Here are some of the best images from the week in Andalucia.
One of the biggest events in the women’s game, the 2023 Solheim Cup, went the European way once again.
The Stacy Lewis-led United States team tied the Suzann Pettersen-led European squad at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, on Sunday but a tie wasn’t good enough to wrest the Cup away from the Euros, who did just enough to retain it.
The U.S. squad was up 4-0 the morning matches on the first day but couldn’t hold on. In Sunday singles, each side won five matches and two were tied.
Check out some of the best photos from the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain below:
Titleist shipped a second set that’s scheduled to arrive late Tuesday night.
Two days into practice at the 18th Solheim Cup and Danielle Kang still doesn’t have her golf clubs. Well, technically she has one club. Kang packs her putter separately in a rifle case so that it doesn’t get bent.
But the rest of her clubs, well, they never made it to Spain. While Kang plays Titleist clubs, Ping put together a set for her on Tuesday so that she could play Finca Corestin during the morning practice round. Titleist shipped a second set that’s scheduled to arrive late Tuesday night.
One silver lining: Competition doesn’t begin until Friday.
As for that putter, Kang took an idea she had to famed club designer Scotty Cameron and then watched excitedly as that idea came to life. Together they made three different molds.
“I do travel with my putter separately, yes, in a rifle case,” said Kang on Tuesday in Spain, “because my putter is a different model, so we don’t have the bending machine for it, and it bends a lot during travel, so I put it in a separate case to travel with because I don’t have the means to get my putter checked every week and, yes, the clubs do get bent on the plane and, yes, they matter, to all the people wondering.
“So thankfully the putter didn’t get lost. But it’s OK. The other 13 are coming. It’s coming. We have faith. Stacy (Lewis) is on it. I mean, she’s putting out fires, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one causing fire right now.”
Kang, for the record, ranks second on tour in putts per green in regulation. Cameron stamped “DK Special” on the bottom of their one-of-a-kind creation.
Kang took to twitter on Monday evening to beg Transavia, a low-cost Dutch airline, for assistance in delivering her golf bag.
There’s never a good time for luggage delays, but the Solheim Cup ranks up there among the worst. Danielle Kang, who struggled with this same issue coming home from the Amundi Evian Championship last month, took to twitter on Monday evening to beg Transavia, a low-cost Dutch airline, for assistance in getting her golf bag on a flight to Malaga.
Team USA arrived in the south of Spain on Sunday and started practicing at Finca Corestin on Monday.
Hi. I need everyone’s help again. My captain and the entire US Team has been on this but someone PLEASE put my GOLF bag on the next flight out of AMSTERDAM to MALAGA… it’s missed every flight it could’ve been on today..BAG TAG 0074676649 @transavia flight@SolheimCupUSA 🥺🙏❤️
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis also took to twitter asking the airline for help, tweeting, “Would love some help locating a set of golf clubs … kind of a big tournament going on this week!!”
Kang, one of the most experienced players on Team USA, makes her fourth appearance in the Solheim Cup this week. She carries an overall record of 5-7-0.
The competition gets underway this Friday. Europe has won the past two Cups.
Take a scroll through the Solheim Cup team uniforms of the past and present.
Since the event’s debut in 1990, golf fans have seen an array of Solheim Cup uniforms.
The Americans are usually rocking some display of red, white and blue (of course with a little pink and some stars and stripes) while the Europeans are normally in blue and yellow (with their own fair share of wild accent colors). Even for the 1990s the fashion and style for some of the team uniforms is quite out there.
As the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain approaches, take a scroll through some of the best (and worst) team uniforms in the competition’s 33-year history.
There has never been a first tee setup quite like what players will experience in Spain.
CASARES, Spain — There’s nothing like the first-tee experience at a Solheim Cup. But there has never been a first tee setup quite like what players will experience in Spain. More than 1,000 fans will pack an elevated grandstand that overlooks a drivable par 4 with ample risk/reward and views of the sea.
“I don’t think everyone will go for it,” said European vice captain Laura Davies of a downhill 280-yard tee shot that requires players to carry a lake. “But I think 80 to 90 percent will have a go.”
While the drama that plays out live on television will be eye-popping from the start, the behind-the-scenes luxury at Finca Cortesin will be talked about among players for years to come.
“As far as what we’ve had in years past to this one,” said U.S. captain Stacy Lewis, “the accommodations and just the ease of it – probably the best we’ve ever had.”
Lewis toured the resort on a site visit but will stay at Hotel Cortesin for the first time with her team this week.
“There’s a snow room,” marveled Lewis of the luxury spa. “They were cleaning it the day we were there, but legitimately has snow in it.”
A look inside the snow cave at the resort’s spa. (courtesy of Finca Cortesin)
The golf course at Finca Cortesin, located in the south of Spain in the Costa del Sol region, debuted in 2007 and the hotel opened two years later. In 2020, “Travel + Leisure” named it the best resort in Spain and and the second-best in all of Europe.
With only 67 spacious suites on property, there’s an intimate feel to Finca Cortesin, where small, one-of-a-kind details like the ornate doors and floors that were salvaged from an old convent make every turn about the place feel special.
Take a tour of @FINCACORTESIN, the luxury resort that will host the @TheSolheimCup teams next September in Spain. This spectacular property is frequently rated the top hotel in Spain. (More on the golf to come!) pic.twitter.com/g6NSXONzJ8
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) May 26, 2023
Tropical courtyards and sweeping seaside views from private balconies will help give players a sense of calm during a pressure-packed week. If there’s a moment to spare, a walk under the arches in the rose garden might do well to clear the mind.
The restaurants on property each offer a unique and elegant experience, from the taste of Spain at El Jardin de Lutz, where the millennial olive trees are a sight to behold, to REI, the hotel’s signature restaurant that combines traditional Asian dishes with Mediterranean influences. The 14-course Tasting Menu offers guests an adventure in flavor and flare.
Francisco de Lancastre David, the resort’s general manager for golf and leisure operations, said European captain Suzann Pettersen had the hotel’s Beach Club reserved for an evening’s festivities. Located less than one mile from the hotel, the breathtaking oasis features an infinity pool overlooking the sea.
With roughly 80 courses in the region, de Lancastre David said the golf season – September to mid-November and then March to May – is crucial in extending the area’s popular summer leisure season.
Those who have made bucket-list trips to Scotland and Ireland often pick Spain as the next destination on their list, de Lancastre David notes, and with five of Spain’s top-10 courses, including Valderrama, the 1997 Ryder Cup venue, in the Sotogrande area, Finca Cortesin is uniquely positioned.
“We have the best hotel by far in the region,” he said.
Critics agree.
A view of the one of the resort’s courtyards. (courtesy Finca Cortesin)
American players will arrive in Spain on Sunday, and while Lewis calls Monday a free day, she predicts all 12 will find their way out to the course.
While the Americans get a crash course leading into the Sept. 22-24 competition, Ireland’s Leona Maguire was part of a European contingent that took a trip to Finca Cortesin last November.
With travel restrictions keeping European fans away at Inverness two years ago, Maguire looks forward to playing in front of home fans for the first time.
“I know there’s a lot of Swedish that winter down there,” said Maguire of southern Spain. “There’s a lot of Irish people that do as well.”
It’s a short walk down a stone path from the hotel lobby to the clubhouse at Finca Cortesin, though players will have their own entrance to the locker room.
“It’s always a bit nicer when you stay onsite,” said Davies. “The bus rides are good fun, but it’s just nice when you come off the course after a long day, go to your room and then come down to the team room.”
Set on more than the 500 acres of land on the Andalusia coast, resort visitors can fly into the Malaga airport, less than an hour away.
The golf course, designed by Cabell B. Robinson, hosted the Volvo World Match play in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Players who are familiar with and fond of Bermuda grass will have an advantage on Finca Cortesin’s hilly terrain.
While this week’s setup is not a particularly long test, it is a ball-striker’s course, and as de Lancastre David is quick to note, the importance of being able to work the ball both ways, sometimes on the same hole, is crucial.
The course will be rerouted for the event, with what’s typically the fourth hole serving as the dramatic opener. Only the first six holes are impacted by the reorder.
“I think it’s a really good match-play course,” said Davies, “a very fair course. You hit a good shot, you get rewarded. You hit a poor one and you’re going to be on the side of a mountain and good luck. Having said that, there’s plenty of room. The fairways are very wide.”
The 17th hole at Finca Cortesin (courtesy photo)
Elevation changes and long distances from green to tee will be a challenge for spectators, making it a long haul for double-round days.
The setup of the course, however, is short enough that Lewis said she was freed up to choose who was playing the best, rather than worry about length off the tee or penalizing rough.
Team Europe comes to Finca Cortesin looking to win three in a row as the Solheim Cup is contested on Spanish soil for the first time. For most, next week’s broadcast will be their first look at this lush Mediterranean property.
Golf’s beloved television pioneer Judy Rankin returns to the booth next week for the 18th edition of the Solheim Cup.
Golf’s beloved television pioneer Judy Rankin returns to the booth next week for the 18th edition of the Solheim Cup. A 26-time winner on the LPGA, Rankin’s work schedule slowed down considerably in recent years, opening the door for Morgan Pressel to take over as lead analyst on LPGA coverage.
But with Pressel serving as an assistant captain for Stacy Lewis in Spain, Rankin happily agreed to fill in and will sit alongside good friends Terry Gannon and Juli Inkster for the Golf Channel broadcast.
This year’s Solheim Cup will be contested in Spain for the first time, Sept. 22-24, at the picturesque Finca Cortesin resort.
Rankin twice captained Team USA to victory in 1996 and 1998. Golfweek caught up with the 78-year-old World Golf Hall of Fame member before she headed overseas.
The winningest player in Solheim Cup history, Davies was part of every European team from 1990-2011.
Laura Davies returns to the Solheim Cup for a third time in the role of vice captain. The winningest player in the history of the biennial event with a record 25 points, Davies was part of every European team from the inaugural event in 1990 to 2011.
A 20-time winner on the LPGA, Davies owns 87 professional titles worldwide. The 59-year-old entered four LPGA events this year as well as the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won in 2018.
Golfweek caught up with Davies before she heads to Spain next week to assist captain Suzann Pettersen. The event will take place on Spanish soil for the first time at Finca Corestin, Sept. 22-24. Team Europe, winners of the last two editions, has never won three in a row.
Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson and more answered a handful of questions in a wide-ranging Q&A with Rolex.
Every two years one week in particular is circled on the calendar for women’s professional golfers, and we’re now just a handful of days away.
In a little more than a week 12 of the best players from both Europe and the United States will square off in the latest edition of the Solheim Cup as the Americans look to reclaim the Cup after a two-match skid in the last two playings of the biennial bash.
Ahead of the 18th Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Spain, five players – three on Team Europe and two from Team USA – participated in a wide-ranging Q&A through a partnership with Rolex that covered their excitement for this year’s event, what they’d tell a younger version of themselves and more.
“There is so much to expect, but at the same time, I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like.”
Eight rookies will make their debut in the upcoming Solheim Cup later this month in Spain, including two of the world’s top young talents, setting up for what could be an exciting next decade-plus for the women’s game.
Rose Zhang, the 20-year-old phenom who won her first professional start on the LPGA earlier this summer, is one of those eight and earned her membership and a spot on the team via her world ranking, a feat even she didn’t think was possible.
“It’s been pretty crazy because I expected myself to also be a captain’s pick,” said Zhang ahead of this week’s Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Initially I didn’t even think it was possible for me to claim a spot because I wasn’t an LPGA member to start with, so the fact that I was able to get in by rankings and have (Stacy Lewis) be my captain — she was my captain at Spirit International — so the fact that we have that kind of little bond in common really makes me feel honored to be able to play with her and on her team again.”
Zhang is the perfect team player. She doesn’t have a flaw in her game and can mix well in any crowd. In fact, it’s the camaraderie she’s looking forward to the most when she makes her Solheim Cup debut at Finca Cortesin in Spain, Sept. 22-24.
“Us as athletes, it’s our dreams to be able to represent our countries, and for me to put on the red, white, and blue as a professional, there is no greater honor,” said Zhang. “At the same time, I’m playing with players that I’ve watched growing up, and to say that we’re teammates is pretty crazy, especially with everything that happened the last couple months.”
Despite the fact the U.S. squad had a team dinner Tuesday, Zhang said it hasn’t set in that she’s earned a spot in her first half season on tour, and probably won’t until she steps on the property.
“I don’t think it’s actually going to start feeling real unless I go out there and actually play, just because it’s almost like a surreal experience that I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like on the first tee,” admitted the always humble Zhang. “Even in the practice round, going to the venue, it’s going to seem all a dream until it’s over.”
“There is so much to expect, but at the same time, I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like,” she added.
Check out the Team USA uniforms for the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain.
Dunning, in collaboration with the LPGA, is revealing the official team attire designated for the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team.
Serving as the official uniform supplier for both the 2023 and 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup teams, Dunning will style the complete uniforms and outerwear for the U.S. team. These pieces will be worn during practice sessions and competitive play at the forthcoming event held at Finca Cortesín in Andalucía, Spain and the following year at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
The collaboration between Dunning and the LPGA, with help from Team Captain Stacy Lewis, has resulted in a uniform collection that embodies the essence of the U.S. Team’s spirit.
Solheim Cup Friday uniform by Dunning Golf. (Dunning)
“Working with the Dunning team on designing our U.S. uniforms for 2023 and 2024 has been an incredible collaborative and interesting process,” said Lewis, a four-time U.S. Team competitor. “Their team is open to all the ideas we’ve brought to the table and their expertise in working with these performance fabrics has elevated those ideas into some beautiful uniform pieces. I can’t wait for fans to see what they’ve created for 2023, and 2024 will bring an entirely new vision to our Solheim Cup uniforms.”
The color palette of red, white and blue in this year’s team uniforms pays homage to patriotism. Dunning’s sense of vibrant colors and unique patterns is showcased in advanced technical fabrics such as Coolmax.
Solheim Cup Saturday uniform by Dunning Golf. (Dunning Golf)
The collection includes polos, skorts and shorts designed with moisture-wicking and breathability fabrics, complemented by plenty of stretch to ensure the team’s comfort amidst the playing conditions of Southern Spain. Layering options consist of a performance quarter-zip pullover, a warm hoodie and a versatile vest and jacket combination incorporating PrimaLoft, known for being ultralight and easy to pack.
“The Solheim Cup is the absolute pinnacle of women’s competitive golf and we’re truly honored to be associated with the U.S. Team and the event’s spirit of competition,” said Michael J. Setola, CEO of Dunning. “Golfers often say there’s no greater honor than playing for your country, and as we strive to meet the performance needs of players at the highest levels of the game, we feel just that way, too.”
The Solheim Cup capsule is available now at Dunninggolf.com and various clubs and resorts across the country.
