2024 Solheim Cup
| Dates | September 13–15, 2024 | ||||
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| Venue | Robert Trent Jones Golf Club | ||||
| Location | Gainesville, Virginia, U.S. | ||||
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  Robert Trent Jones Golf Club Location in United States  Robert Trent Jones Golf Club Location in Virginia | |||||
The 2024 Solheim Cup is the 19th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held September 13–15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, United States.[1][2] The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States. The Solheim Cup returns to even-numbered years in 2024, the first time since 2002 after the Ryder Cup returned to an odd-year schedule after 2020, as competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
The previous U.S. competition in 2021 was won by Europe, 15 points to 13.[4] Europe retained the cup in Spain in 2023 after a tie of 14 points to 14.[5]
Format[edit]
The competition was a three-day match play event between teams of 12 players with a similar format to the Ryder Cup, with each match worth one point. The format is as follows:[6]
- Day 1 (Friday): Four foursomes (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and four fourball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
- Day 2 (Saturday): Four foursomes matches in a morning session and four fourball matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
- Day 3 (Sunday): 12 singles matches. All 12 players from each team participate.
With a total of 28 points, 141⁄2 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes. If the score is even after 18 holes, each team earns one-half point.[7]
Team qualification and selection[edit]
Team Europe[edit]
In order to be eligible to be a member of the European team, players were required to:
- be current members of the Ladies European Tour in any category or membership;
- have played in eight Ranking Events (excluding the Excluded Championships) during the Qualifying Period as a member of the LET, unless the relevant player has been selected by the appointed captain for the 2023 European Team;
- be a "European national". To be a "European national", the player must satisfy the criteria set out in the "Nationality Policy" issued by the International Golf Federation.[8]
Team Europe was made up of eight automatic qualifiers – the top two players from the LET Solheim Cup standings, followed by the top six LET members on the Women's World Golf Rankings who were not already qualified via the Solheim Cup standings – and four captain's selections.
Team USA[edit]
In order to be eligible to be a member of the United States team, players were required to be current members of the LPGA Tour and meet one of these three citizenship criteria:
- U.S. citizens by birth, regardless of their birthplace.
- Those who were naturalized as U.S. citizens before age 18.
- Those who became U.S. citizens by adoption before age 13.[9]
Team USA was made up of nine automatic qualifiers – the leading seven players from the LPGA Solheim Cup points rankings and the top two players in the Women's World Golf Rankings not already qualified via the points rankings – and three chosen by the team captain. LPGA Solheim Cup points were earned for top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour over a two-year period.[10]
Teams[edit]
2023 captains Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen will reprise their roles at the 2024 cup.[11] Lewis appointed Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome assistant captains.[12] Pettersen named Anna Nordqvist, Laura Davies, Caroline Martens and Mel Reid as her vice captains.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "The Solheim Cup 2024". Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Official Dates, Points Structure Unveiled for 2024 Solheim Cup". LPGA Tour. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Solheim Cup to Move to Even Years Starting in 2024". LPGA Tour. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Europe retain Solheim Cup after thrilling victory over USA". The Guardian. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ Bantock, Jack (September 24, 2023). "Europe retains Solheim Cup after stunning comeback against USA". CNN. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Official Dates, Points Structure Unveiled for 2024 Solheim Cup". LPGA Tour. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Solheim Cup format, terminology". ESPN. September 9, 2003. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- ^ "The 2023 Solheim Cup European Team Qualification" (PDF). Solheim Cup 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ "Solheim eligibility criteria changing for U.S. team". Golf Channel. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ^ "Solheim Cup". LPGA. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ "Solheim Cup: Suzann Pettersen confirmed as Team Europe captain for 2024 contest in Virginia, USA". Sky Sports. February 21, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ Kellam, Sarah (February 20, 2024). "2024 Solheim Cup: Meet the U.S. Team's Four Assistant Captains". LPGA Tour. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Mel Reid returning as Solheim Cup vice captain for Europe". ESPN. Reuters. February 28, 2024.