Everything You Need To Know About The Solheim Cup

Golf Monthly

We break down everything you need to know about the Solheim Cup.

Transcript

00:00The Solheim Cup is a Bionil women's golf tournament played between Team USA and Team Europe

00:04and is the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup.

00:07Let's find out more about this competition's relatively short but decorated history in this video.

00:15The event is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturers and founders of the Ping brand,

00:20Carsten and Louise Solheim.

00:22The pair were instrumental in the tournament's early development and are still very loyal backers of the event.

00:28The first Solheim Cup was held in 1990 at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Florida.

00:33The USA, captained by Kathy Whitworth, cruised to victory by 11.5 points to 4.5.

00:39To begin with, the Solheim Cup was held on even-numbered years as the Ryder Cup took place on odd-numbered years.

00:45However, the 2001 Ryder Cup was postponed until 2002 after the 9-11 attacks,

00:50so the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbers in 2003 to avoid the clashes.

00:54The COVID-19 pandemic forced another postponement of the Ryder Cup

00:59and its next tournament was then held in 2021, the same year as the Solheim Cup.

01:04After the two are played in the same year in 2023,

01:08the Solheim Cup will revert to even-numbered years in 2024.

01:11In the Solheim Cup, each team has 12 players.

01:14Team Europe comprises of the two highest-ranked players in the L.E.T. Solheim rankings,

01:19the top six eligible players in the Rolex Women's World Golf rankings and four captains' picks.

01:26On the other side of the pond, Team USA is selected by the top seven players on the U.S. Solheim Cup's point list,

01:32the two highest-ranked eligible players in the Women's World rankings and three captains' picks.

01:37Like the Ryder Cup, there are 28 matches in total, played over three days of match play,

01:41with one point awarded for a win and half a point awarded to each team when the match is halved.

01:47Then, the team that reaches 14.5 points first wins.

01:51If the teams are locked at 14-14, after each match has been played,

01:55the team that won the previous Solheim Cup retains the trophy.

01:59After 17 editions through 2021, the USA lead Europe 10-7 overall.

02:03The European countries that have hosted the event are Scotland, Wales, Sweden, Ireland, Germany,

02:09and, for the first time in 2023, Spain.

02:13Of those, Scotland has held the event the most times on three separate occasions.

02:17Over in the U.S., the Solheim Cup has travelled to Florida, West Virginia, Ohio, Minnesota,

02:22Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, and Iowa.

02:25The only state to have hosted it twice is Ohio,

02:27while no golf course has hosted the event more than once.

02:30Dame Laura Davis holds the record for the most Solheim Cup appearances with 12,

02:35while she also holds the record for the most points scored in the Solheim Cup with 25.

02:40Mickey Walker holds the record for the most appearances as European captain,

02:44holding the role four times,

02:46while Julie Inkster holds the record for the U.S., having captained them three times.

02:50Up to and including the 2021 tournament,

02:53there had only ever been one hole-in-one in the Solheim Cup.

02:56That was achieved by Team Europe's Anna Nordquist in 2013.

02:59Everything you need to know there about the Solheim Cup.

03:02For more news and more history about this great event,

03:05check out the Golf Monthly website.

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