The Solheim Cup is the continental competition between the best women golfers from Europe and the USA. Named after Karsten Solheim, the Solheim Cup is the women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup. The tournament has been held every two years since 1990, alternating between the US and European continents. Due to the postponement of the Ryder Cup in 2001, the Solheim Cup has been held in odd-numbered years since 2003. However, only until 2023, from 2024 the Solheim Cup will again be played in even years.
After the 2023 Solheim Cup was held at the Finca Cortesin Golf Club in Spain, the 19th continental competition will take place on American soil again this year. From 13 to 15 September, the competition will take place at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. Team Europe will be looking to secure the title for the fourth time in a row near Washington, DC. The women from the USA have not been able to lift the trophy across the pond since 2017. In Spain in 2023, the Europeans came out on top in a thrilling duel and were able to defend the title thanks to the equaliser on points (14:14).
| Solheim Cup 2024 | ||
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| Date | 13.09. – 15.09.2024 | |
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| Field | Team USA vs. Team Europa | |
| Format | Matchplay (Fourball / Foursome / Single Matches) |
The Rules and Forms of Play of the Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is played over three days and in the same mode as the Ryder Cup. There are a total of 28 match play games: eight foursomes (classic foursomes) and eight fourballs on the first two days, and twelve singles on the final day.
In the foursomes, two golfers from each team play together, with the players taking turns to play the same ball. In contrast, in fourball play, where teams of two are also formed, each player has her own ball. The better score of the two players is taken into account, so that only one score from each team is taken into the scoring on each hole.
In the singles, one American and one European player compete directly against each other. They each play with their own ball. In all matches, the party that wins the majority of the maximum 18 holes wins.
A total of 28 points are awarded for the 28 matches. One point is awarded to the winner of a match, and in the event of a draw, half a point is awarded to each team. The defending champions need 14 points for the overall victory, while the other team must have 14.5 points on their account to win the Solheim Cup.
Solheim Cup 2024: The Teams
The two teams are each composed of twelve players. For Team Europe, sic players qualify via the World Ranking, two via the LET Solheim Cup Ranking and four are selected by the captain. For the Amerikanner women, seven players qualify via the Solheim Cup points list, two via the Rolex Ranking and three more are named by the captain. Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis will once again captain their teams at the 2024 Solheim Cup in the USA.
The Solheim Cup and all its records
Team USA has already won the Solheim Cup ten times, Team Europe only eight times. Team Europe has held the record for the victory with the largest points difference since 2013. With a score of 18 to 10 points, the Europeans won by a margin of eight points.
The most birdies in one day were achieved in 2009. Team Europe holed out 45 times for birdies on the final day, the Americans 48 times, meaning that 93 strokes were gained in the end. Laura Davies is the player with the most Solheim Cup appearances to date. The Englishwoman was the only player to take part in all of the first twelve editions of the tournament. She watched it for the first time in 2013. She also holds the record for the most matches played (46 out of a possible 53). The youngest participant was Charley Hull (Europe) in 2013 at the age of 17 years, four months and 25 days. Juli Inkster (USA) was the oldest player at the Solheim Cup in 2011 at the age of 51 years, two months and 30 days.