She may be based Down Under these days but Dale Reid will still be keeping a keen eye on events ower yonder this week as the Solheim Cup swings into action.

"I'm in the middle of moving house and this will be the first one I've missed," said the slightly annoyed Queensland resident.

As Reid keeps a watching brief on butter-fingered removal men, Europe's female golfers are in Colorado preparing to defend that cherished cup and win for the first time on American soil in the 23-year history of the biennial skirmish. It is now 13 years since Reid savoured the most memorable moment of her career when she captained the Europeans to victory on the banks of Loch Lomond. It was possibly one of her most painful experiences too.

The decorated Ladybank golfer, who notched 21 wins on the Ladies European Tour during her playing days and topped the circuit's order of merit twice, was still recovering from a major operation but in the grand traditions of maintaining a stiff upper lip, the Scot opted for the grin-and-bear-it approach. It was going well, until the boisterous celebrations began in the aftermath of that 14½-11½ triumph

"All week I had been in terrible pain," recalled Reid. "But I had to keep it from the players. I was very ill from the surgery but hid it well. It wouldn't have done any good for people to know. That win in Scotland was the highlight in my career but the thing I remember most is the caddies lifting me up on their shoulders and bursting the stitches in my stomach."

Reid, a veteran of four Solheim Cup campaigns as a player, retained the captain's armband for the 2002 match in Interlachen, when Europe could, and probably should, have retained the cup in the United States. The build-up had been fraught and the omission from the European team of the Stateside Scottish duo of Janice Moodie, who had starred in the win at Loch Lomond, and Catriona Matthew, who never played at all during Reid's tenure, provoked much controversy and led to a few verbal volleys being tossed around in the press.

Despite of all of this, the visitors, aided by a clean sweep of the penultimate day's fourball session, went into the closing singles 9-7 in front. There would be no victory parade though; the US were rampant in the one-on-one jousts and racked up 8½ points from the 12 matches to roar over the winning line.

"I thought we were going to win at Interlachen and we had a good head start for the singles," said Reid, in a simple summing up of that demoralising Sunday. "I think we spent so much enthusiasm in the fourballs and foursomes and they [the players] drained themselves for what matters; finishing it off."

After the magical victory at Kileen Castle two years ago, Europe head back to America with the cup in their grasp. Matthew, the 43-year-old who will be making her seventh appearance in the contest, provides the experience while 17-year-old Charley Hull is one of six rookies in Liselotte Neumann's team. "Charley is the young blood and should have no fear," said Reid.

"Six rookies is a bonus and let's see how the US deal with the unknown. Liselotte is a great captain who has a lot of experience in the States and I'm sure she will lead them in the right direction. I'm going for a tie, although my heart says a win for Europe."