Solheim Cup
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 2015: St. Leon-Rot, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Established | 1990 |
| Course(s) | 2015: Golf Club St. Leon-Rot |
| Par | 2015: 72 |
| Length | 2015: 7,153 yards (6,541 m) |
| Tour(s) |
Ladies European Tour LPGA Tour |
| Format | Match play |
| Prize fund | None |
| Month played | September |
| Current champion | |
 Europe | |
 2013 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.
The inaugural Cup was held in 1990, and the event was staged in even number years until 2002, alternating years with the Ryder Cup (the equivalent men's event between the USA and Europe). As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events consequent to the one-year postponement of the 2001 Ryder Cup due to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbered years from 2003.
The U.S. team is selected by a points system, with American players on the LPGA Tour receiving points for each top-twenty finish on tour.[1] Through the 2013 event, U.S. citizens born outside the country were ineligible for consideration; beginning in 2015, eligibility for Team USA will be expanded to include many more categories of (female) U.S. citizens.[2] For the European team, 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.[3] 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.
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.
The cup is played over three days. Since 2002, there have been 28 matches—eight foursomes, eight four-balls and 12 singles on the final day. This is the same format as the Ryder Cup. Before 1996, and also in 2000, the Solheim Cup used a similar, but abbreviated format.
Results
| Year | Venue | Winning team | Score | USA Captain | Europe Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Colorado Golf Club, Colorado, USA | Europe |
18–10 | Meg Mallon |  Liselotte Neumann |
| 2011 | Killeen Castle Golf Resort, Ireland | Europe |
15–13 | Rosie Jones |  Alison Nicholas |
| 2009 | Rich Harvest Farms, Illinois, USA |  United States |
16–12 | Beth Daniel | Alison Nicholas |
| 2007 | Halmstad GK, Sweden | United States |
16–12 | Betsy King | Helen Alfredsson |
| 2005 | Crooked Stick Golf Club, Indiana, USA | United States |
15½–12½ | Nancy Lopez | Catrin Nilsmark |
| 2003 | Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, Sweden | Europe |
17½–10½ | Patty Sheehan | Catrin Nilsmark |
| 2002 | Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota, USA | United States |
15½–12½ | Patty Sheehan |  Dale Reid |
| 2000 | Loch Lomond Golf Club, Scotland | Europe |
14½–11½ | Pat Bradley | Dale Reid |
| 1998 | Muirfield Village, Ohio, USA | United States |
16–12 | Judy Rankin | Pia Nilsson |
| 1996 | St Pierre Golf & Country Club, Wales | United States |
17–11 | Judy Rankin | Mickey Walker |
| 1994 | The Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA | United States |
13–7 | JoAnne Carner | Mickey Walker |
| 1992 | Dalmahoy Country Club, Scotland | Europe |
11½–6½ | Kathy Whitworth | Mickey Walker |
| 1990 | Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Florida, USA | United States |
11½–4½ | Kathy Whitworth | Mickey Walker |
Of the 13 matches, the United States have won 8 and Europe have won 5.
Future venues
The St. Leon course of Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany will host the Solheim Cup in 2015. The club has previously hosted the European Tour's Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe on the same course.[4]
The Des Moines Golf and Country Club will host the Cup in 2017; it previously hosted the 1999 U.S. Senior Open.[5]
Records
- Most appearances on a team: 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: 10½
° Laura Davies (Eur) (9-7-3 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% - 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
- Junior Solheim Cup
- List of American Solheim Cup golfers
- List of European Solheim Cup golfers
- List of sports competitions between teams representing continents
Notes and references
- ↑ "Points distribution for 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team qualifying" (PDF). LPGA Tour. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
- ↑ More specifically, the following groups of women will now be 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.
- ↑ "Solheim selection process changes". BBC Sport. 2006-04-18. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- ↑ "St. Leon-Rot in Germany to host 2015 Solheim Cup". The New York Times. 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
- ↑ "Iowa awarded 2017 Solheim Cup". ESPN. Associated Press. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
- ↑ The Solheim Cup All-Time Records
- ↑ Solheim Cup Records
- ↑ The Solheim Cup - Match history & records
External links
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