Five players will make their debut for the American side next month in Spain.
With both rosters now set, it’s just about time for the 2023 Solheim Cup.
After European captain Suzann Pettersen announced her four captain’s picks last week, U.S. captain Stacy Lewis made her three selections on Monday to complete her 12-player team bound for Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, Sept. 22-24. Team USA is comprised of the top seven players in the U.S. Solheim Cup standings, the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking (not already eligible) and three captain’s picks.
The Americans have been victorious 10 times, most recently in 2017 at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa, while the Europeans are looking for a third consecutive win and their eighth overall.
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Meet the 12 players who will take on the Europeans at the 2023 Solheim Cup.
Three players will make their debut for the European side next month in Spain.
In just a month’s time the U.S. and Europe will square off at the 2023 Solheim Cup, and one of the two squads has been set.
European captain Suzann Pettersen announced her four captain’s picks on Tuesday, completing the 12-player team bound for Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, Sept. 22-24. Team Europe is comprised of the top-two players in the Europe Solheim Cup standings, the top-six players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking (not already eligible) and four captain’s picks.
The Americans have been victorious 10 times, most recently in 2017 at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa, while the Europeans are looking for a third consecutive win and their eighth overall.
Meet the 12 players who will take on the U.S. at the 2023 Solheim Cup.
With the Solheim Cup being contested in back-to-back years, Lewis, 37, will lead the American team both in Spain and Virginia.
Stacy Lewis has yet to lead Team USA into battle at a Solheim Cup, but she already has the job lined up for a second time. With the Solheim Cup being contested in back-to-back years, Lewis, 37, will lead the American team both in Spain and Virginia, the LPGA has announced.
Already the youngest captain in Solheim Cup history, she’ll be 38 when Team USA tries to take back the Cup from Europe on Sept. 22-24 at Finca Cortesin in Spain. The youngest U.S. captain to date was Patty Sheehan in 2002 at age 45.
The 2024 Solheim Cup will take place Sept. 12-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. Lewis will be the fifth player to captain Team USA more than once, joining Juli Inkster (2015, 2017, 2019), Judy Rankin (1996, 1998), Patty Sheehan (2002, 2003) and Kathy Whitworth (1990, 1992).
“This is such an amazing honor, to be asked to again captain the U.S. Solheim Cup Team. Receiving the first call was one of the highest points of my career, and I am truly grateful to add this second opportunity,” said Lewis in a release. “I’ve said it many times – representing the United States and wearing our colors are experiences that stand out in any player’s career. To have the chance to lead our country’s best players twice, and especially in 2024 outside our nation’s capital, is a true privilege.”
Stacy Lewis of team USA holds the Solheim Cup trophy at the closing ceremony of The Solheim Cup at St Leon-Rot Golf Club on September 20, 2015, in St Leon-Rot, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
A 13-time winner on the LPGA who ascended to No. 1 and won two majors, Lewis is a big-picture thinker and straightforward communicator. She’ll take advice and she’ll compromise, but there will be no gray area. While her Solheim Cup record is lacking at 5-10-1, she’s open about what she has learned over the years and wants to improve on every aspect of the event that she can.
“I want to figure out what we’re missing,” said Lewis last February. “The pieces that we’re missing to help these girls play better and help make it be a better experience for the fans or whatever it may be.”
To that end, she has already put in place a new stats system to help identify potential pairings. After reading about the stats systems both Ryder Cup teams (and Presidents Cup teams) have relied upon in recent years, Lewis went on a mission to get something similar for her team.
“In the past, we’ve made pairings based on being friends or who gets along,” said Lewis, “there’s really been no rhyme or reason. Juli did the personality test and things like that because we’ve never had stats to put to it.”
Lewis met with the stats groups that work with the U.S. men (Scouts Consulting Group) and Europe (Twenty First Group). She knew she’d have to find a creative way to fund the program outside of the Solheim Cup budget. That’s when KPMG stepped up to help, creating an extension to the already existing KPMG Performance Insights with the continued help of the Twenty First Group.
By the time the 2023 Solheim Cup is staged, there will be two years’ worth of data to analyze.
“It’s going to help project who’s going to make the team and then from that,” said Lewis, “making your picks based on pairings and who will pair well together.”
The data will also be specific to the golf course, looking at details like what kinds of shots will be hit from the tees and how many of the par 5s are reachable.
Lewis plans to keep some of the pod system that three-time captain Juli Inkster put in place but make it more flexible. After being forced to withdraw from the team in 2019 due to injury, Lewis served as an unofficial assistant captain under Inkster. She worked in that role in an official capacity under Pat Hurst in 2021.
“It comes down to making putts,” said Lewis after she was named captain the first time around.
“We didn’t do enough of that at Inverness. That’s what I talked about, being in these last groups and learning how to handle the pressure and the emotions of it. That’s really what the putting comes down to.”
A championship course that hosts the Dutch Open on the DP World Tour will stage the biennial event.
The Netherlands will host the Solheim Cup for the first time in 2026. The LET, LPGA and IMG announced that Bernardus, a championship course that opened in 2018 and hosts the Dutch Open on the DP World Tour, will stage the biennial event.
Golf is the fourth most popular sport in the Netherlands, with more than 420,000 golfers in a nation with a population of nearly 18 million. The Bernardus bid was supported by the Royal Dutch Golf Federation.
This will be the first edition run in partnership with IMG, which was appointed by the LET as the delivery partner of the European Solheim Cup for an initial commitment from 2026 through to the end of 2038.
“I am proud that the Solheim Cup is coming to the Netherlands,” said Caroline Huyskes, president of the NGF and president-elect of the EGA. “This event contributes to the NGF strategy aimed at attracting women and rejuvenating the sport in our country. The fact that we have been able to bring one of the largest women’s sports tournaments in the world to the Netherlands is a reflection of our ambition and drive.”
IMG’s global golf team currently either owns, manages or supports two LPGA majors as well as eight LPGA regular tour events, one of which is LET co-sanctioned.
The 2023 Solheim Cup will take place in Finca Cortesin, Spain, on Sept. 22-24, and the 2024 Solheim Cup, Sept. 13-15, at the Robert Trent Jones course in Virginia. The 2026 Solheim Cup dates are still to be confirmed.
Stanford was a six-time player for the U.S. in the Solheim Cup.
Angela Stanford will be an assistant captain for the Americans at the Solheim Cup for a third time in 2023.
Captain Stacy Lewis made the announcement Tuesday, naming Stanford to the third and final assistant slot, joining Morgan Pressel and Natalie Gulbis.
Stanford was a six-time player for the U.S. (2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) in the event which will be held at Finca Cortesin in Spain, Sept. 22-24, 2023.
“I’ve known Angela for a long time and I’m so happy that she agreed to work with me at the 2023 Solheim Cup,” Lewis said in a statement. “Angela has a great eye for statistics, finding the little details that go into picking the best players and making the right line-up combinations. As we look ahead to our week in Spain, I know that I have three great people – and great friends – who will work with me to bring these players the best experience, on both sides of the ropes.”
Stanford, who joined the LPGA in 2001, has six victories, including a major championship at the 2018 Amundi Evian Championship.
“I am extremely honored and excited to be part of Stacy’s team in 2023. Stacy’s passion for women’s golf and the Solheim Cup is truly awesome. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Solheim Cup, and I’m so happy to represent my country again,” Stanford said in a statement.
Lewis and Stanford, U.S. teammates three times (2011, 2013, 2015), were assistants for Pat Hurst at the 2021 Solheim Cup, which the European side won 15-13 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Europe also won in 2019.
“I just love her passion and her energy for the Solheim Cup,” Lewis said. “She’s great in the team room with the girls. Last week we announced the stats kind of program that I’m working on, and I think Angela has a really good brain for that.
“So that was honestly, when I got the stats thing done I was like, I need Angela on board. So I think she’s going to bring a good mindset there and going to help me a lot the week of with that.”
The U.S. won the two Cups prior to that in 2017 and 2015. Stanford earned the winning point for the U.S. in 2015 in Germany.
“I think the thing about Solheim Cups is everybody knows how much I love a Solheim Cup,” Stanford said. “I love playing them, but it’s different when you get to be invited to be a part of the Captain’s team. Not everybody gets to do that.”
A handful of rookies could make their event debut at Finca Cortesin.
The 2023 Solheim Cup heads to Spain for the first time Sept. 22-24 and a number of new faces might make their debuts at Finca Cortesin. Much can happen between now and then, of course, but U.S. captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen have several impressive rookies already the mix.
The selection criteria is different for the two teams. Team USA takes the top seven players from the Solheim Cup points list (points are doubled next year), plus the next two highest-ranked players off the Rolex Rankings. Lewis gets three captain’s picks.
Team Europe takes only the top two players off its points list plus six LET members off the Rolex Rankings not already qualified. Pettersen will receive four captain’s picks.
Right now, Carlota Ciganda seems to be the only Spanish native with a chance to make the team, though Azahara Munoz recently returned from maternity leave and could make a run. Munoz is a veteran of five Solheim Cups and most recently competed in 2019.
Other players not listed below but worth keeping an eye on include: Hawaii’s Allisen Corpuz, California’s Alison Lee, Yealimi Noh, and Mina Harigae, Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden and Germany’s Leonie Harm.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a first hole like this in the Solheim Cup.”
The first hole at the 2023 Solheim Cup will be unlike anything else in event history. That’s because organizers at Finca Cortesin in Spain have created a drivable par-4 opening hole to crank up the challenge and suspense. The new 280-yard par 4 has a large lake on the left side that reaches to the front of a sizable green.
“It is a good decision to have made this change,” said Finca Cortesin managing director Vicente Rubio in a release. “The characteristics of the new hole one will allow us to accommodate more than 1,000 people over the tee, which will make for a great atmosphere. I think it’s the perfect hole to start a Solheim Cup.
“This hole is, as they say, a risk and reward hole. Players can either try to reach the green with one shot or play more conservatively. The design of the hole and the great difference in height between the tee and the green will make it a spectacle, and I have no doubt that it will be a success.”
The event will be held in Spain for the first time one year from now, September 22-24. Suzann Pettersen will lead Europe, which has won the last two contests, and Stacy Lewis will captain Team USA.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a first hole like this in the Solheim Cup,” said Lewis. “You can reach the green, but the water comes into play quite a lot…It’s like an amphitheater. The stands are going to be high up, practically above you, which will make the public feel very close. It’s definitely a great hole for the Solheim Cup.”
This year, Vu has eight top-20 finishes in 17 starts and sits 37th on the money list.
Lilia Vu got so nervous teeing it up alongside Stacy Lewis at the CP Women’s Open that she blocked her opening tee shot 40 yards. Vu pulled herself together, but the nerves only reiterated how badly she wants it. Lewis is the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup captain, and Vu wanted to make a strong impression.
“I love team events,” said Vu, who teamed up with Jennifer Kupcho and Kristen Gillman in 2018 to win the World Amateur Team Championship, Curtis Cup and Palmer Cup.
After Lewis lost her own match, she went out to watch Vu play in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play event last May in Vegas, where Vu advanced to the semifinals. Later in the summer, Lewis invited Vu to a Solheim Cup dinner during the KPMG Women’s PGA.
“I don’t know that she’s going to need a pick, to be honest,” said Lewis after playing a practice round with Vu last month at the Dana Open in Ohio.
Lewis, who calls Vu “super solid” and “sneaky long,” wouldn’t be surprised to see Vu play her way onto the 2023 team that will take on Europe next September in Spain. She’s now on a short list of potential rookies that includes Andrea Lee, Allisen Corpuz and Lucy Li.
USA players, from left, Lilia Vu, team captain Stacey Collins, Jennifer Kupcho and Kristen Gillman with the Espirito Santo Trophy after the 2018 World Amateur Team Golf Championships at Carton House in Maynooth, Co Kildare. (Photo By Matt Browne/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Vu, 24, currently sits in a share of eighth on the Solheim Cup points list with fellow UCLA player Alison Lee. The top seven qualify for the team of 12 off the points list. Points will be doubled in 2023. Two more come off the Rolex Rankings, and Lewis has three captain’s picks.
“She was the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world for two years,” said Lewis. “Not really a surprise in my book.”
It wasn’t all that long ago that Vu thought about quitting the game. During her first year on the LPGA in 2019, she made one cut in nine starts and earned $3,830. The winningest player in UCLA history, with eight titles, then thought about going to law school.
Vu’s mom, however, convinced her to stay the course.
“Every shot was life or death,” explained Vu.
In 2021, she turned a corner on the Epson Tour, winning three times to clinch her LPGA card.
Lilia Vu of the United States and Andrea Lee of the United States share a laugh at the second tee during the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play Hosted by Shadow Creek at Shadow Creek Golf Course on May 29, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
This year, Vu has eight top-20 finishes in 17 starts. She’s 37th on the money list with $573,580 and 32nd in CME points. She even has two aces on the season.
“I think I love golf more every day, honestly,” she said.
When asked what she attributed that to, Vu said, “Just thinking about how people would really kill to be in this position and get the privilege to play golf … and travel.”
Vu, of Fountain Valley, California, will compete in the next four domestic events on the LPGA, beginning this week at the AmazingCre Portland Classic and winding up close to home at the LPGA Mediheal Championship at the Saticoy Club in Somis, California.
Vu has played out of Shady Canyon Golf Club in Irvine, California, since she turned professional along with fellow touring pros So Yeon Ryu, Patrick Cantlay and Brendan Steele.
“I’ve played with Steele before,” said Vu. “He shot 60.”
Lilia Vu of the United States hits out of a sand trap on the first hole during the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play Hosted by Shadow Creek at Shadow Creek Golf Course on May 29, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Vu counts several members of Shady Canyon as mentors. They have their own success stories in areas outside of golf and share bits of wisdom, encouragement and book recommendations.
As she tries to wait patiently for that first LPGA victory, Vu counts her mental game as her biggest strength.
“I think I’m very resilient,” she said.
A trait captain Lewis knows the value of better than most.
The Solheim Cup will be contested in Spain for the first time in 2023.
There’s a saying on the Swedish National Team: “It’s us against the world.” Even at individual events, the Swedes make a point to cheer each other on. That hasn’t changed since Linn Grant and Maja Stark both turned professional last August.
Since then, they’ve won a combined 14 times around the world, with Grant famously beating the men at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, and Stark winning last week at the ISPS Handa World Invitational to earn her LPGA card.
“If it’s not me,” said Grant, “she’s the No. 1 I want to see win.”
This week at the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series event in Spain, Grant met 2023 European Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen for the first time. Stark and Grant have talked about playing together in a Solheim. Linn believes they’re actually undefeated in foursomes play, representing Sweden together on numerous occasions and winning the historic Sunningdale Foursomes in 2019.
“Maja said it would be quite silly not to put us together, actually,” said Grant, a former ASU standout who now ranks 56th in the world. Stark, who is not in this week’s event, rose to No. 45 in the Rolex Rankings after Sunday’s victory.
Nelly Korda at a press conference at the Aramco Team Series in Spain. (courtesy photo)
Nelly Korda and big sister Jessica headline the field at the La Reserva Club de Sotogrande, where the competition takes place August 18-20. The American stars made their debut on the Aramco Team Series last fall in New York, with Jessica’s team coming out on top in a playoff that finished under the lights.
The Aramco Team Series Sotogrande is one of six Saudi-backed events on the LET schedule. The events remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
The first two days of the event feature 36 teams vying for a $500,000 purse. The final 18 holes will feature professionals only, with another $500,000 at stake. European Solheim Cup stars on hand this week include Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Anna Nordqvist, who was recently announced as one of Pettersen’s vice captains along with Dame Laura Davies and Caroline Martens.
The Solheim Cup will be contested in Spain for the first time in 2023, and Grant and Stark are primed to give the Americans a good deal of grief.
The two Swedes, who are close in age and grew up in the same area of Sweden, weren’t always close. Quite the contrary, in fact.
“I know for sure that she didn’t like me at all prior to getting to know me,” said Grant with a laugh, “which is funny, looking back at it now.”
It wasn’t until they were forced to play on the same girls’ team and room together that the pair of opposites started to become friends in high school. They still don’t like many of the same things off the golf course (food, music, hobbies), but they’ve learned how to appreciate their differences and now choose to travel together, having recently spent the last four weeks together on the road.
Linn Grant of Sweden during the Pro-Am. Credit: Tristan Jones/LET
Last week at the ISPS event, the two friends were paired together in the third round and set a goal of trying to make a combined 16 birdies on the day.
“We said before the round, let’s really root for each other today,” said Stark, “more than usual, and do high fives when we make birdies and stuff.”
Heading into the week, Stark told her pal she wanted to celebrate something. That she hadn’t celebrated anything all summer. By week’s end, they were sipping champagne together, toasting the biggest day of Stark’s young career.
It was more than Grant experienced after beating a field that included 78 men by nine at the Scandinavian Mixed. She made the hour-long drive back home on Sunday and had pizza with the family before flying out with her brother the next day for an event in London.
Grant, who became the first woman to win on the DP World Tour, said her Instagram blew up so much after that victory that she had to turn off her phone to focus. A friend living in London got a kick out of walking down the street and seeing Grant’s face on a huge TV screen in the city.
“I think it just turned out to be such a big thing,” said Grant, “which has been really fun.”
Stark and Grant have similar games in terms of how they hit the ball, but they vary when it comes to how they choose shots.
“Maja is more of a daredevil,” said Grant, “she goes for one percent shot.”
Grant likes to play it safe and keep calm. When they’re partners, the two friends feed off of each other’s strengths but mostly just let the other person be.
Maja Stark of Sweden poses for a photograph with the trophy after winning the Women’s ISPS Handa World Invitational on Day Four of the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics at Galgorm Castle and Massereene Golf Clubs on August 14, 2022, in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Stark and Grant are Nos. 1-2 on the LET’s Race to Costa del Sol. Because Grant received LPGA status at last year’s Q-Series, she earned CME points in the four LPGA events she has competed in this season. She is currently 68th on the CME points list and is considering playing in the limited-field Asian events this fall as well.
The top-60 players on the CME points list qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where the winner receives a record $2 million prize.
Stark, who played two seasons at Oklahoma State, shot a course-record 10-under 63 on Sunday in Northern Ireland to win by five and immediately accepted LPGA membership.
“This changes everything,” said Stark. “I was going to go to Q-School, and that’s just impossible because Q-School would be the week after our final, the tour final, and now I don’t have to worry about that anymore, getting over to the U.S. super quick.
“So, yes, it’s just huge. I finally get to play where I want to be.”
Stacy Lewis named Natalie Gulbis an assistant captain for the 2023 squad.
Stacy Lewis, who will be the captain of the U.S. squad at the 2023 Solheim Cup, named Natalie Gulbis an assistant captain for the team.
Gulbis, 39, played on three winning Solheim Cup teams (2005, 2007, 2009) and posted a 5-4-1 mark. She went 2-0-1 her singles matches. Gulbis joined the LPGA in 2002 and has one victory, the 2007 Evian Masters.
“There’s nothing more inspiring than wearing the Red, White and Blue and representing the United States. Playing on my three Solheim Cup teams is among the highlights of my career, and I was so excited when Stacy asked me to work with her for the 2023 squad,” said Gulbis in a statement released by the LPGA.
Morgan Pressel will also be an assistant for the Solheim Cup, which will be held in Spain at Finca Cortesin, September 22-24, 2023.
“When I accepted this captaincy, I knew that I wanted the team around me to love this event as much as I do. Natalie completely fits that role,” said Lewis in a statement released by the LPGA. “She’s been a great friend since my rookie year, and I knew that she would be perfect as one of my assistant captains. Natalie has been a fantastic resource for me throughout my career, both personally and professionally, and I know her positive spirit will be an awesome influence in the team room.”
