and all are fearless. Past results don’t matter a whit. As Gal, a winner earlier this year on the LPGA Tour when she captured the Kia Classic, put it yesterday: “You’ve just got to put your poker face on and go out there and have some fun. It’s one of those weeks when you’ve got to give your best. You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for a team.”

The rookies in the team room have, of course, been well supported by the elder players, with Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth coming in for special mention from the young guns. And, to back up that motherly advice from the veterans of the team, the rookies have been arriving to their lockers only to discover notes of encouragement from the likes of Sam Torrance and Bernhard Langer.

“It’s very exciting when you get a note on your locker, it means a lot,” said Gal.

Of all the European rookies, the one who has most impressed – and looks tailor-made for the white heat of the Solheim Cup – is Hedwall, who has four wins worldwide to her name this season.

“In the beginning of the season, it was more of a dream coming here than really a goal for the season. I mean, it’s my rookie year, so I didn’t really expect to be here,” conceded Hedwall, adding: “But then, after starting the season pretty well and getting a few wins, it was, of course, an honour to get one of the captain’s picks.”

With her twin sister fulfilling the role of caddie here, Hedwall – who, naturally enough, nominates Annika Sorenstam as her “idol” when growing up – is comfortable with the course and the level of expectation placed on her shoulders. But, then, such is the spirit in the European team room, that all of the rookies in turn seem to be at ease and chomping at the bit in anticipation of being finally let loose in the biggest team competition in women’s golf.

Boeljon, who captured the European Nations Cup as part of the successful Dutch team a couple of season ago, is convinced that winning breeds winning. “I don’t know what this week is going to be like. I’ve never played in a Solheim Cup, so I don’t know what to expect . . . but playing on a team is nice. It is certainly something I’ve missed. I’m not sure there’s anything from the European Cup I can specifically take. It’s a win, so that’s probably means the most.”

However, Boeljon’s observation is indicative of the winning culture that this new generation of European player has as an integral part of her game. All five of Europe’s Solheim Cup rookies are winners. Indeed, Munoz – a bit like Hedwall – made an immediate impact on tour, winning on her debut. None of them has the baggage of being on a losing Solheim Cup team.

Does it help that to have no history of losing to the Americans? Gal responded: “It’s a little bit of both, pro and con. Like Christel said, I’m like a blank piece of paper. I don’t know what to expect. I’m just going to go out there and play.

“On the other hand, I do compete with a lot of the Amercians day-in and day-out in the US, so I know their games. This is a totally different format and different size of competition. So, a little bit of positive and negative.”

The facial expression spoke as much as any words, though. The assassin’s smile never left her. The poker face was on.