Are you looking for some superfan facts about the Solheim Cup?
Then you’ve landed in the right place. Below are 10 Solheim Cup Facts every golf fan should know.
As anyone who has been on any of our mixed golf events will know, we’re huge fans of team golf competitions.
2019 was perhaps the greatest end to a Solheim Cup but the 2023 event at Finca Cortesin certainly gave it a run for it’s money!
But following hot on the heels of the GB & Ireland ladies win at the Curtis Cup, we’re back Stateside for the 9th edition of the Solheim Cup matches at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.
This really is a a fortnight of amazing fairways drama – so we thought we’d put together this list of must-know facts and most frequently asked questions about the 2024 Solheim Cup.
About the 2024 Solheim Cup – Frequently Asked Questions
The Solheim Cup, the most prestigious team competition in women’s golf, brings together the best female golfers from Europe and the United States in a matchplay format team event played over three days.
The Solheim Cup is a biennial event held alternatively at a golf course in mainland Europe or the United States.
The 2024 Solheim Cup is the 19th time the event has been held. In 2023 it was played in Spain for the first time, this year it will be hosted in Gainsville, Virgina USA.
There are 12 players on each team. The players are supported by a team captain and up to three vice captains.
Team Europe’s Charley Hull is the youngest player to be picked for a Solheim Cup when she was just 17 years and 149 days old!
Hull was selected to compete in the 2013 Solheim Cup, and became the youngest person ever to play in the tournament.
The team was the first European Solheim squad to win on U.S. soil, with a final score of 18–10.
Hull contributed 2 points, including a 5 & 4 singles win over US superstar Paula Creamer.
Charley Hull will play for Europe again in 2024 at the Robert Trent Jones course in Virginia.
Like the Ryder Cup the Solheim Cup is played uses three different matchplay formats.
Days one and two include morning rounds of foursome matches and afternoon rounds of four-ball matches.
The team captains will chose which players are paired together for each team.
Not every player on the team will necessarily play in any of the foursome or fourball matches. However, captains tend to pick players for at least one of the rounds on the first two days of the competition.
A player can be picked for each round of the event if the Captain chooses to play them.
The final day is made up of singles matches where each player on the team plays a matchplay round.
The order in which the players play is decided by the Captain and is seen as a big strategy decision depending on the state of the points table after the foursome and fourball rounds.
The Solheim Cup is played using three different matchplay golf formats:
Foursome Matches
“Foursome” golf is a match where two golfers from the same team are paired up to compete against two golfers from the other team.
Each team only plays one ball and the golfers from each team play alternate shots until the ball is holed.
Four-ball Matches
“Four-Ball” play is another team match with two players from each side competing against each other.
Unlike foursomes in four ball golf each player plays their own ball.
Four balls are in play on each hole. The lowest score from each team will be the score for that team. Hence why fourball golf is also known as “better ball”.
Singles Matches
In the Solheim Cup a “Singles”golf – played on the last day of the event – is a match where one player from Team USA competes against one player from Team Europe.
Each will play their own ball.
All 12 members from Team USA will compete against the 12 members from Team Europe in singles matches.
This means there are a full 12 points available on the final afternoon!
As mentioned the Solheim Cup is played using a matchplay format.
Match play is a form of play where a player (or team of players) plays directly against an opponent (or opponents) in a head-to-head match.
You win a hole by completing it in the fewest number of strokes, and you win a match when you are winning by more holes than remain to be played.
The Solheim Cup points system works by awarding 1 point for each team or individual match win, half a point if the match is tied (or halved) and no points for a match loss.
There are a total of 28 points up for grabs during the Solheim Cup matches. This means a team needs to get at least 14 ½ points to win the Cup.
However if there is a 14-14 tie, the cup stays with the defending team.
In the history of the Solheim Cup there has not yet been a tied match.
The 2023 Solheim Cup was played at the Finca Cortesin Golf Club. The course is located on the Costa del Sol in Andalucía, Spain.
It was the first time the Solheim Cup had been played in Spain.
It was the 8th time the event has been hosted by a European golf course.
As in 2023 the two captains for the 2024 Solheim Cup will be Stacy Lewis (USA) and Suzann Pettersen (Europe). Between them have been involved in 20 Solheim Cup campaigns and they battled it out in fine style at Finca Cortesin Golf Club.
Team Europe
Suzann Pettersen
Suzann Pettersen led Team Europe at Finca Cortesin with the target of making it a Solheim Cup triple!
And who better than a two-time major champion and nine-time Solheim Cup player?
To say the Solheim Cup means a lot to this amazing Norwegian golf is an understatement – she not only won the Cup four times but her final act as a professional tour golfer was to hole the clutch putt that won the 2019 event 14.5 to 13.5 in Europe’s favour!
And now 2023 in Spain has become another special moment in Suzann Pettersen’s Solheim Cup story!
Team USA
Stacy Lewis
Team USA will again be captained by Stacy Lewis at the 2024 Solheim Cup.
Having been a World No 1, 2-time major champion and a Solheim Cup winner on two occasions.
She has also been involved in the Solheim Cup on six occasions, four times as a player. She made her debut in the competition in 2011 and played in four consecutive Cups – fair to say she had huge experience to fall back on while trying to win back the Cup in Virginia!
Team Europe and Team USA have slightly differing qualification processes for players to get into their teams.
Let’s take a look at both selection rules for the 2023 Solheim Cup:
Team USA
The top seven players on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list at the end of the Qualifying Period will be the first group of players into Team USA.
They are joined by the top two players on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (having not already qualified).
Team captain Stacy Lewis then selected three players to complete the team.
Team Europe
The first two members of Team Europe are selected from The Ladies European Tour (LET) Solheim Cup Points list
Then, the six highest ranked players on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (having not already qualified) will automatically qualify.
Finally, Captain Suzann Pettersen had four picks to finalise the players for Team Europe.
Of the 17 Solheim Cup comeptitions played so far Team USA has won 10 compared to the 7 won by Team Europe.
The good news for Team Europe fans though is that they have won the last two Cups and according to the UK bookmakers they go into the 2023 Solheim Cup as slight favourites!
Here is the list of 12 players picked for Team Europe in the 2024 Solheim Cup:
- Celine Boutier
- Maja Stark
- Charley Hull
- Leona Maguire
- Georgia Hall
- Linn Grant
- Carlota Ciganda
- Anna Nordqvist
- Madelene Sagstrom
- Esther Henseleit
- Albane Valenzuela
- Emily Kristine Pedersen
You can view full profiles of Team Europe’s 2024 Solheim Cup team here.
Here is the list of 12 players picked for Team USA in the 2024 Solheim Cup:
- Allisen Corpuz
- Sarah Schmelzel
- Megan Khang
- Nelly Korda
- Jennifer Kupcho
- Andrea Lee
- Lexi Thompson
- Lilia Vu
- Rose Zhang
- Ally Ewing
- Alison Lee
- Lauren Coughlin
You can view full profiles of Team USA’s 2024 Solheim Cup team here.
Team Europe star Emily Kristine Pedersen and her boyfriend Olly Brett, may have been a couple since 2018, but they will be battling for bragging rights on opposing sides in the 2024 Solheim Cup!
The top 10 Solheim Cup facts every golf fan should know
1. The Famous Golfing Family Behind the Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is named after Karsten and Louise Solheim, founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, which makes PING golf equipment.
Their son, John A. Solheim, was instrumental in establishing the competition along with the LPGA in the USA and the LET (Ladies European Tour) in Europe.
2. Home Advantage is Strong in the Solheim Cup!
In the 34 year history of the Solheim Cup the visiting team has only gone home with the trophy 5 times.
Three times Team USA has captured an overseas hosted Cup to the twice that Team Europe has taken an victory on US soil.
With our Team Europe bias hopefully 2024 will be the year to level up those scores!
3. Even Numbered Biennial Events – sort of!:
The Solheim Cup is held every two years, alternating between venues in the United States and Europe. The original plan was to run the event on even numbered years. However, the 2002 & 2020 competitions were re-scheduled meaning there were Solheim Cups played on odd numbered years between 2003 and 2023.
The 2024 event will see a return to even numbered years!
The first Solheim Cup was played in 1990 at Lake Nona Golf Club in Florida which Team USA won 11.5 to 4.5.
The 2024 Solheim Cup will be the 19th running of the event.
4. United States Dominance but a Team Europe Fightback is on!
Across the 18 Solheim cup matches so far the United States holds the upper hand.
The winning tally so far is 10 wins for Team USA and 8 to Team Europe
However, Europe has made significant strides in recent years, winning the two events in a row and retaining the trophy last time out in Spain.
There has never been a tie in the Solheim Cup to date. Nor has one team won more than three Cups in a row
Watch the Sunday Highlights From a Nail-Biting end to the 2023 Solheim Cup!
5. Player With the Most Solheim Cup Appearances:
Record breaking British golfer Dame Laura Davies holds the record for the most Solheim Cup appearances, with an incredible twelve.
She was a key member Team Europe teams between 1990 to 2011 winning the Cup four times and scoring a record 25 points.
She is also one of four Vice Captains named by Suzann Pettersen for the 2024 Solheim Cup for what will be a hugely experienced management team and she will surely Captain the team in her own right before long.
6. Most Solheim Cup Points Won in Singles Matches:
American golfer Juli Inkster holds the record for the most Solheim Cup points, with seven from nine Team USA appearances.
She also captained the U.S. team in 2015 and 2017, becoming the first person to captain the team back-to-back – an achievment matched by both captains in 2024!
7. Most Points Scored in a Single Solheim Cup Event
Swedish golfer Caroline Hedwall still holds the record for the most points scored at a single solheim Cup with the maximum 5 out of a possible 5 she won for Team Europe in the 2013 event at Colorado Golf Club which Europe went on to win 18-10.
No other golfer on either team has returned a maximum points score since although several have got close – maybe 2024 could be the year especially given the talented golfers on both teams?!
8. A changing team format
The Solheim Cup only moved to a 12 player format at the 1996 event hosted by St Pierre Golf Club in Wales.
Prior to that there were only 10 players representing each team and in the first Solheim Cup in 1990 there were only 8 players per team.
9. Countries & States to have Hosted a Solheim Cup
The 2023 Solheim Cup was the first time the event has been played on a golf course in Spain.
Over the history of the Cup the matches have been played in 6 different European countries and now 9 US states.
Scotland has hosted the most Solheim Cups with three events, followed by Sweden with two.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ohio is the only state to have hosted more than one Solheim Cup.
Flyover Robert Trent Jones Golf Club host of the 2024 Solheim Cup
10. Tightest winning margin & biggest comeback in the Solheim Cup
On two occassions the Solheim Cup has been won by a single point and only once, in 2023, have the scores been tied 14-14!
Team USA Score the biggest comeback to win in Germany
In 2015 in Germany Team USA Juli Inskster’s first Solheim Cup team won by a score of 141⁄2 to 131⁄2 – at the time the closest score in the history of the Cup.
Going into singles matches, the United States trailed 10–6 and needed 81⁄2 points to win back the Cup.
They took the victory when Paula Creamer won the final match against Sandra Gal 4&3 to give the USA a one-point victory. It was also the biggest comeback in the history of the Solheim Cup.
Suzann Pettersen shows nerves of steel as Team Europe take revenge in 2019
Not to be outdone Team Europe took revenge on Inkster in 2019 at Gelneagles at her final Solheim Cup captaincy appearance!
In what has become known as one of the greatest finishes in the history of match play golf, the Europeans won each of the last 3 games to win back the cup after two consequetive losses.
To tee off a dramatic chain of events 24 year-old Bronte Law holed a 15 footer on the 16th hole to go 1-up with 2 to play against Ally McDonald. The American then missed a short putt on 17 to give Law the win and level the match score.
Less than a minute later, Suzann Pettersen – yes the Suzzan Pettersen who also captained Team Europe in the thriller in Spain 2023! – held her nerve to hole the winning 7-foot putt on the 18th green of the last match on the course – it not only gave Europe their first Solheim Cup win since 2013 it was also the last act of Pettersen’s incredible professional playing career – talk about going out on a high!
Watch the incredible end to the 2019 Solheim Cup below
Team Europe’s Greatest Moment in Solheim Cup History (still…2023?!)
Relive the Incredible End to the 2019 Solheim Cup
Top Tip: If you’ve not got time to watch the full 12 minutes fast forward to 9 mins 50 to watch the drama of the final holes unfold!
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