Esther Henseleit carded a final-round 70 in Scotland and came four shots short of matching Lauren Coughlin's four-day total of 15-under. But the German native's runner-up finish pushed her 13 spots to No. 29 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, the best ranking of her career. Henseleit has four top-10 finishes this season on Tour, and her runner-up showing in Scotland ties her best result since becoming an LPGA Tour member, which came in 2023 at the ISPS Handa World Invitational when she lost in a playoff to American Alexa Pano.

The 2024 Olympic silver medalist’s recent success last week and in Paris could be the catalyst that sees the German capture her first title sooner rather than later on the LPGA Tour. With her second-place finish in Scotland, Henseleit also moved into the second automatic qualifying spot in the European Solheim Cup Team points standings. She has competed on the LPGA Tour since 2020, has 11 career top-10 finishes and has amassed nearly $2.2 million in career earnings.

U.S. Solheim Cup Standings Update

The AIG Women's Open is the final qualifying event for the 2024 Solheim Cup. The Americans have a tight race for the final few guaranteed spots on this year's team, and only players in eighth through 12th in the U.S. Solheim Team point standings have an opportunity to move into the final automatic qualifying spot. The top seven players in the standings after the AIG Women's Open will automatically qualify for the team, as will the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings who are not already qualified. The remaining three spots will be captain's picks.

Lauren Coughlin won last week's ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open, her second win in less than a month, to clinch her spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team. Coughlin moved past Ally Ewing to third in the points standings following her victory in Scotland. Allisen Corpuz also clinched a berth on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team following her tie for 15th at Dundonald Links.

Andrea Lee holds a 105-point advantage over Rose Zhang in the seventh spot in the Solheim Cup Standings. The two players currently qualified via the Rolex Rankings are Rose Zhang (No. 9) and Alison Lee (No. 25), but Angel Yin (No. 34) and Lexi Thompson (No. 43) are close behind, hoping to make their case at the AIG Women’s Open for one of the three captain's picks that will round out the 12-person team. Points are doubled at this week's AIG Women's Open, with 450 points awarded for a victory.

Europe Solheim Cup Standings Update

With her runner-up finish at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open, Esther Henseleit moved into second in the European Solheim Cup points standings, joining Charley Hull in the top two spots heading into the season's final major championship. Linn Grant trails Henseleit by less than 21 points for one of the automatic qualifying spots on the team.

The six players currently qualified for Team Europe via the Rolex Rankings are Celine Boutier (No. 8), Maja Stark (No. 24), Linn Grant (No. 26), Leona Maguire (No. 32), Carlota Ciganda (No. 33) and Madelene Sagstrom (No. 35). Georgia Hall, who won the AIG Women's Open in 2018, is just five spots behind Sagstrom at No. 40.

The European Team will also be finalized following the AIG Women's Open this week. Four captain's picks are available in addition to the automatic qualifiers. All 15 players at the top of the European Team points standings are currently in the AIG Women's Open field.

New Faces in the Mix on Epson Tour's Race for the Card

Pornanong Phatlum collected her first Epson Tour title this past weekend at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in Pendleton, Ore., moving her from 36th to seventh in the Race for the Card standings. With 866 points, the Thailand native has put herself in an excellent position to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2025, but with only five events remaining this season, nothing is guaranteed.

After a T5 performance at Wildhorse Golf Course, Fiona Xu has found herself in the top spot in the season-long Race for the Card with 1,135.200 points. She has hovered near the top of the standings after her win at the Copper Rock Championship in May but regained first place after earning her third top-10 finish of the 2024 season last week.

Jessica Porvasnik's T61 result in Pendleton, Ore., moved her from No. 1 to No. 2 in the Race, and she now trails Xu by 24 points. Rounding out the top five in the Race for the Card standings are Lauren Stephenson at No. 3 with 1,061.083 points, Daniela Iacobelli at No. 4 with 1,033.675 points and Cassie Porter at No. 5 with 951.598 points.

The Race for the Card is a season-long points competition in which Epson Tour members accumulate points in every official Epson Tour tournament. The ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15 in the point standings to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2025 season. The point-based system, new on the Epson Tour this season, replaces the money-based system and will award points to those who make the cut weekly.

The 2024 season will also be the first year that Epson Tour athletes will vie for 15 LPGA Tour cards. They will be awarded after the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, Calif., this fall.

Making Moves: Esther Henseleit Trending in Rankings

Related Articles