CADDIE'S ROLE:Europe had victory in the palm of their hands in so many matches but somehow didn't manage to bring their leads home. Until it really mattered, writes COLIN BYRNE

THERE WAS a danger of the European Solheim Cup team being known as the nearly women. It looked like it was pretty hard to separate the women in blue from the women in red in the early stages of the early matches.

In the fourball and foursomes matches, Europe went out strong and came home weak. Europe had victory in the palm of their golfing hands in so many matches, but somehow didn’t manage to bring their leads home.

Until it really mattered late last Sunday evening.

I followed the marquee group of Laura Davies, Melissa Reid, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel for their fourball challenge on Friday afternoon. Killer birdie putts from Creamer on 17 and Pressel on 18 had the “old glory” ear-rings flapping with delight as the previously stony-faced Americans cracked broad smiles in celebration of their timely birdies and victory.

There was no difference in the four women’s golfing abilities, in fact the Europeans looked like the better ball strikers, but as all of us seasoned golfers know that is less than half the challenge of the game, especially in match-play.

Why do the Americans look like they want victory more than anything else in the world and more importantly, look very capable of delivering that victory?

Judging by the speed Laura Davies plays the game at, she would be more accustomed to taking half the amount of time it took the first afternoon group to complete their match.

Without taking away from the wonderful spectacle of the biggest team event in women’s golf being hosted in the idyllic location of Killeen Castle in Co Meath, something needs to be done about laboriously slow play. There would appear to be no system in place to even attempt to tackle heal-dragging on the women’s tours.

It doesn’t help the players, fellow competitors, the spectators, the event and the game of golf in general.

Could someone explain why it is necessary to take up to two minutes to hit a golf ball? What is going on in those pretty girls’ heads as they prepare for a shot? I put the stop-watch on some of the women as they got into their pre-shot routines and they were well over one and a half minutes each time.

There is no point in having a referee on hand if he is not going to enforce the rules and more importantly, not turn half of the generous gallery off the game due to boredom.

Slow play is killing the game of golf at every level.

Even with the unpredictable autumnal weather, which played havoc with Sunday’s singles denouement, trying to help the Europeans to victory with strong winds and heavy rain, it looked like the Americans did not lose their equilibrium despite the interrupted play during the final round.

Although not excelling, they looked like they were on the edge of success, lingering in their matches in anticipation of strong finishes like they had done in many of the four-ball and foursomes matches.

I joined the second last group on Sunday after the first rain delay, the dynamic young American Ryann O’Toole, the only American sporting a shamrock on the peak of her cap. The emerald symbol was otherwise a European preserve.

She looks like a real star in the making, with one of the most powerful and fluid swings on the LPGA.

She was strolling around the soggy Killeen course in her match against the Swede Caroline Hedwall like she was playing a practice round with her mates, with no apparent sign of nerves.

I thought the rookie Swede had missed her chance to claw back a hole against the rookie O’Toole when she followed her into the bunker short of the pin on the short 14th hole.

A novice’s error, I thought, and quietly wrote off a European point from that match. But Hedwall hung in there, just like the Americans had done in the fourball matches, and she out -Americaned the Americans, she miraculously provided a Solheim Cup winning half point for her team by winning the last two holes.

O’Toole looked like she became very aware of her pivotal situation as she hit her 17th tee shot with a two hole advantage.

I know we are biased, commenting on such a spectacle as the Solheim Cup being played in our own back yard, but the final 15 minutes of play at Killeen Castle were as captivating as you will ever witness at any team event.

Winning a tournament seems to happen in a whirlwind. When you are in that situation it is as if you are in suspended animation; a putt falls at the right time and suddenly it’s all hoo-ha and fanfare.

So it was at Killeen Castle last weekend. Some greens missed by the Americans and some putts made by the Europeans, including a Trojan birdie, birdie, birdie finish by their talisman Suzann Pettersen and the trophy got to stay at home for the first time in eight years.

The women in blue picked the right day to shake off the mantle of the “almost women”. Having spent the previous couple of days watching the Americans snatch wins from likely defeat the European women learnt well and beat their opponents at their own game.

A game based on belief and determination regardless of the odds.