The LPGA is apologizing after fans waited hours on Friday for shuttle buses to take them to the prestigious Solheim Cup in Gainesville.
The opening four matches of the tourney at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club started with the grandstands about half empty instead of packed with fans as anticipated. Instead, those fans were standing in line, waiting for shuttle buses to take them to the course from the parking lots at Jiffy Lube Live.
Sort of a nightmare scenario here on the first tee at the Solheim Cup with a ton of empty seats. Bus issues keeping fans from getting in. Shots in the air in a matter of minutes pic.twitter.com/nZ3JTmUEvs
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) September 13, 2024
Fans posted photos and videos about their waits on social media. Some opted to leave. Others tried to get ride-shares to the tournament.
What is going on @TheSolheimCup … these kids have been in line since 5.30am and end up having to watch the opening tee shots on a phone. They are not even close to getting on a shuttle bus. They haven't moved more than 10ft since they arrived pic.twitter.com/xNoxUwft4J
— Michelle Holmes Golf (@mholmesgolf) September 13, 2024
Sports Illustrated described the lines at the concert venue as a mile long.
Just a glimpse of the line at the parking lot to get into @SolheimCupUSA. #SolheimCup @LPGA @kclairerogers pic.twitter.com/etw6gsUfUk
— Jeremy Art (@jeremyart) September 13, 2024
The reason for the waits, according to Golf Digest, seemed to be twofold. The tournament didn’t have enough shuttle buses and volunteers got priority for the buses that were there.
Making it worse, portable restrooms at the parking site were locked, The Associated Press reports.
“We recognize and deeply apologize to all fans affected by the challenges with shuttling from parking to the golf course,” the LPGA said. “We’ve made significant changes to our transportation system to mitigate these issues moving forward, and we’re working on ways to express our regret to those impacted.”
We recognize and deeply apologize to all fans affected by the challenges with shuttling from parking to the golf course. We’ve made significant changes to our transportation system to mitigate these issues moving forward, and we’re working on ways to express our regret to those…
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 13, 2024
The Solheim Cup was last played in the U.S. in 2021. It was expected to draw 150,000 spectators and pump $45 million to $50 million to the region’s economy.
Feature image courtesy LPGA
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