A CHANCE TO DEFEND FOR THE USA

The best United States players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the best European members from the Ladies European Tour converge on Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, this week for the 15th edition of the Solheim Cup. The biennial, trans-Atlantic match-play competition will put on display the prestige of the game of golf along with the sheer passion for one’s country in front of an American crowd for the first time since 2013.

Team USA enters with a chance to win consecutive Solheim Cups for the first time since 2007 and 2009. The U.S. leads Europe 9-5 all-time in Solheim Cup competition following their historic comeback win in 2015 at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club in Germany. The Americans trailed 10-6 heading into Sunday’s singles matches and overcame the largest deficit in the event’s history, winning 8½ points in the final session. Team USA won by a score of 14½ to 13½, the closest score in the history of the Cup.

	USA	Europe
Combined Appearances	36	24
Combined Record	57-60-23	47-32-13
Combined Points	68.5	53.5
LPGA/LET Wins	64/1	26/29
Average Age	28.33	27.66
Average Rolex Ranking	38.25	52.66
Highest Ranked Player	Lexi Thompson (2)	Anna Nordqvist (13)
Solheim Cup Rookies	3 (Angel Yin, Austin Ernst, Danielle Kang)	4 (Georgia Hall, Florentyna Parker, Emily K. Pedersen, Madelene Sagstrom)

MEET THE CAPTAINS

The 2017 Solheim Cup features what might be the highest profile captains matchup in the history of the event: LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Annika Sorenstam. The pair combine for 103 LPGA wins, including 17 major championship titles, along with 17 Solheim Cup appearances as players.

Team USA – Captain Juli Inkster

Second consecutive year as captain; led Team USA to victory in 2015
Served as playing assistant captain in 2013, the only person to do so in Cup history
Has appeared in nine Solheim Cups as a player, the most in Team USA history
Her 15-12-7 overall playing record and 18.5 total points scored is the most in Team USA history
Assistant Captains: Pat Hurst, Wendy Ward, Nancy Lopez

Team Europe – Captain Annika Sorenstam

First year as captain
Served as assistant captain in the past three Solheim Cups (2011-15)
Has appeared in eight Solheim Cups with a 22-11-4 overall record
Her 22 matches ties her with Laura Davies for most all time, and her 24 points earned is second all time behind Davies
Assistant Captains: Catriona Matthew, Marta Figueras-Dotti, Maria McBride

TALE OF THE TAPE

Both the American and European teams feature rosters bolstered with Solheim Cup experience. The United States team has six players set to make at least their fourth start in the Solheim Cup – Cristie Kerr (nine), Paula Creamer (seven), Brittany Lincicome (six), Michelle Wie (five), Brittany Lang (five) and Stacy Lewis (four). The European squad doesn’t have quite as much experience, with four players on the team making their third Solheim Cup start alongside longer tenured players in Suzann Pettersen (nine), Anna Nordqvist (five) and Karine Icher (four).

The Americans have 36 Solheim Cup starts under their collective belts while the Europeans have just 24. Conversely, the combined record for the Americans players is slightly below .500 at 57-60-23, while the European roster has an impressive combined record of 47-32-13 for a .581 winning percentage. So while the Americans may appear to be the favorites on paper with 65 combined LPGA wins to the European’s 26, that has not necessarily translated to success in the match-play format of the Solheim Cup.

Most notably, the Americans are 6-1 in the biennial competition when it has been played on American soil, with their only loss coming in the last appearance in the United States at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo. This is the first time that the Americans will attempt to defend the Cup since 2011.

HOW WILL NORDQVIST RESPOND?

Anna Nordqvist hopes to enter this week well rested and refreshed as she makes her fifth Solheim Cup appearance for Team Europe. The top-ranked European player is coming off a bout of glandular fever (mononucleosis) and had to rely on a captain’s pick to make the roster after not playing in enough Ladies European Tour events to qualify for the team automatically.

The World No. 13 battled through the illness and finished T7 at the Ricoh Women’s British Open in Scotland. Captain Annika Sorenstam called the choice of Nordqvist, who has never had a losing record playing at the Solheim Cup, a “no-brainer.”

CREAMER REPLACES INJURED KORDA

USA Captain Juli Inkster announced last Tuesday that six-time USA Solheim Cup veteran Paula Creamer would replace the injured Jessica Korda at the 2017 Solheim Cup.

Inkster chose Creamer as her alternate when she selected her team on Sunday night and informed the European team as required by the captain’s agreement. However, she did not publicly reveal her choice until after Korda withdrew last Monday due to a forearm injury.

“I’ve got a lot of faith and a lot of confidence in Paula,” said Inkster. “She reminds me a lot of myself as far as heart and grit, and I know she never gives up.”

“You don’t want one of your teammates or your friends to be hurt, but that’s why you have alternates, for that reason,” added Creamer. “But I’m very honored. I’m ready to wear red, white and blue for the seventh time.”

TRUST IN THE ROOKIES

Captains Inkster and Sorenstam both went with fresh faces in their captain’s picks, each selecting two players with no prior Solheim Cup experience. Austin Ernst and 2017 LPGA rookie Angel Yin were chosen on the American side, while Denmark’s Emily K. Pedersen and Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, both in their LPGA rookie campaigns, made up two of the four captain’s picks on the European squad.

Ernst, who is in her fourth year on the LPGA Tour, has three top-10 finishes in 2017 including a tie for second at the Kia Classic. Ernst has one LPGA Tour victory to her name, coming at the 2014 Portland Classic.

Yin has put together an impressive first season on the LPGA Tour with seven top-20 finishes including two top 5s. The California native currently ranks second in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings, behind 2017 U.S. Women’s Open champion Sung Hyun Park. Yin is also an alumna of the Junior Solheim Cup program, having represented the USA in 2015.

“When we were going to Germany (in 2015), (Austin) was really close,” said Inkster following the team announcements two weeks ago. “I just feel like she deserves a chance to be on this team and to represent the USA. My players also thought that. Then Angel, you know, she’s kind of been on my radar all year. I’ve watched her play. I watched her play over in Mexico City in the match play event, and I just liked her demeanor. And again, my team just loves, loves her. So I just thought it was a win/win.”

Pedersen has three top-20 finishes so far in 2017, and has only missed one cut in her nine LPGA starts. Pedersen also competes on the Ladies European Tour, where she has notched three three top-15 finishes this season.

Sagstrom earned her 2017 LPGA Tour following a sensational 2016 season on the Epson Tour that saw her take three victories and earn Player of the Year honors. She set single-season records for earnings with $167,064 and top-10 finishes with 12, and finished in the top five in 11 of 15 starts. Sagstrom has three top-15 finishes in the LPGA Tour in 2017, including a T4 finish at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“They are both very strong. I like the personalities for the team,” said Sorenstam of her rookie selections. “They are both very driven. I think their game suits the golf course that we are going to play, and I don’t know, they all want to play with those two. So it gives us a lot of options in pairings and so forth.”

SOLHEIM STATS TO KNOW

1 point – Smallest margin of victory, by Team USA in 2015 (14.5-13.5)

8 points – Largest margin of victory, by Team Europe in 2013 (18-10)

4 points – Largest comeback in history, mounted by Team USA in 2015 after trailing 10-6 heading into singles play on Sunday

6-1 – Team USA’s record in the Solheim Cup on home soil, with the only loss coming in 2013 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colorado

3 – Most consecutive Solheim Cup wins, achieved twice by Team USA (1994-98 and 2005-09)

9 – This is Cristie Kerr’s ninth appearance, tying Juli Inkster for the most all-time appearances for Team USA

12 – Dame Laura Davies has the most Solheim Cup appearances for either team, playing 12 times for Team Europe

17.5 points – Kerr’s career points earned for Team USA

1 point – Amount needed by Kerr to tie Inkster for the most points scored by a Team USA player in Solheim Cup history

25 points – Davies has scored the most points in Solheim Cup history

28.3 – The average age of Team USA (youngest: 26.41 in 2013; oldest: 36.24 in 2000)

27.6 – The average age of Team Europe (youngest: 27.34 in 1990; oldest: 33.45 in 2005)

A Chance To Defend for USA, Meet the Captains and More from Solheim Cup

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