Thousands of golfing fans from around the world have converged in central Iowa this week to watch a continental competition.Steve Mona, C-E-O of the World Golf Foundation, says “The Solheim Cup is one of — if not the most important, prestigious, well-watched tournaments in women’s golf.” Like the Ryder Cup competition for male golfers, women golfers compete for the Solheim Cup every two years. Des Moines Golf and Country Club is where Team U-S-A hopes to defend its title after beating Team Europe in Germany two years ago.

“It’s really different for a golf crowd, if you will, because in most cases at an individual tournament the fans are rooting for everybody, some maybe more than others,” Mona says. “But in this case, the fans are clearly rooting for one side over the other.” The rules of play make it different from a standard golf tournament, plus there are far fewer players on the course. This (Friday) morning, just four groups of four will be on the course, so spectators will be clustered together.

“It just adds up to a more electric atmosphere,” Mona says. Denver hosted the Solheim Cup in 2013 and Chicago hosted the competition in 2009. Mona says this year’s event is projected to have a 32-million dollar impact on the Des Moines area economy. “If the figures hold true, you will exceed the economic impact of those last two,” Mona says, “which is pretty impressive considering those are pretty big metro areas, i.e. Chicago and Denver.”

Mona says the Des Moines Golf and Country Club was chosen as the venue for the 2017 event because the course will challenge the professionals and can handle lots of spectators. Mona says another factor was the “tremendous interest” in golfing here from fans and local businesses. Early this week, after looking at ticket sales, Mona predicted a record number of spectators will follow the three days of competition.

“I knew how passionate Des Moines and the surrounding area is with respect to golf, Mona says, “and also the track record that the Des Moines Golf and Country Club had with the U.S. Senior Open.” A record crowd of more than a quarter of a million spectators attended the 1999 U.S. Senior Open in Des Moines — at the same course where the Solheim Cup is being played 18 years later. Mona suggests people who will be watching this competition in person get to the course early, to watch the golfers warm up.

“If you’re a golfer and you want to try to get better, you can learn a lot based upon how these top professionals warm up and how they go about doing that,” Mona says. Mona’s other tip for the fans is to try to position yourself close to the tee boxes, so you can hear the golfers talk with their caddies about which club to use and where to aim.

“And think about that in this context: you wouldn’t get to stand on second base at Yankee Stadium when the Yankees are playing a game…or you’re not going to stand on the free throw line in an NBA game, but you can stand five feet to10 feet away from a player getting ready to hit a shot,” Mona says, “so I would take advantage of that.” Mona has worked on the business side of the sport of golfing for 37 years. This will be the third Solheim Cup Mona has witnessed.

(Learfield Sports)

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dexter Fowler’s two -run triple sparked the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night at PNC Park. After trailing 5-1 at the end of the third inning, St. Louis rallied to avoid a fourth straight loss while Pittsburgh’s losing streak reached five games. The Cardinals remain third in the National League Central, one and a half games behind the Chicago Cubs.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rally Cat may be coming back to Busch Stadium. The St. Louis Cardinals are taking claim to the now-famous cat that darted across the field during the August 9th game against Kansas City, just moments before Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina hit a grand slam. The Post-Dispatch reports the cat has officially been named Rally Cat by the St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach. The organization is currently caring for the feline.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chris Long, the Philadelphia defensive end who grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia put his arm around teammate Malcolm Jenkins as a show of unity during the national anthem before the Eagles’ exhibition game Thursday night against Buffalo. Long, who starred in Charlottesville in high school at St. Anne’s-Belfield and went to the University of Virginia, was critical of white nationalists and the violence in his hometown last week.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott’s appeal of a six-game suspension over a domestic violence case will be heard by arbitrator Harold Henderson, who reduced Greg Hardy’s ban when the defensive end was with the Cowboys two years ago. Henderson is one of the people approved by Commissioner Roger Goodell to hear appeals under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Western Kentucky will host powerhouse Notre Dame in a challenging season-opening stretch that could feature four consecutive games against Power Five schools. The Lady Toppers will also face Iowa and Indiana of the Big Ten and Missouri of the SEC, in addition to hosting the 2nd-ranked Fighting Irish of the ACC.