Almost a year to the day since the last Solheim Cup match at Finca Cortesin in Spain, we’re eagerly anticipating another thrilling encounter between the USA and Europe at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, from 13-15 September, because just when you think the Solheim Cup can’t surpass itself in drama and excitement, it does.
Close Encounters
The last three editions of the Solheim Cup have gone down to the wire, providing edge-of-the-seat viewing. In 2019 at Gleneagles, wildcard pick Suzann Pettersen’s birdie on the 18th hole secured a 14½-13½ victory for Europe, creating one of the most sensational moments in Solheim Cup history. A miss would have allowed the US to reach 14 points and retain the cup.
Two years later, at Inverness Golf Club in Ohio, Europe, though considered underdogs, resisted a final-day singles surge from team USA to narrowly defend the cup with a score of 15-13. This marked only the second time Europe had won on US soil and awarded European Captain Catriona Matthew back-to-back victories.
Three In A Row
In 2023 at Finca Cortesin in Spain, Europe bounced back from a clean sweep in the Friday foursomes, winning two and tying one of the next three sessions. This left the teams tied at 8-8 going into the Sunday singles. Momentum swung back and forth, culminating in a gripping final hour of golf.
Arguably, the most significant turning point came when Caroline Hedwall, one of captain Suzann Pettersen’s questionable wildcard picks, repaid her captain in full by pulling off a stunning comeback, possibly playing the best nine holes of her life. The five-time Solheim Cup player, who a decade earlier became the first to win five matches in a single competition at Colorado Golf Club, won five of the last six holes, to triumph over Ally Ewing after being three down through 12.
At this stage of the match, if Hedwall had lost, the US would have led 13-11. With Lexi Thompson holding a commanding lead against Emily Kristine Pedersen in the final match and momentum swinging back in the Americans' favour, they would have needed just half a point from the remaining matches to secure victory.
But the day belonged to Spaniard Carlota Ciganda, playing in the penultimate match against Nelly Korda. Despite leading from the 2nd hole and being 3 up by the 8th, the pair were all square by the 15th. On the signature 16th hole, Korda missed her short birdie putt, but Ciganda made hers to the roars of the home crowd from the surrounding grandstands.
On the par-3 17th, Ciganda stuck one in close for a tap-in birdie, and playing on home soil, it seemed destined that she would be the player to earn Europe’s final point of the day to retain the trophy. With a final score of 14-14, this marked the first tied result in Solheim Cup history. But this wasn’t the only milestone at the 2023 event. A record-breaking number of viewers tuned in to watch live on Sky Sports, with the audience peaking on the final day at 734k, making it the highest ever recorded for the event.
When the Solheim Cup was inaugurated in 1990, the USA won four of the first five, but the event has since become much more evenly matched. Now, the contests are characterised by narrow margins and intense, tight finishes, making for thrilling and unpredictable outcomes.The USA leads the overall Solheim Cup standings 10-8, although Europe has won three straight and five of the last seven. As the rivalry intensifies, we can expect fireworks again in September.
The Golf Course
Robert Trent Jones Golf Club is no stranger to hosting prestigious competitions, having previously hosted four Presidents Cups, but the Solheim Cup will be the venue’s first major women’s event.
Located just 35 miles west of Washington DC, the legendary designer Robert Trent Jones, known for creating world-class golf courses such as Spyglass Hill, Firestone, and Congressional Country Club, unexpectedly discovered the site for his "masterpiece" nestled along the shores of Lake Manassas while surveying the area for another project.
This densely wooded course is renowned for its challenging layout, featuring signature Trent Jones design elements including over 100 bunkers, water hazards, and expansive, undulating greens. The course plays as a par-72, stretching over 7,425 yards from the championship tees, and with some modifications and enhancements to the layout, it will be set up to ensure a fair and exciting match.
Players will face numerous risk-reward opportunities, especially on the back nine, which runs along the shores of the lake. The par-3s, particularly the 9th and 11th holes, will provide the Solheim Cup drama we have come to expect, requiring do-or-die shots to avoid the water surrounding the peninsula greens.
Captains In Control
Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis will lead their teams into battle for the second year in a row. This is essentially a result of the unusual situation arising from the match being held in back-to-back years before reverting to its traditional even-numbered schedule. This change was necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the 2020 Solheim Cup by a year.
Last year, aged 38, former World No 1 Lewis made history as the youngest American ever to lead the Solheim Cup team. Using a data-driven approach, she meticulously prepared the US team for the best possible outcomes, and this year, she will be more determined than ever to win the trophy on US soil and end Europe’s winning streak.
Pettersen, a nine-time Solheim Cup player and a key member of five winning teams, will build on the successes of the 2023 match with a no-nonsense approach. After a rocky start last year, she asserted her captaincy skills with a tough talk to her players on Friday evening, providing the shakeup they needed.
Both captains rely heavily on their support networks. Mel Reid, an integral member of four Solheim Cup teams, will join Dame Laura Davies, Caroline Martens, and Anna Nordqvist as assistant captains for Team Europe. On the US side, Morgan Pressel and Angela Stanford will return as assistant captains, while former Solheim Cup players Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome will take on the role for the first time.
Creamer will never forget the endearing moment at the 2013 match in Colorado when a 17-year-old Charley Hull thrashed her in the singles 5&4, but then proceeded to ask her to sign an autograph for her friend back home.
Familiar Faces
There are not too many team changes from last year. For the US side there has been a noticeable generational shift. In 2023, the average age of the team was 26, including five rookies. Among them, Lilia Vu and Allisen Corpuz became maiden Major winners earlier in the year, Rose Zhang burst onto the professional scene with a win in her first start, and along with Andrea Lee, this quartet will join their 2023 teammates Ally Ewing, Megan Khang, Jennifer Kupcho, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson for the 2024 contest.
After almost a decade, Alison Lee will make her second Solheim Cup appearance. Completing the US side are two rookies including 31-year-old Lauren Coughlin, a two-time winner on the 2024 LPGA Tour, along with Sarah Schmelzel, who has achieved six top-10 finishes so far this year.
Similarly, friends and fellow Swedes Linn Grant and Maja Stark made impressive Solheim Cup debuts in Spain as a star pairing and will compete again in Virginia. They will reunite with Celine Boutier, Carlota Ciganda, Leona Maguire, Charley Hull, Emily Christine Pedersen, Madelene Sagstrom, Georgia Hall, and Anna Nordqvist.
Two rookies have made the European team including Germany's Olympic silver medallist Esther Henseleit, who has also achieved four top-10 LPGA Tour finishes. Another Swede, Albane Valenzuela, completes the side, having shown consistent form throughout 2024 on the LPGA Tour and LET.
When A Tie Is Not A Win
Over the years, many matches have become heated over controversial decisions and rulings, and disputes have become as much a part of the Solheim Cup as the memorable shots and moments.
For example, the fiasco on the 17th green at St Leon-Rot in Germany in 2015, now better known as ‘Gimmegate’. In a fourball match, American Alison Lee picked up an 18-inch putt she thought the European pairing of Suzann Pettersen and Charley Hull had conceded. Pettersen informed the rules official that it had not been given, and after much debate and emotion, the incident resulted in a loss of the hole for Lee and her partner Brittany Lincicome due to the miscommunication.
It wasn't exactly a controversy, but a debate arose last year after Carlota Ciganda sank her winning putt, leading to jubilant celebrations for what was ultimately a tie. Most sporting champions have to win outright to retain a trophy. The same rule applies at the men’s Ryder Cup, where the last tie was in 1989 at The Belfry, allowing Europe to keep the trophy following their 1987 triumph on US soil at Muirfield Village.
Stacy Lewis commented that the tie “felt like a win” for her side, but she remained undecided about whether introducing playoffs in the future would enhance the entertainment value of the Solheim Cup.
"At the closing ceremonies we were talking about whether there should be, when it is a tie, should it be a playoff, should it be a retain the Cup," she said.
"I don't know, I mean, it obviously would be better TV. It would be a better experience for the fans if there was a, whether it was a team playoff or something like that, I think that would be pretty cool.
"But if you want to stick with the history of the event and history of what the men do as well, you probably stick with retaining the Cup. I don't know how I feel about that either way, to be honest."
Meanwhile, Paula Creamer voiced a very clear view on the subject, commenting on social media, "No more ties. A tie is in reality a win for the Cup holder. We need to figure this one out. Pick 5 girls from each team and have a match? Or designate one team member that would be the deciding factor and have a three hole match or even 1 hole? Bottom line is no more ties!"
Fashion Stakes
Team outfits worn on or off the course will always be scrutinised. At last year's opening ceremony, some of the Europeans appeared a bit uncomfortable in their long-sleeve, floaty, wrap-around yellow dress, while the Americans played it safe and won the fashion stakes with a more stylish short-sleeve navy dress.
Ping Apparel, the official supplier for the European Team, excelled in 2023, with merchandise selling out quickly. The brand has impressed yet again with contemporary designs featuring the recognisable European colours of blue, yellow, and white. Similarly, American brand Dunning Golf has created uniforms for the US team, patriotically designed in red, white, and blue, which reflect country pride and heightened by competing just outside of the nation's capital.
Back To Biennial
Reverting to the tradition of a biennial event, the Netherlands will host its first-ever Solheim Cup in 2026 at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, near Eindhoven. Bernardus Golf, which opened in 2018, has quickly gained prestige by hosting the DP World Tour’s Dutch Open for three consecutive years between 2021 and 2023.
The championship course, designed by Kyle Phillips - architect of renowned courses such as Kingsbarns, The Grove, and Yas Links - features a compact layout with four par threes, ten par fours, and four par fives and blends strategically placed bunkers and water with gorse, heath, and dunes. Drama is guaranteed, especially if matches go the distance, as the par-3 17th is surrounded by water, leading to a formidable par-5 finish.
By The Numbers
2 Holes-in-one. Anna Nordqvist in 2013 and Emily Kristine Pedersen in 2021
3 Juli Inkster captained the US team three times in a row from 2015-2019
5 Most points won in a single contest – Caroline Hedwall (Europe) in 2013
7 Most singles points won – Juli Inkster (USA) – 6-1-2
8 Biggest winning margin. Europe beat USA 18-10 at Colorado Golf Club in 2013
12 Most appearances by Laura Davies, 1990–2011
14 The number of different nationalities representing team Europe since 1990 include England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Finland
17 At 17 years and 149 days, England’s Charley Hull became the youngest player in 2013
Ping Junior Solheim Cup
In 2023, the European Ping Junior Solheim Cup team also made history by defeating the US team 15-9 at La Zagaleta, Spain, becoming the first European team to win back-to-back editions. This two-day event features 12 female golfers on each team, aged 12 to 18, and like the Solheim Cup, they earn their places through a qualifying process. The competition includes six fourball and six foursomes matches on the first day, followed by 12 singles matches on the second day. Although the US leads the series 7-4-1, Europe will aim for an historic three consecutive wins when the 13th edition takes place at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, from 9-10 September.
