Solheim Cup 2024

 The 19th edition of the biennial competition which was named after Norweigan/American Golf Club Manufacturer Karsten Solheim is upon us at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. This true testy course will be a brilliant addition to the biggest Golf Tournament in the Women's game! The all time score is currently 10-8 to USA.

Robert Trent Jones GC opened in 1991 and has played host to Presidents' Cup 4 times since the first time in 1994. This course is a proper Ball Strikers Golf Course with the Lake involved in a lot of the course navigation! 

 

Winners of Solheim Cup since 2011 & Venues Played at: 

2023: Tied (Europe Retain) (14-14) at Finca Cortesin, Spain.

2021: Team Europe (15-13) at Inverness Club, Ohio, USA.

2019: Team Europe (14.5-13.5) at Gleneagles, Scotland

2017: Team USA (16.5-11.5) at Des Moines GC, Iowa, USA.

2015: Team USA (14.5-13.5) at Golf Club St Leon-Rot, Germany.

2013: Team Europe (18-10) at Colorado Golf Club, Colorado, USA.

2011: Team Europe (15-13) at Killeen Castle, Republic of Ireland.

Top Points Scorers by Year:

2023: USA: Megan Khang (3.5/4) Europe: Carlota Ciganda (4/4)

2021: USA: Jennifer Kupcho & Lizette Salas (2.5/4) Europe: Leona Maguire (4.5/5)

2019: USA: Nelly Korda & Jess Korda (3.5/4) Europe: Celine Boutier & Georgia Hall (4/4)

2017: USA: Cristie Kerr (3.5/4) Europe: Anna Nordqvist (3.5/4)

2015: USA: Cristie Kerr & Gerina Piller (3.5/4) Europe: Charley Hull (4/5)

2013: USA: Brittany Lang (3/4) Europe: Caroline Hedwall (5/5)

2011: USA: Morgan Pressel (4/4) Europe: Sophie Gustafson (4/4)

Format: 

Friday - 4x Morning Foursomes/4x Afternoon Four Balls.

Saturday - 4x Morning Foursomes/4x Afternoon Four Balls.

Sunday - 12x Singles 

2023 Solheim Cup Results at Finca Cortesin, Spain: (14-14)

Friday Morning Foursomes:

Maja Stark & Linn Grant vs Lexi Thompson & Megan Khang (2&1 Thompson & Khang)

Celine Boutier & Georgia Hall vs Danielle Kang & Andrea Lee (1up Kang & An. Lee)

Leona Maguire & Anna Nordqvist vs Nelly Korda & Allisen Corpuz (1up Korda & Corpuz)

Charley Hull & Emily Kristine Pedersen vs Ally Ewing & Cheyenne Knight (5&4 Ewing & Knight)

Score: Team Europe 0-4 Team USA

Friday Afternoon Four Balls

Gemma Dryburgh & Madelene Sagström vs Rose Zhang & Megan Khang (Halved)

Leona Maguire & Georgia Hall vs Lexi Thompson & Lilia Vu (1up Maguire & Hall)

Emily Kristine Pedersen & Maja Stark vs Jennifer Kupcho & Allisen Corpuz (Halved)

Carlota Ciganda & Linn Grant vs Angel Yin & Ally Ewing (4&2 Ciganda & Grant)

Score: Team Europe 3-5 Team USA

Saturday Morning Foursomes:

Emily Kristine Pedersen & Carlota Ciganda vs Lilia Vu & Jennifer Kupcho (2&1 Pedersen & Ciganda)

Leona Maguire & Anna Nordqvist vs Lexi Thompson & Megan Khang (1up Thompson & Khang)

Celine Boutier & Georgia Hall vs Nelly Korda & Allisen Corpuz (5&3 Korda & Corpuz)

Maja Stark & Linn Grant vs Danielle Kang & Andrea Lee (1up Stark & Grant)

Score: Team Europe 5-7 Team USA

Saturday Afternoon Four Balls:

Charley Hull & Leona Maguire vs Nelly Korda & Ally Ewing (4&3 Hull & Maguire)

Anna Nordqvist & Caroline Hedwall vs Cheyenne Knight & Angel Yin (2&1 Knight & Yin)

Madelene Sagström & Emily Kristine Pedersen vs Rose Zhang & Andrea Lee (2&1 Sagström & Pedersen)

Carlota Ciganda & Linn Grant vs Danielle Kang & Lilia Vu (2&1 Ciganda & Grant)

Score: Team Europe 8-8 Team USA

Sunday Singles:

Linn Grant vs Megan Khang (1up Khang)

Leona Maguire vs Rose Zhang (4&3 Maguire)

Charley Hull vs Danielle Kang (4&2 Kang)

Anna Nordqvist vs Jennifer Kupcho (2&1 Nordqvist)

Georgia Hall vs Andrea Lee (Halved)

Gemma Dryburgh vs Cheyenne Knight (Halved)

Celine Boutier vs Angel Yin (2&1 A Yin)

Caroline Hedwall vs Ally Ewing (2up Hedwall)

Madelene Sagström vs Lilia Vu (4&3 Vu)

Maja Stark vs Allisen Corpuz (2&1 Stark)

Carlota Ciganda vs Nelly Korda (2&1 Ciganda)

Emily Kristine Pedersen vs Lexi Thompson (2&1 Thompson)

Final Score: Team Europe 14-14 Team USA (Team Europe Retain!!)

Official Teams for 2024 Solheim Cup including Points Ranking, Rolex World Ranking, Apps Made, Win/Halved/Loss Record & Win Percentage:

Team USA:

Captain: Stacy Lewis 

Assistants: Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer & Brittany Lincicome.

1: Nelly Korda #1 (4th App) (W:7 H:1 L:4) Win Percentage: 62%

2: Lilia Vu #2 (2nd App) (W:1 H:0 L:3) Win Percentage: 25%

3: Lauren Coughlin #14 (Debut, Rookie Year)

4: Ally Ewing #17 (4th App) (W:3 H:1 L:8) Win Percentage: 29.17%

5: Allisen Corpuz #28 (2nd App) (W:2 H:1 L:1) Win Percentage: 62.5%

6: Megan Khang #21 (4th App) (W:4 H:3 L:3) Win Percentage: 55%

7: Andrea Lee #41 (2nd App) (W:1 H:1 L:2) Win Percentage: 37.5%

9: Rose Zhang #10 (2nd App) (W:0 H:1 L:2) Percentage: 16.67%

10: Alison Lee #25 (2nd App) (W:1 H:0 L:3) Win Percentage: 25%

Stacy Lewis' Captain's Picks:

11: Sarah Schmelzel #61 (Debut, Rookie Year)

12: Jennifer Kupcho #53 (3rd App) (W:2 H:2 L:3) Win Percentage: 42.86%

14: Lexi Thompson #46 (7th App) (W:9 H:7 L:7) Win Percentage: 54.35%

Team Europe:

Captain: Suzann Pettersen

Assistants: Anna Nordqvist, Caroline Mertens, Dame Laura Davies 🏴󠁧󠁢 & Mel Reid 🏴󠁧󠁢

1: Charley Hull 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #11 (7th App) (W:12 H:3 L:7) Win Percentage: 61.36%

2: Esther Henseleit 🇩🇪 #30 (Debut, Rookie Year)

3: Linn Grant 🇸🇪 #27 (2nd App) (W:3 H:0 L:2) Win Percentage: 60%

4: Maja Stark 🇸🇪 #26 (2nd App) (W:2 H:1 L:1) Win Percentage: 62.5%

6: Carlota Ciganda 🇪🇸 #34 (7th App) (W:11 H:4 L:8) Win Percentage: 56.52%

9: Celine Boutier 🇫🇷 #9 (4th App) (W:5 H:1 L:4) Win Percentage: 55%

20: Leona Maguire 🇮🇪 #33 (3rd App) (W:7 H:1 L:3) Win Percentage: 75%

43: Madelene Sagström 🇸🇪 #39 (4th App) (W:3 H:1 L:5) Win Percentage: 38.89%

Suzann Pettersen's Captain's Picks:

23: Georgia Hall 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #41 (5th App) (W:8 H:2 L:7) Win Percentage: 52.94%

45: Anna Nordqvist 🇸🇪 #71 (9th App) (W:15 H:3 L:13) Win Percentage: 53.23%

48: Albane Valenzuela 🇨🇭 #62 (Debut, Rookie Year)

56: Emily Kristine Pedersen 🇩🇰 #103 (4th App) (W:5 H:1 L:6) Win Percentage: 45.83%

Potential Pairings??

We could see some of the pairings from Finca Cortesin from the likes of Nelly Korda & Allisen Corpuz, Lexi Thompson & Megan Khang, Maja Stark & Linn Grant, Celine Boutier & Georgia Hall, Leona Maguire & Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagström & Emily Kristine Pedersen all potentially playing together at some stage. The duos of Nelly & Corpuz and Lexi & Khang were successes for Team USA with winning their 2 Morning Foursomes on offer while the duo of Carlota Ciganda & Linn Grant were a danger to everyone in the Afternoon Four Balls. 

Below is some of the potential pairings that we could maybe see in Virginia:

Team USA:

Nelly Korda & Allisen Corpuz 

Nelly Korda & Alison Lee

Lauren Coughlin & Allisen Corpuz 

Lauren Coughlin & Ally Ewing 

Jennifer Kupcho & Ally Ewing

Jennifer Kupcho & Lilia Vu

Lexi Thompson & Megan Khang 

Megan Khang & Sarah Schmelzel 

Andrea Lee & Rose Zhang

Lexi Thompson & Lilia Vu

Team Europe:

Charley Hull & Carlota Ciganda 

Charley Hull & Leona Maguire 

Leona Maguire & Anna Nordqvist 

Anna Nordqvist & Esther Henseleit 

Esther Henseleit & Maja Stark 

Maja Stark & Linn Grant 

Carlota Ciganda & Albane Valenzuela 

Celine Boutier & Albane Valenzuela

Celine Boutier & Georgia Hall

Madelene Sagström & Emily Kristine Pedersen 

My predictions for The Solheim Cup are as follows:

Final Result: Team USA 15-13 Team Europe

Top US Points Scorer: Allisen Corpuz

Top European Points Scorer: Esther Henseleit

Thank you all to anyone that reads this piece this week for the biggest week of the year in Virginia! 

I appreciate you all and I hope that you all enjoy the Solheim Cup! Let's go Europe!