Laura Davies, ever willing to master the unforeseeable shot, worked on her short game for half an hour yesterday, flicking balls over a two-foot high white picket fence to three separate pin positions. The display drew a sparse but fascinated crowd.

The Swedish locals, backed by a sprinkling of Americans, are expected to swarm to this picturesque inlet town in the nation’s southwest to the tune of almost 100,000 over the next three days as Davies and her European cohorts attempt to wrest back the Solheim Cup from the United States, a further statement of the burgeoning fascination in women’s golf.

As Europe’s backbone in the past nine ties, Davies has accumulated 20½ points, one short of Annika Sorenstam’s record, and said yesterday that she would be “very surprised” if this was her last appearance. Why should it be? Helen Alfredsson may be among the quirkier spirits to have been appointed as Europe’s captain, but she would not have countenanced leaving “LD” out of the team.

Today, eschewing her normal role as upfront, lead player, Davies is in the third foursomes group, accompanying Becky Brewerton, the first Welsh girl to be selected, who, in Alfredsson’s words, is “very eager, very excited and playing very, very well. I have put Becky with all the tough players in practice, like Annika, Suzann [Pettersen] and Sophie [Gustafson], and she’s risen to the occasion, which is wonderful to see.”

Davies, on the other hand, is having a so-so time in practice and, almost as troubling, she is losing money in the process. “It’s misery for me, I just flat out haven’t enjoyed the three practice rounds here at all,” she said. “Whether that makes me a bad professional I have no idea, but I know I’ll be ready in the morning and that’s all that matters.”

Davies and anyone would make a formidable combination. This is a course that lends itself to long hitting and, surely, a player who is blessed with the ability to wind themselves up and send the ball huge distances ought to be a godsend. She emphasis-es, too, that the shorter the second or third shot here the better, because the Halmstad greens are full of wicked borrows and breaks.

“We carry the ball a lot farther,” Davies said. “Many of the Americans are not short hitters, in fact Brittany [Lincicome, who has not been selected in the opening foursomes] is probably the longest on the tour, but they tend to run the ball a little more than our longer hitters. Myself, Becky, Suzann and Sophie really fly the ball a long way.”

The Norwegian/Swedish combination of Pettersen and Gustafson will get the ball rolling for Europe against Pat Hurst and Cristie Kerr, the latter having won her first major championship, the US Open, at Pine Needles, North Carolina, in July. It may be just coincidence that Kerr, one of the more single-minded of players, has lost all three of her Solheim Cup foursomes matches, in which the need to accept a partner’s fallibility and occasional poor shot is paramount.

Davies regards herself as friendly with 11 of the 12 US players and would not reveal which one gets her dander up. Most believe it is Kerr, so it is a shame they were not manacled together in the first pairing. Never mind. Nor should it matter that the woman who has been the mainstay of the sport in Britain for so many years has never given a hoot for fitness regimes or fashion shoots. “If you don’t think I can walk 36 holes a day and swing a club because I’m 43, you’re wrong,” she said, a touch sniffily.

Cup format

Today

Morning foursomes (alternate shots; best team score wins hole; Europe names first): 7.05am: Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson v Pat Hurst and Cristie Kerr. 7.20: Annika Sorenstam and Catriona Matthew v Sherri Steinhauer and Laura Diaz. 7.35: Laura Davies and Becky Brewerton v Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer. 7.50: Gladys Nocera and Maria Hjorth v Natalie Gulbis and Morgan Pressel.

Afternoon four-balls (all play, best score wins hole): teams to be announced after foursomes.

Tomorrow: Four foursomes and four four-balls.

Sunday: 12 singles.