After a dramatic tie in 2023 and with the mantle of which continent is superior in the balance, Team Europe and Team USA head to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia for the 19th running of the event.
It will be played this week, back to even-numbered years, in order to avoid a clash with the Ryder Cup, which reverted to odd-numbered years after it was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Solheim Cup was the brainchild of Karsten Solheim, the creator of PING, and his wife Louise. The Solheims were staunch supporters of the women’s game, and their son John, the current CEO of PING, also played a part in the establishment of the competition. He would later establish the PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2002.
The Solheim Cup has grown immensely from the humble beginnings of its first iteration at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Florida in 1990.
The world was a very different place back then. The internet had officially become a thing in 1983, but the World Wide Web (www) wasn’t released into the world until 1993.
RIGHT: Karsten Solheim and his wife Louise created the event. PHOTO: Getty Images.
There was no Amazon until 1994 and no Netflix until 1997, nor an Apple iPhone until 2007. There was little media interest in women’s professional golf despite the LPGA having been founded as early as 1950 and the Ladies European Tour in 1978.
Unsurprisingly, there was no television coverage of the inaugural Solheim (although Karsten did have it videotaped and created a highlights reel). Owing to all of this, it could all have gone pear-shaped in short order.
But it did not. Its first two years set the stage for what is now one of the biggest events on the women’s professional calendar.
Karen Lunn in action. PHOTO: Getty Images.
One person who was at the first Solheim and has closely watched its remarkable growth is Karen Lunn, CEO of WPGA Tour of Australasia. Lunn competed on the Ladies European Tour from 1985 to 2013 and was also a member of the LPGA between 1994 and 2002. She served on the LET Board of Directors between 1999 and 2013 and was Chairperson from 2003 to 2013, and is probably the most knowledgeable non-European or non-American on the subject.
“In the early days it was very low-key; a very new concept,” Lunn recalled. “Karsten and Louise wanted to put on an international event to give the women a chance to play on a similar stage to the Ryder Cup. Their vision was to help grow the game worldwide. They saw the number of international players coming to the LPGA in the late ’80s and an opportunity to create something special.”
Though one-sided, 11.5 to 4.5 to the U.S, the competition garnered significant interest from the players themselves.
Dottie Pepper, well-known golf broadcast commentator and two-time major winner, played in the inaugural event and later spoke of her determination to make the team.
Dottie Pepper played in the inaugural event. PHOTO: Getty Images.
“I wanted to be a part of the first American team. Holing a seven-footer on the 72nd hole in the final qualifying event to make the team to this day feels as big as winning any tournament,” Pepper has said.
Ultra-cool competitor Dame Laura Davies, who played in the first 12 Solheims for Europe and owns the highest number of points won, recalled her own debut appearance: “I still remember how nervous I was on the first tee.”
While national pride was there from the start for the players, it was the second Solheim which really ignited the passion of intercontinental rivalry.
Played at Dalmahoy Country Club in Scotland, the U.S team was heavily favoured – 6/1 on – to win. No wonder. Six of its 10 players are now in the World Golf Hall of Fame and team members could claim 21 major titles between them against Europe’s two. However, a champion team will beat a team of champions, it is claimed, and so it was.
A denigrating remark about the Europeans attributed to American Beth Daniel – combined with possible complacency from her fellows and a spat over whether a squeegee was allowed off the green in a fiery fourball – was enough to galvanise the Europeans. They led by a point after day 1 and took that lead into Day 3, the singles, winning the final session 7-3 for an overall 11.5 to 6.5 victory, almost a complete reversal of 1990.
RIGHT: Dame Laura Davies played in the first 12 Solheim Cups for Europe. PHOTO: Getty Images.
“It was incredible,” said Davies later. “If you look back over the last 50 years of sport, that’s the biggest upset in terms of class.”
“Winning that one changed everything,” said Lunn. “If America had kept winning, it would’ve gotten old pretty quickly. The Americans were shocked, and a strong
rivalry was established at Dalmahoy. From there, it just grew.”
Rivalry, passion and drama – sometimes magnificent and sometimes controversial. There has been plenty of it over the years. Here is a quick snapshot of some of it:
2000: Having won her two matches on the first day of competition at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland, Annika Sorenstam was embroiled in controversy on the 13th hole on the second day, playing in fourball with Janice Moodie. Sorenstam chipped in for birdie to tie the match against Pat Hurst and Kelly Robbins.
Suzann Pettersen committed to what became known as “gimmiegate”. PHOTO: Getty Images.
But the Americans considered Sorenstam to have played out of turn and insisted she replay her shot. Needless to say, she didn’t hole out the second time and the match went to the U.S 2/1, with Sorenstam reduced to tears at the perceived lack of sportsmanship.
2007: If anyone embodies the quintessential feisty spirit of team competition, it’s Dottie Pepper. Pepper played the first six Solheims and throughout the 1990s was demonstrative, to say the least, frequently irritating opponents. But she was effective within her passion, winning 13 of her total matches, equal fourth highest of her compatriots. By 2007, Pepper was on the mic for Golf Channel at Halmstad Golf Club in Sweden as a commentator, having retired from tour play in 2004.
After thrashing her 5/4, 17-year-old Charley Hull asked Paula Creamer for her autograph in the 2013 Solheim Cup. PHOTO: Getty Images.
When some U.S players didn’t close out matches as she thought they should, Pepper was moved to refer to them “chokin’ freakin dogs”, thinking she was in a commercial break. Wrong. Her mic was live and her team was livid.
2011: Three wins in a row from 2005-2009 to the U.S seemed uneventful on the surface, but underneath, things were tough for Europe. There were calls for the competition to be expanded to include countries outside Europe to strengthen opposition to the US, while the Global Financial Crisis from mid-2007 to early 2009 had affected 2011 host country Ireland severely. It took intense backroom negotiations between the LET, sponsors, host club Killeen Castle and the Irish government to save the day and, indeed, the event.
After being tied going into the singles, the United States looked likely to retain the trophy deep into things with two players up and one level in the last three matches. However, rallies by the three European players turned defeat into sweet victory 15-13 and delivered a reversal of fortune not just for Europe, but for the future of the Solheim Cup.
RIGHT: Annika Sorenstam was in tears amid dramatic scenes back in 2000. PHOTO: Getty Images.
2013: Colorado Golf Club was the Solheim’s version of Brookline 1999, with American fervour reaching fever pitch and upsetting many who thought it over the top. Add in offence at Michelle Wie leaving the green while her opponent putted to halve the hole (for which Wie apologised the next day), a botched handling of a ruling which deemed to have halted U.S momentum in Friday fourballs, Sorenstam accused of giving advice as a vice-captain (the domain of the captain only) and another lengthy ruling on Saturday, and tensions were high.
Fortunately, light humour was nigh when, after thrashing U.S champion Paula Creamer 5/4 in Sunday singles, 17-year-old Charley Hull asked her opponent for an autograph for a friend back home. Creamer obliged.
Hull was one of six rookies for Team Europe that year, their enormous talent and enthusiasm helping it to a historic and emphatic 18-10 victory, its first on foreign soil since the Cup’s inception.
Nelly Korda and the U.S benefitted from a rules breach by Europe at the Solheim Cup in 2021. PHOTO: Getty Images.
2015: More acrimony amongst some great golf was on show at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany when another of the game’s most passionate players, Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, committed what was to become known as “Gimmegate” during Saturday fourballs. Opponent Alison Lee picked up an 18-inch putt, believing it had been conceded, only to be informed by Pettersen that it hadn’t. Tears were shed, the Americans lost 2 down and Pettersen remained intransigent.
With a 10-6 deficit going into final-day singles, the furious Americans hit back, taking the session 8.5 to 3.5 and reclaiming the trophy by a point, 14.5 to 13.5. It remains the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history. Pettersen subsequently apologised profusely.
2019: Referred to by some as the greatest Solheim Cup of all, Gleneagles in Scotland was the perfect backdrop to dramatic theatre – and redemption.
Jessica and Nelly Korda were in the U.S team together for the first time and did not disappoint, winning both their foursomes together by large margins and scored solid singles wins. However, it was a Solheim veteran who stole the show.
Pettersen, who had given birth to her son in 2018 and hadn’t played high-level golf for nearly two years, had slipped down to the 600s in world rankings and had missed the cut in two events she played before Catriona Matthew named her a captain’s pick. It was a bold decision but as things turned out, an inspired one.
Coming into Sunday singles tied at eight points apiece, the two teams went back and forth in a mighty tug-of-war. With three matches left on course, Europe needed to win them all to reclaim the trophy. With two going to Europe, it was down to Pettersen and American Marina Alex tied on the 18th.
Pettersen’s third shot finished seven feet below the hole, Alex’s 10 feet above it. When Alex’s putt slid by, it came to this for Pettersen: miss and the U.S would retain the trophy by account of a tied match, or hole it and Europe would win by the slimmest of margins. Pettersen calmly rolled it in, was engulfed by cheering teammates and immediately announced her retirement from the game, from villain to hero in four years.
2021: On the 13th hole of the Inverness Club in Ohio, Nelly Korda’s eagle putt stopped on the edge of the hole. As she kneeled in frustration at missing it, her opponent, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, threw the ball to her, conceding the next putt. Only problem: the ball was lifted after seven seconds, not the allowed 10. Rules officials deemed Sagstrom had broken Rule 13.3a. The previous putt was declared to be holed, meaning Korda was accorded an eagle and the hole won by the USA, leaving Sagstrom in tears.
2023: This was the week which featured the first tie in Solheim Cup history. After a faultless start by the U.S team at Finca Cortesin in Spain, the Europeans fought back to go into the singles matches on equal footing. A see-sawing final day displayed some brilliant performances before, fittingly, local hero Carlota Ciganda defeated Nelly Korda in the penultimate match to secure the vital 14th point to retain the Cup, posting a perfect 4-0-0 record for the week in the process.
That tie now sets up the intriguing contest in Virginia.
So, what can we expect?
We can expect it to be close. With the total scoreline since 1990 at 10.5 USA to 7.5 Europe, there is much on the line. The current cup-holder is Europe, following the tie and two previous wins in 2021 by two points and 2019 by one. It is aiming to become the first team to hold the Cup four times in succession. The USA aims to deny it and hopes home course advantage is on its side.
Carlota Ciganda in 2023. PHOTO: Getty Images.
The par-72 Robert Trent Jones course, which opened for play in 1991 and was described by its designer as his masterpiece, “is no stranger to team events. It hosted the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994 and again in 1996, 2000 and 2005. The local team was victorious each time, so it’s reasonable to suggest Team USA will likely find it to its liking, too. That said, many of the top Europeans now ply their trade on the LPGA Tour and are unlikely to be fazed by the course as perhaps their much earlier counterparts may have been.
The 2023 Captains Pettersen and Stacy Lewis will face off again. Pettersen will be supported by Vice-Captains Laura Davies, Anna Nordqvist – who will also play, Caroline Martens and Mel Reid. Lewis’ Assistant Captains are Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome.
The final qualifying event for both teams was the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews in August with the teams announced the following week.
The European team is largely unchanged bar Nordqvist assisting Pettersen. The top eight Europeans are Charley Hull, Linn Grant, Celine Boutier, Maja Stark, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, Madelene Sagstrom and Georgia Hall. Pettersen’s captain’s picks consisted of Nordqvist, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Albane Valenzuela.
The top nine for USA are Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Ally Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Lauren Coughlin, Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang and Alison Lee.
Lexi Thompson, in her last year full-time on the LPGA Tour, was a certain inclusion as one of Lewis’ picks while Sarah Schmelzel and Jennifer Kupcho claimed the remaining spots.
One thing we can definitely anticipate is excitement. From Karsten Solheim’s modest video in 1990 to international broadcast rights and an estimated 5.5 million television viewers around the world in 2024; from a handful of followers in 1990 to a gallery of around 150,000 in 2024; from eight players vying for 16 points in 1990 to 12 duelling for 28 points, the growth of the Solheim Cup is as spectacular as the show itself.
The Solheim Cup may not yet be the time-honoured event that is its brother, the Ryder Cup, but do not for one moment think it devoid of many of the same qualities which make it just as passionate, just as controversial and just as outstanding a spectacle.
This is truly both a joust at its most raw and a festival celebrating women’s golf at its finest.
Bring it on.
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