All You Need to Know About the 2024 Solheim Cup

The stage is set for the 2024 Solheim Cup and top players from Europe and the United States are already laser-focused on the women’s marquee biennial team match-play event.

The task for the Europeans will be to hold off host-nation Team USA for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Solheim Cup victory. The must-win task for the Americans will be to regain the Cup at home when the event comes to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., from Sept. 13-15.

Both team rosters were finalized following the 2024 AIG Women’s (British) Open in late August. Nine Americans earned team membership through numeric qualification, with three captain’s picks rounding out the 12-player squad.

“Much of this crew is repeating from 2023, so a lot of them have experience,” said U.S. Solheim Cup Captain Stacy Lewis, who hopes to improve the Americans’ overall 10-7-1 record in the event.

Leading that charge will be captain’s pick Lexi Thompson, making her sixth and final Solheim Cup appearance before she retires from competition later this year. The Floridian posted a 3-1-0 record in the 2023 event.

“I know what Lexi can do at a Solheim Cup and that definitely helped her get a [captain’s] pick,” said Lewis.

Team Europe

Europe determined eight automatic qualifiers through Solheim Cup points (collected throughout the season) along with Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Four European captain’s picks rounded out its team.

Veteran experience will also play a key role for the Europeans with nine-time team member and captain’s pick Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, who will compete again as a playing vice-captain.

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, making her seventh appearance, posted an unblemished 4-0-0 record in the last event and made the winning putt against Nelly Korda that retained the Cup for Europe after a first-ever draw (14-14). The tie allowed the defending European champions to keep the Cup.

“The European players have been putting in great performances this year and we’re excited for September,” said Team Europe Captain Suzann Pettersen.

Team USA

But while Europe has the momentum in this event, the Americans boast the world’s two top-ranked ranked women in No. 1 Korda, and No. 2 Lilia Vu.

The American duo tied for second at the AIG Women’s Open in late August, and at 2024 majors, Korda added a win at the Chevron Championship, while Vu tied as runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. This will be Korda’s fourth Solheim Cup appearance and Vu’s second.

Korda dominated the LPGA tour earlier in the season, winning six tournaments from January to May and earned the 2024 Rolex ANNIKA Major Championship Award in August with the LPGA’s best record in all five majors.

American Lauren Coughlin quietly climbed in the world rankings and earned her debut spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team with two wins in 2024. The University of Virginia alumna and native of Charlottesville, Va., could prove to be Team USA’s greatest weapon.

Coughlin will absolutely stoke home-state galleries throughout the event with the services of experienced LPGA caddie Terry McNamara, who won 72 tournaments on the bag with Annika Sorenstam.

“I want to contribute, win points and help Team USA win back the Solheim Cup,” said Coughlin.

Ally Ewing and Megan Khang (3-0-1 at the 2023 event) each will make their fourth appearances, while Allisen Corpuz, Andrea Lee, and Rose Zhang will each play in their second Solheim Cup. Alison Lee qualified through the world golf rankings (No. 25) and will return for a second appearance since her rookie debut in 2015.

Third-time U.S. player Jennifer Kupcho and Solheim Cup rookie Sarah Schmelzel completed the Americans’ squad through captain’s picks alongside Thompson.

Hunger

France’s Celine Boutier and Leona Maguire of Ireland were among the eight automatic qualifiers named to the European team alongside Ciganda, and Sweden’s Maja Stark, Linn Grant, and Madelene Sagstrom – all based on world golf rankings. Boutier will make her fourth team appearance, while Maguire, 7-2-1 in the event, is playing in her third event.

England’s Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit of Germany qualified through Ladies European Tour (LET) Solheim Cup points. Playing in her seventh event, Hull has won 13.5 points in 22 matches, while Henseleit will make her Solheim Cup debut.

England’s Georgia Hall automatically qualified for the last four European teams and returns for her fifth appearance with a 2024 captain’s pick alongside Nordqvist, Emily Pedersen of Denmark in her fourth appearance, and rookie Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland.

“Winning the last three and being part of it, you always want to do it again,” said Hall.

To say the American side is hungry to regain the Solheim Cup is an understatement. Conversely, Europe hopes to prove that parity has come to the women’s competitive parallel to the Ryder Cup.

2024 Edition

Solheim Cup competition has been staged for the last two consecutive years, allowing the 2024 competition schedule to return to even-numbered years, opposite the Ryder Cup.

And while the 19^th staging of the Solheim Cup, launched in 1990, does not have the same deep history as the Ryder Cup’s 44 events held for nearly 100 years, Robert Trent Jones Golf Club will add to its own history this year some 35 miles west of the nation’s capital.

The venue hosted the first four Presidents Cups and it will bring American golf fans to the rolling hills of Virginia once again – only this time, to rally their women’s team to bring the Solheim Cup back home.