2019 Solheim Cup

2019 Solheim Cup
Logo
Dates13–15 September 2019
VenueGleneagles Hotel in Perthshire
LocationScotland
Captains
Europe 1412 1312 United States
Europe wins the Solheim Cup
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The 2019 Solheim Cup was the 16th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held from 13 to 15 September at the Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course in Scotland. The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States. It is a three-day match play event between teams of twelve players with a similar format to the Ryder Cup. Juli Inkster captained the U.S. team for the third time and Catriona Matthew captained the European team for the first time.[1]

After the first two days the competition was tied at 8-all. Europe won the singles 612–512 to win the Cup for the first time since 2013.

Format

[edit]

The Solheim Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The format is as follows:[2]

  • Day 1 (Friday): Four foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and four fourball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
  • Day 2 (Saturday): Four foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and four fourball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
  • Day 3 (Sunday): 12 singles matches. All 12 players from each team participate.

With a total of 28 points, 1412 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup.[2] All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes. If the score is even after 18 holes, each team earns one-half point.[3]

Team qualification and selection

[edit]

Eligibility criteria

[edit]

The European and United States teams had different eligibility criteria:

Team Europe
Members of the European team must:

  1. be current members of the Ladies European Tour in any category or membership;
  2. have played in eight Ranking Events, excluding major championships not played in Europe, during the Qualifying Period as a member of the LET, unless selected as a Captain's pick (provided she is otherwise eligible);
  3. must be a "European national". To be a "European national", the player must satisfy the criteria set out in the "Nationality Policy" issued by the International Golf Federation.[4]

Team USA
Members of the United States team must be current members of the LPGA Tour and meet one of these three citizenship criteria:

  • U.S. citizens by birth, regardless of their birthplace.
  • Those who were naturalized as U.S. citizens before age 18.
  • Those who became U.S. citizens by adoption before age 13.[5]

Team selection

[edit]

The European and United States teams were selected by different methods.

Team Europe
Team Europe consisted of the top three players from the LET Solheim Cup standings, followed by the top five LET members on the Women's World Golf Rankings who were not already qualified via the Solheim Cup standings, and four captain's selections. The 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, held at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, ending on 11 August, was the final event of the qualification period, and the full team, including the captain's picks, was announced on 12 August.[6][7]

Team USA
Team USA consisted of the leading eight players from the LPGA Solheim Cup points rankings, the top two players in the Women's World Golf Rankings not already qualified via the points rankings and two chosen by the team captain. LPGA Solheim Cup points were earned for top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour over a two-year period ending on August 25 with the 2019 Canadian Women's Open. Points were doubled in major championships, and top-20 finishes during the 2019 LPGA Tour season earned 50% more points than those in 2017 and 2018.[8]

Teams

[edit]
Europe Team Europe
Player Country Age Points
rank
Rolex
ranking
Previous
appearances
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Catriona Matthew  Scotland 50 Non-playing captain
Laura Davies  England 55 Non-playing assistant captain
Kathryn Imrie  Scotland 52 Non-playing assistant captain
Melissa Reid  England 31 Non-playing assistant captain^
Carlota Ciganda  Spain 29 1 13 3 11 5–4–2 54.55
Anne van Dam  Netherlands 23 2 93 0 Rookie
Caroline Hedwall  Sweden 30 3 116 3 13 8–4–1 65.38
Charley Hull  England 23 4 29 3 11 7–3–1 68.18
Georgia Hall  England 23 8 33 1 5 2–3–0 40.00
Azahara Muñoz  Spain 31 36 3 11 4–6–1 40.91
Caroline Masson  Germany 30 52 3 11 3–6–2 36.36
Anna Nordqvist  Sweden 32 14 60 5 20 11–7–2 60.00
Céline Boutier  France 25 6 61 0 Rookie
Jodi Ewart Shadoff  England 31 78 2 7 3–4–0 42.86
Bronte Law  England 24 25 0 Rookie
Suzann Pettersen  Norway 38 644 8 33 16–11–6 57.58

^Suzann Pettersen, previously named an assistant captain, was chosen as one of the captain's picks. Melissa Reid was named as the final assistant captain.[9]
Bronte Law had not played in the required number of events to gain an automatic place.
Ages on first day of matches, 13 September; Rolex rankings at team selection on 12 August.
Captain's picks shown in yellow.

United States Team USA
Player Age Points
rank[10]
Rolex
ranking
Previous
appearances
Matches W–L–H Winning
percentage
Juli Inkster 59 Non-playing captain
Pat Hurst 50 Non-playing assistant captain
Nancy Lopez 62 Non-playing assistant captain
Wendy Ward 46 Non-playing assistant captain
Lexi Thompson 24 1 3 3 11 5–2–4 63.64
Nelly Korda 21 2 10 0 Rookie
Danielle Kang 26 3 15 1 4 3–1–0 75.00
Lizette Salas 30 4 17 3 10 4–4–2 50.00
Jessica Korda 26 5 18 1 4 1–2–1 37.50
Megan Khang 21 6 46 0 Rookie
Marina Alex 29 7 32 0 Rookie
Brittany Altomare 28 8 40 0 Rookie
Angel Yin 20 10 31 1 3 1–1–1 50.00
Annie Park 24 16 42 0 Rookie
Morgan Pressel 31 20 55 5 19 10–7–2 57.89
Ally McDonald^ 26 9 57 0 Rookie

^Stacy Lewis was originally selected as a captain's pick but withdrew with a back injury.[11]
Ages on first day of matches, 13 September; Rolex rankings at team selection on 26 August.
Captain's picks shown in yellow.

Day one

[edit]

Friday, 13 September 2019

Morning foursomes

[edit]

Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda became the first sisters to be paired together in the Solheim Cup. They were 5 up after 7 holes, eventually winning 6&4 and scoring the first point. Of the remaining three matches, Europe won two and halved the other to take a 212 to 112 lead.

Europe Results United States
Ciganda/Law halved Pressel/Alex
Hall/Boutier Europe 2 & 1 Thompson/Altomare
Masson/Ewart Shadoff United States 6 & 4 J. Korda/N. Korda
Hull/Muñoz Europe 2 & 1 Khang/Park
212 Session 112
212 Overall 112

Afternoon four-ball

[edit]

Both captains selected the four players who hadn't played in the morning session to play in the opening two afternoon matches. Because of a late finish by Hull and Muñoz in the morning session, Match 3 (Hull/Muñoz v N. Korda/Altomare) started after Match 4 (Ciganda/Law v J. Korda/Thompson). The table below reflects the official order.

Ally McDonald and Angel Yin were dormie 7 up in their match against Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall, and although the Swedish pair won the 12th hole, McDonald and Yin won 7&5, tying a Solheim Cup record for largest four-ball victory.[12] In the last two matches the European pairs led playing the final hole but both American pairs won the 18th to halve both matches.

Europe Results United States
Pettersen/van Dam Europe 4 & 2 Kang/Salas
Nordqvist/Hedwall United States 7 & 5 McDonald/Yin
Hull/Muñoz halved N. Korda/Altomare
Ciganda/Law halved J. Korda/Thompson
2 Session 2
412 Overall 312

Day two

[edit]

Saturday, 14 September 2019

Morning foursomes

[edit]

Anna Nordqvist and Anne van Dam were 4 up after 6 holes against Morgan Pressel and Marina Alex but the Americans then won 7 of the next 9 holes, winning the match 2&1. Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda won their second foursomes match, this time winning 6&5, after winning their first match 6&4. Europe won the remaining two matches to leave the session tied.

Europe Results United States
Nordqvist/van Dam United States 2 & 1 Pressel/Alex
Hall/Boutier Europe 3 & 2 Salas/McDonald
Hull/Muñoz Europe 4 & 3 Kang/Khang
Ciganda/Law United States 6 & 5 J. Korda/N. Korda
2 Session 2
612 Overall 512

Afternoon four-ball

[edit]

Ally McDonald and Angel Yin were 3 up with 5 holes to play against Georgia Hall and Céline Boutier but the European pair won the last five holes to win the match, 2 up. The United States won two matches and halved the other, leaving the match tied with the 12 singles matches to be played.

Europe Results United States
Pettersen/van Dam United States 1 up Altomare/Park
Ewart Shadoff/Masson halved Thompson/Alex
Hall/Boutier Europe 2 up McDonald/Yin
Ciganda/Muñoz United States 2 & 1 Salas/Kang
112 Session 212
8 Overall 8

Day three

[edit]

Sunday, 15 September 2019

Singles

[edit]

In one of the greatest finishes in the history of match play golf, the Europeans won each of the last 3 games to regain the cup. Bronte Law holed a 15 footer on 16 to go 1-up with 2 to play against Ally McDonald, who missed a short putt on 17 to give Law the win and level it up. Less than a minute later, Suzann Pettersen held her nerve to hole the winning 7-footer on the 18th green of the last match out on the course for Europe's first Solheim Cup win since 2013.

Europe Results United States
Carlota Ciganda Europe 1 up Danielle Kang
Caroline Hedwall United States 2 up Nelly Korda
Georgia Hall Europe 2 & 1 Lexi Thompson
Céline Boutier Europe 2 & 1 Annie Park
Azahara Muñoz United States 2 & 1 Angel Yin
Charley Hull halved Megan Khang
Anne van Dam United States 1 up Lizette Salas
Caroline Masson United States 3 & 2 Jessica Korda
Jodi Ewart Shadoff United States 5 & 4 Brittany Altomare
Suzann Pettersen Europe 1 up Marina Alex
Bronte Law Europe 2 & 1 Ally McDonald
Anna Nordqvist Europe 4 & 3 Morgan Pressel
612 Session 512
1412 Overall 1312

Individual player records

[edit]

Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.

Europe

[edit]
Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Céline Boutier 4 4–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 1–0–0
Carlota Ciganda 2 1–2–2 1–0–0 0–1–1 0–1–1
Jodi Ewart Shadoff 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–1
Georgia Hall 4 4–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 1–0–0
Caroline Hedwall 0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0
Charley Hull 3 2–0–2 0–0–1 2–0–0 0–0–1
Bronte Law 2 1–1–2 1–0–0 0–1–1 0–0–1
Caroline Masson 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–1
Azahara Muñoz 2.5 2–2–1 0–1–0 2–0–0 0–1–1
Anna Nordqvist 1 1–2–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Suzann Pettersen 2 2–1–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0
Anne van Dam 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–1–0

United States

[edit]
Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Marina Alex 2 1–1–2 0–1–0 1–0–1 0–0–1
Brittany Altomare 2.5 2–1–1 1–0–0 0–1–0 1–0–1
Danielle Kang 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–1–0
Megan Khang 0.5 0–2–1 0–0–1 0–2–0 0–0–0
Jessica Korda 3.5 3–0–1 1–0–0 2–0–0 0–0–1
Nelly Korda 3.5 3–0–1 1–0–0 2–0–0 0–0–1
Ally McDonald 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–1–0
Annie Park 1 1–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Morgan Pressel 1.5 1–1–1 0–1–0 1–0–1 0–0–0
Lizette Salas 2 2–2–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 1–1–0
Lexi Thompson 1 0–2–2 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–2
Angel Yin 2 2–1–0 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0

References

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  1. ^ "Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in 2019 as Scotland wins bidding". BBC. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Berhow, Josh (16 August 2017). "What to know and how to watch the 2017 Solheim Cup". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Solheim Cup format, terminology". ESPN. 9 September 2003. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  4. ^ "The 2019 Solheim Cup European Team Selection" (PDF). Ladies European Tour. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Solheim eligibility criteria changing for U.S. team". Golf Channel. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  6. ^ "The 2019 Solheim Cup Team Europe rankings". Solheim Cup.
  7. ^ "Pettersen handed Solheim Cup wildcard slot". ESPN. Reuters. 12 August 2019.
  8. ^ "How to qualify". Solheim Cup. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. ^ "2019 Line Up Complete for Solheim Cup Team Europe". LPGA. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Solheim Cup". U.S. Solheim Cup. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  11. ^ "McDonald to replace Lewis on 2019 U.S. Solheim Cup team". LPGA. 10 September 2019.
  12. ^ Levins, Keely (13 September 2019). "Unlikely American pair ties Solheim Cup record, as U.S. trails by one but ends Day 1 happy". Golf Digest. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
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56°17′09″N 3°44′51″W / 56.28583°N 3.74750°W / 56.28583; -3.74750