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: 6,592 yards (6,028 m) |
| Tour(s) |
Ladies European Tour LPGA Tour |
| Format | Match play |
| Prize fund | None |
| Month played | August or September |
| Current champion | |
 United States | |
 2015 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). As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events after the one-year postponement of the 2001 Ryder Cup following the September 11 attacks, the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbered years beginning in 2003.
The current holders are the U.S. who won at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Baden-Württemberg, Germany in 2015. The next contest will be at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa from 18 to 20 August 2017.
Format
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.
Team qualification and selection
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 was 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.
Captains
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.
Results
Of the 14 matches, the United States have won 9 and Europe have won 5.
Future venues
The Des Moines Golf and Country Club will host the Cup in 2017; it previously hosted the 1999 U.S. Senior Open.[4]
The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland will host the Cup in 2019; it previously hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup.[5] The event was last held in Scotland in 2000.
Inverness Club will host the Cup in 2021; it has previously hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, and two U.S. Senior Opens.[6]
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)
° Cristie Kerr (USA) (10–5–1 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 became 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.
- ↑ "Iowa awarded 2017 Solheim Cup". ESPN. Associated Press. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
- ↑ "Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in 2019 as Scotland wins bidding". BBC. 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
- ↑ "Inverness Club Wins Coveted Bid for 2021 Solheim Cup". LPGA. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
- ↑ The Solheim Cup All-Time Records
- ↑ Solheim Cup Records
- ↑ The Solheim Cup - Match history & records