After a season where every story seemed to top the previous one in 2014, look for more of the same in 2015. Whether it’s the continued rivalry of Inbee Park and Stacy Lewis or the career renaissance of Michelle Wie, the stories that permeated 2014 will lead us in to 2015. Here’s the stories every LPGA fan should be looking forward to in 2015.

Since the Americans left Colorado Golf Club in September of 2013, they’ve stewed. The 18-10 drubbing, the most lopsided defeat in Solheim Cup history, they took at the hands of the European team has ate at them and is partly responsible for a resurgence among the Americans in 2014, with many of the members of that team saying it fueled their offseason practice.

Now, after a whirlwind year that saw nine different Americans in the winner’s circle, we’re just over three weeks from the first shot of the 2015 season, an odd-numbered year which means for the Americans it’s a Solheim Cup year and a chance at redemption. The United States hasn’t held the Solheim Cup on Sunday since 2009 and U.S. captain Juli Inkster will surely be following the 2015 season closely to determine which potential captain’s picks could help bring the Solheim Cup back to American soil. Sixteen Americans sit in the top 75 in the world but only 12 will make the team. For some, the team announcements will be the culmination of a lifelong dream. For others, bitter disappointment and the same viewing space as the rest of us.

Regardless of who ends up making the team, the resurgence in 2014 has Inkster’s potential squad looking tough heading into the 2015 season. Currently, nine Americans sit in the top 25 of the Rolex World Rankings. By comparison, Europe has just three. Of the 32 tournaments on the 2014 LPGA schedule, an American won 13 of them while a European player won just two – both by Anna Nordqvist.

But team competition is a different animal and the Americans have had little success on the men’s or women’s side against the Europeans lately. And this trip will require the American team to go to Europe, where the American team has only won twice in Solheim Cup history despite holding an 8-5 overall record in the competition.

As for the Europeans, they may not return to the Solheim Cup riding a wave of wins and lofty rankings, but they do arrive with the swagger that comes from winning back-to-back Solheim Cups. Even in 2014, the Europeans were able to prove their mettle in team competition by sweeping the top two spots at the inaugural eight-team International Crown.

Spain, with a team of four potential Solheim Cup players, didn’t lose a weekend match to take the inaugural title, despite being heavy underdogs to the United States and the Republic of Korea entering the week. And following Spain in second wasn’t the United States or the Republic of Korea, instead it was another European country, Sweden, with Solheim Cup stalwarts in recent years Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall leading the charge. Despite sporting a roster of four of the top-15 players in the world at the time, the United States didn’t make the cut to five teams for Sunday’s single matches.

In other words, the rankings heading into 2015 may appear as if the United States will have a decided edge come mid-September at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club in Germany. But recent history in this format tells us the Europeans are rarely ever underdogs in this format, especially across the Pond.

There’s no task force needed for the Americans to figure out what’s abled them in team competition in time for the 2015 Solheim Cup. Instead, they need just look at the Europeans.

Stories to Watch in 2015: Solheim Cup

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