Solheim Cup fans arrive the Dutch way, with thousands of bikes at Bernardus Golf

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — How else would you get to a golf tournament in the Netherlands?

The Solheim Cup between the United States and Europe at the Bernardus Golf course in rural North Brabant province is encouraging the thousands of fans lining the fairways to arrive the Dutch way — on two wheels using pedal power.

Janet Metcalfe, a 58-year-old retiree from Cheshire in England, was happy to saddle up for a 30-minute ride from her hotel in nearby Vught to the course.

“It's just been a typically Dutch thing,” she said after parking her bike in the rows of racks provided for fans. “Absolutely brilliant.”

She was impressed by the other road users in the Netherlands where cycling and giving way to bikes is ingrained in the national DNA.

“Being British, we don't trust that the traffic will stop but it does, every single time,” she said.

Riding to the course is an easy way to avoid waiting for a crowded shuttle bus. The last edition of the tournament, at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, was hit by transport issues that saw half-empty stands on the first morning of the event.

The Netherlands is renowned as a paradise for cyclists.

According to the national statistics office, the nation of 18 million people and 23 million bikes has some 153,000 kilometers (95,000 miles) of “paths and roads where cyclists are welcome” including dedicated bike paths and roads with cycle lanes.

Those include the bucolic 9-kilometer (5 1/2-mile) ride from the railway station in Den Bosch to Bernardus through farmers' fields where cattle graze in scenes reminiscent of a Paulus Potter Golden Age painting.

Chris Thompson, 82, from Dorset in England, is a seasoned bike rider, who had no trouble with the morning ride.

“Piece of cake,” he said. “This is superbly organized. You would have to be silly to make mistakes” with the well-signposted route.

The only problems? Finding your ride among the thousands of bikes in the parking area as the crowds head for home and maybe a bit of tenderness for cycling novices.

“There are a few sore points,” said Metcalfe.

See AP's full golf coverage here

Nelly Korda of the United States watches her shot to the seventh green during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

In this photo taken with a smartphone, Janet Metcalfe stands with her bike in the bike park at the Solheim Cup venue, Bernardus Golf in in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Saturday Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photos/Mike Corder)

In this photo taken with a smartphone, people cycle along the route signposted toward the Solheim Cup venue, Bernardus Golf in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Saturday Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photos/Mike Corder)

In this photo taken with a smartphone, bikes are parked in the bike park at the Solheim Cup venue, Bernardus Golf in in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Saturday Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photos/Mike Corder)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian strikes killed three civilians and wounded dozens in Ukraine, local officials said Saturday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that sending European troops into Ukraine would amount to direct conflict with Russia.

Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Russia’s intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses. Moscow’s attacks have targeted Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter in what officials say is meant to demoralize civilians.

Two people were killed and one wounded when Russian drones struck a residential area overnight in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said Saturday.

One person died and three others were wounded in strikes on Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials.

In the Black Sea port of Odesa and the surrounding area, 35 people were wounded in what regional head Oleh Kiper called a “massive attack.” Among the buildings hit was a residential highrise, whose upper floors were completely destroyed.

Putin, speaking to reporters at the BRICS summit in India on Friday, said that if European governments send troops into Ukraine, it will mean “a war with Russia.”

“Now they’re talking about how they’re considering sending troops into Ukraine. That means a war with Russia,” he said.

Some European leaders have pledged their commitment to a potential peacekeeping force, a prospect that Moscow has repeatedly described as unacceptable.

Putin also denied Russia posed any threat to Europe, saying “there is no such threat and never has been.”

“We do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries,” he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that two incidents along Ukraine’s borders with Poland and Moldova this week were a preview of potential intensified Russian provocations at Ukraine’s border crossing points with Europe.

Two people died when Russian drones hit the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday night, while a “direct threat” to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing point on Wednesday night was only avoided thanks to cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv, he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Deutsche Welle, in an interview published Saturday, that he would meet Putin if both leaders were invited to the Group of 20 summit of rich and developing nations in December in Miami.

Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Saturday that the possibility of Putin attending the summit had not yet been discussed.

The Kremlin in the past has said that Zelenskyy can come to Moscow if he wants a meeting with Putin, a proposal Kyiv has rejected.

Morton reported from London.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Smoke rises following a Russian drone attack on a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with journalists on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A civilian walks by after a gas station was hit by a Russian drone in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)