The first time Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford took her assistants out for lunch near the LPGA's stop in Boston, she took them to Chili's.
"We thought we were gonna get wined and dined," cracked close friend Kristy McPherson. "Stanford picked Chili's."
Fellow assistant Paula Creamer wondered aloud if Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley had taken his assistants to Chili's too. If he did, he probably wasn't part of the loyalty program like Stanford, which comes with free chips and salsa.
Needless to say, it's been a running joke for over a year now, and when Stanford gave them all thank-you gifts recently, she included a $50 Chili's gift card.
"I've spent more time in tears laughing with these three people than I have in a long time," said Stanford
of her crew of Creamer, McPherson and fellow Texan Brittany Lang.
"People keep telling me that we’re all so different, but it doesn’t feel like it when we’re together. We just connect. When I get in my own head, they’re really good at getting me out."
Stanford played with all three of her assistants at the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms. While the captain played on more teams with U.S. Women's Open champions Creamer and Lang, to the lesser-known McPherson, she was like a big sister.
McPherson first met Stanford at her rookie orientation in 2006. She'd already committed to playing in Stanford's charity event, though she thought she'd said yes to Angela Buzminski. McPherson showed up to Stanford's glow-ball event wearing capris on a frigid night in Fort Worth and broke her favorite driver. They've been friends ever since.
Golf never was McPherson’s first love. She preferred team sports, mainly baseball and basketball. In November 1992, a mysterious rash broke out in her throat and, at age 11, she was diagnosed with Still’s Disease, a form of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She spent the better part of the sixth grade in bed.
When the dust settled and any sport that involved running and jumping was ruled out, golf remained. She played much of her LPGA career fighting pain.
Now a caddie at Pelican Golf Club, site of the LPGA's penultimate event of the season, McPherson brings both an analytical mind to Stanford's team and a fun-loving personality.
"I’m never going to be the one that lets a girl get down, or lets a girl lose confidence," said McPherson.
The 20th edition of the Solheim Cup kicks off Sept. 11 at Bernardus Golf in The Netherlands, where Stanford and team will try to win on foreign soil for the first time since 2015.
Here's more on the three assistant captains who will stand by her side.
2026 Solheim Cup U.S. assistant captains
Paula Creamer
Stanford has leaned on 40-year-old Creamer to be in the room at important times, especially tough conversations in Boston when the team was finalized. The 10-time LPGA winner and 2010 U.S. Women's Open champion played in her first Solheim Cup as a 19-year-old rookie in 2005. A veteran of seven Solheim Cup teams, Creamer carries a 17-9-5 record as a player. She also served as an assistant captain for Stacy Lewis in 2024 and gained the respect of a new generation.
In January 2025, Creamer was involved in a harrowing car accident on daughter Hilton's 3rd birthday that put her LPGA career on hold.
Creamer on Stanford: "I never in a million years thought Angela would have my location on her phone of knowing where I am at. I can tell you that.
But it is, you know, she always has bled red, white, blue. To watch her in this element, it's unbelievable how she has given every part of her to this team, to this event, and it's a legacy that is going to keep continuing down the road of all the next captains as well."
Captain says: "I think just having [Paula] there, and knowing that she’s been very loyal. She wants to do anything she can to help. She doesn’t ever want to feel like she’s not giving it 100 percent to help us win. She has a lot of good things to offer, but then she knows when to offer them and when to not. Her timing is really good."
Kristy McPherson
One of Stanford's closest friends during her playing days, the outgoing McPherson will likely be called upon to lighten the mood from time to time and spit out stats all week in her strong Southern drawl. McPherson, 45, played on on the victorious 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team and finished runner-up at the 2009 ANA Inspiration to good friend Brittany Lincicome.
McPherson on Stanford: "She has the biggest heart that you'll ever see. You can see that with her and you can see that with the girls."
Captain says: "K-Mac just has an energy about her. She loves the event; she loves red, white and blue. There’s just a vibe and an energy level that you need when you go to Europe. You can’t be flat."
Brittany Lang
The 2016 U.S. Women's Open champion partnered with Stanford in two Solheim Cups and the Texans were teammates in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. A veteran of five Cups, 41-year-old Lang, now a mother of two, went 4-0-0 in the four-ball format with good friend Brittany Lincicome. Stanford will lean on Lang's upbeat, no-nonsense approach when the heat rises in Europe.
Lang on Stanford: "She is so thorough, so prepared, dives into all the stats. She just doesn't leave anything out. I'm impressed by that, how organized she is."
Captain says: "There’s a calming confidence to her that I love. When I get a little emotional, when I get a little frazzled, I just look at Lang, and it’s going to be OK."
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer Golfweek covering the LPGA and women's golf.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Meet the assistants helping U.S. captain Angela Stanford at 2026 Solheim Cup
