Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force behind its creation.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 2019: Perthshire, Scotland |
| Established | 1990 |
| Course(s) | 2019: Gleneagles' PGA Centenary Course |
| Par | 2019: |
| Length | 2019: |
| Tour(s) | Ladies European Tour LPGA Tour |
| Format | Match play |
| Prize fund | None |
| Month played | August or September |
| Current champion | |
 Europe | |
 2019 Solheim Cup | |
The inaugural Cup was held in 1990, and the event was staged in even numbered years until 2002, alternating years with the Ryder Cup (the equivalent men's event). As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events after the one-year postponement of the 2001 Ryder Cup following the September 11 attacks, the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbered years beginning in 2003. Another reshuffle of team golf events took place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Solheim Cup will return to even numbered years from 2024.[1]
The United States teams have won the cup the most times, with 10 wins compared with Europe's 6. The current holders are Europe, who won at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland in 2019. The next contest will be at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio in 2021.
Format
The cup is played over three days. Since 2002, there have been 28 matches—eight foursomes and eight four-balls played on days 1 and 2, and 12 singles on the final day. This format is also used in the Ryder Cup. Before 1996, and also in 2000, the Solheim Cup used a similar, but abbreviated format.
| Year | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Afternoon | Morning | Afternoon | |||
| 1990 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 8 singles | 16 | ||
| 1992 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 10 singles | 18 | ||
| 1994 | 5 foursomes | 5 fourballs | 10 singles | 20 | ||
| 1996–1998 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 12 singles | 28 |
| 2000 | 4 foursomes | 4 foursomes | 6 fourballs | 12 singles | 26 | |
| 2002– present | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 12 singles | 28 |
| or | or | |||||
| 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | |||
There were 8 players in each team in 1990, 10 in 1992 and 1994 and 12 in the contests since then.
Team qualification and selection
The U.S. team[2] is selected by a points system, with American players on the LPGA Tour receiving points for each top-twenty finish on tour.[3] Through the 2013 event, U.S. citizens born outside the country were ineligible for consideration; beginning in 2015, eligibility for Team USA was expanded to include many more categories of (female) U.S. citizens.[4][lower-alpha 1] For the European team,[5] up to 2005, seven players were selected on a points system based on results on the Ladies European Tour (LET). This allowed top European players who competed mainly on the LPGA Tour to be selected to ensure that the European team was competitive. Since 2007, only the top five players from the LET qualify and another four are selected on the basis of the Women's World Golf Rankings. This reflects the increasing dominance of the LPGA Tour, where almost all top European players spend most of their time.[6] In addition, each team has a number of "captain's picks", players chosen at the discretion of the team captains, regardless of their point standings, though in practice the captain's picks are often the next ranking players.
Captains
Team captains are typically recently retired professional golfers with Solheim Cup playing experience, chosen for their experience playing on previous Cup teams and for their ability to lead a team.
Results
In the sixteen competitions through 2019, the United States leads the series 10 to 6.
Future venues
- 2021: Inverness Club located in Toledo, Ohio; it has previously hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, and two U.S. Senior Opens.[7]
- 2023: Finca Cortesín Golf Club in Casares near Málaga, Spain; it has previously hosted three Volvo World Match Play Championships.[8]
Records
- Most appearances: 12
° Laura Davies (Eur), 1990–2011 - Most points: 25
° Laura Davies (Eur) (22–18–6 record) - Most singles points won: 7
° Juli Inkster (USA) (6–1–2 record) - Most foursome points won: 11½
° Annika Sörenstam (Eur) (11–3–1 record) - Most fourball points won: 11½
° Cristie Kerr (USA) (11–5–1 record) - Top point percentage (Minimum of 3 Solheim Cup Matches)
° Janice Moodie (Eur) (7–2–2) 72.7%
° Carin Koch (Eur) (10–3–3) 71.9%
° Dottie Pepper (USA) (13–5–2) 70.0%
° Christina Kim (USA) (6–2–2) 70.0%
° Charley Hull (Eur) (9–3–3) 70.0% - Most points in a single contest: 5
° Caroline Hedwall (Eur) 2013 - Youngest player: 17 years, 149 days
° Charley Hull (Eur) 2013 - Oldest player: 51 years, 91 days
° Juli Inkster (USA) 2011
See also
Notes
- More specifically, the following groups of women became eligible:
- Those born outside the U.S., but who received U.S. citizenship at birth.
- Those who were naturalized in the U.S. before age 18.
- Those who automatically became citizens via adoption prior to age 13.
References
- "Solheim Cup to move to even years from 2024 to avoid Ryder Cup clash". BBC Sport. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- "Solheim Cup USA". solheimcupusa.com. Solheim Cup USA. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- "Points distribution for 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team qualifying" (PDF). LPGA Tour. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- "Solheim eligibility criteria changing for U.S. team". Golf Channel. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- SolheimCup2019. "Solheim Cup Europe". solheimcup2019.com. Solheim Cup Europe. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- "Solheim selection process changes". BBC Sport. 18 April 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
- "2021 Solheim Cup matches to be played at Inverness Club". ESPN. Associated Press. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- "Solheim Cup: Finca Cortesin in Spain to host 2023 match". BBC Sport. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- The Solheim Cup All-Time Records Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- Solheim Cup Records
- The Solheim Cup - Match history & records
External links
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