Since the last time the Solheim Cup was played in 2021 at Inverness Club, Europeans and Americans have dominated the LPGA Tour. Of the 24 competing this week as the biennial event comes to Finca Cortesin, 16 have won on the LPGA in that time, with nine of them combining for 13 wins on the LPGA Tour this season. They include major winners Lilia Vu (Cheveron and AIG Women’s Open), Celine Boutier (Amundi Evian) and Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open).
“I can’t remember another time, another year, where so many Americans and Europeans were winning leading up to the Solheim Cup,” U.S. assistant captain Angela Stanford said. “I can’t remember a time where it just felt like all year long it was back and forth.”
The American side that arrive in Spain holds the world ranking advantage, with an average Rolex Ranking of 24.42 compared to Europe’s 42.58. The home side, however, offsets the on-paper talent difference with an overwhelming advantage in Solheim Cup experience and momentum, winning four of the last six cups and looking for their first ever Solheim three-peat. In the Cup’s history, the Americans have won three in a row twice, from 1994-1998 and 2005-2009.
With plenty on the line for both teams, we ranked all 24 golfers in the order we would draft every player on both teams.
U.S.
Age: 28 World Ranking: 25
Solheim Cup appearances: 5 Record (singles): 6-6-7 (1-1-3)
Let’s start with the positives—despite Thompson being struggling through the worst season of her career, making only three cuts in 11 starts, at International Crown in April, Thompson won her first singles match in a team event since her Solheim Cup debut in 2013, taking down Maja Stark 3 and 2 in the consolation match at TPC Harding Park. And in her last LPGA start, Thompson finished T-19 at the Kroger Queen City Championship, her best result of 2023. However, U.S. captain Stacy Lewis already signaled that Thompson will play a different role this year, likely playing less than the four sessions Thompson teed it up in every Solheim since 2015.
EUROPE
Age: 34 World Ranking: 122
Solheim Cup appearances: 4 Record (singles): 8-6-1 (1-2-1)
Call Hedwall a partner pick for Europe’s Anna Nordqvist. The two compatriots have paired up for all nine Crown team matches Sweden has ever had, along with five Solheim team matches. The tandem is 3-2-0 in Cup history, and the duo beat Danielle Kang and Thompson, 1 up, in four-ball at this year’s Crown during pool play. Still, Hedwall can hold her own, as she finished T-6 at the co-sanctioned with the LET Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open in early August.
EUROPE
Age: 30 World Ranking: 55
Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
Dryburgh broke through for her first career LPGA victory at last November’s TOTO Japan Classic, a high mark helping her the trip to Spain. Dryburgh leads the European team in driving accuracy, hitting 82.1 percent of fairways in 2023, her career best by more than 3 percent. Dryburgh impressed with an eighth-place finish at the Amundi Evian in late July but makes her Solheim debut having cooled off, missing back-to-back cuts in her last two LPGA starts. It’s the first time in 2023 that the Scot has missed two consecutive weekends.
U.S.
Age: 30 World Ranking: 32
Solheim Cup appearances: 3 Record (singles): 5-7-0 (1-2-0)
Kang quietly has gone through struggles of her own in the later half of the 2023 season, missing more cuts than opportunities in contention. If not for Kang’s T-14 at the Cambia Portland Classic, her best finish over her previous four tournaments was a T-59 in Canada. Furthermore, Kang’s recent record in her last two Solheim Cups has been pedestrian at 1-3-0. The six-time LPGA Tour winner’s saving grace may be her putter, as she is second on tour in putts per GIR and putts per round.
EUROPE
Age: 27 World Ranking: 121
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 3-4-0 (1-1-0)
The Dane played the summer on the LPGA with a steady hand, posting five top-30 finishes with one missed cut over her last 11 starts. Pedersen sits fifth on the LPGA in driving distance (273.3 yards) and second among Solheim Cup players to Madelene Sagstrom (273.4) by a mere rounding difference. Her length off the tee may prime Pedersen for another strong showing, as she went 3-1-0 in 2021 debut, including a 1-up victory over Kang in singles. Look for her to team with Charley Hull, as they were undefeated in three matches in 2021.
U.S.
Age: 26 World Ranking: 47
Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
Don’t let the World Ranking deceive you, as Knight earned no points for her DOW Great Lakes Bay Invitational victory in July, the LPGA’s lone two-person team event. That victory, however, ended Knight’s best career stretch, as she has only made two cuts over her last five starts, with the best result a T-41 at the CPKC Women’s Open.
EUROPE
Age: 23 World Ranking: 40
Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
While Stark is making her Solheim debut, she has already found success in team match-play events. As part of Sweden’s International Crown roster in April, Stark went 2-0-1 partnered with Madelene Sagstrom, including a 2-and-1 win against now World No. 1 Ruoning Yin and Xiyu Lin. (They also tied against top Americans Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu.) Stark enters Spain with up-and-down form, posting two top-10s (including a T-9 at the U.S. Women’s Open), two missed cuts and two finishes outside the top 40 in her last six starts.
EUROPE
Age: 30 World Ranking: 45
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 2-4-0 (2-0-0)
On the one hand, Sagstrom has yet to earn a point in her four Solheim Cup team match session starts. On the other is her success with Stark at the International Crown, where she also took down Vu in singles, 5 and 4. Sagstrom comes into Spain in form off of two top-26s, including a T-14 at the Kroger Queen City.
U.S.
Age: 25 World Ranking: 38
Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
Lee may have faced the most pressure of the 24 golfers at the Solheim just to get onto the roster, impressively playing her way on to the roster that Lewis was not guaranteeing she would make via captain’s picks with four straight finishes of T-13 or better to grab the final U.S. points qualifying spot. Lee’s form continued with a T-11 at the Queen City. Emerging from the gauntlet to get onto the roster may make Lee the most prepared of the U.S. team’s five rookies to succeed under Solheim pressure.
U.S.
Age: 30 World Ranking: 30
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 2-5-1 (0-2-0)
Lewis’ analytics point to Ewing’s game fitting alongside most everyone on the U.S. team, as she sits 15th on tour in greens in regulation and 10th in putts per GIR. That doesn’t mean she’s a fit for every format, as Ewing has yet to win a singles or foursomes match—she holds a 2-1-0 record in four-ball. Ewing’s recent form, with three top-10s in her last five starts, including a T-6 at the AIG Women’s Open, overshadow her Solheim struggles.
U.S.
Age: 24 World Ranking: 33
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 3-2-1 (1-0-1)
Yin is the only American without an LPGA victory, but she was the U.S. team’s most consistent player at the majors this year. She was one of just two players on tour to finish in the top 30 in all five. After missing the 2021 Solheim, Yin returns as one of three players on the U.S. team who have won a Cup. Keep an eye on if Yin gets in a foursomes match, as she did not in her previous two Cup appearances, but it could be a possibility this year with her improved consistency.
EUROPE
Age: 33 World Ranking: 28
Solheim Cup appearances: 5 Record (singles): 7-8-4 (3-1-1)
The Solheim Cup’s first visit to Spain means it’s even more special for the Spaniard. Ciganda’s singles dominance, losing for the first time in her career in 2021, hides her team match struggles, as she has earned less than half of the points available to her in the last three Cups. What might help turn that around is her ability to birdie or better from the fairway, which Ciganda is the second best at the Solheim and T-6 on the season (29.3 percent), trailing only Nelly Korda (29.8 percent). Ciganda enters the Solheim in form following her T-3 at the Cambia Portland Classic, the fifth top 10 of Ciganda’s LPGA season.
EUROPE
Age: 36 World Ranking: 39
Solheim Cup appearances: 7 Record (singles): 14-10-3 (2-2-3)
Nordqvist is doubling as a player and a vice-captain this week, bringing nearly as much experience as the U.S. team’s points qualifiers (seven starts to their collective eight). The Swede has been at all four of Europe’s wins over its last six Cups, being a vital part of the shift towards the Europeans over the last decade. Nordqvist brings consistent results to the roster, only earning less than half the points available to her once when she went 1-2-0 in 2019.
U.S.
Age: 26 World Ranking: 28
Solheim Cup appearances: 1 Record (singles): 2-1-1 (0-1-0)
Kupcho is one of three Americans to win a major since the last Solheim, grabbing the 2022 Chevron title then adding two more victories last season. More recently, she lost in a playoff to Rose Zhang at the Mizuho Americas Open in June, which as it turned out might have been fortuitous for the U.S. team in helping Zhang claim an LPGA card and become eligible to earn a spot on the American roster. Kupcho had a solid Solheim debut in 2021, making her the only player on this year’s U.S. team to have a winning record from Inverness Club.
U.S.
Age: 20 World Ranking: 31
Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
The most impressive amateur golfer in a generation made a memorable LPGA pro debut in June winning the Mizuho Americas Open. Since then, she’s continued to impress, with top-10s in her first three majors as a pro. While Zhang might be playing for team match play for the first time as a pro, she won six of eight amateur team events, including the 2021 Spirit Amateur, where Lewis captained Zhang. It’s helpful experience for an American roster that has not seen many Solheim wins.
EUROPE
Age: 27 World Ranking: 16
Solheim Cup appearances: 3 Record (singles): 7-5-1 (1-2-0)
Hall had an electric start to 2023, finishing in the top 14 in her first six events. After a mid-season lull, the Englishwoman has rediscovered that form in her past three tournaments with three straight top-16s. Hall and Celine Boutier are a combined 3-0-1 in team match events, and should make for a formable combo this week with the Frenchwoman in the best form of her career.
U.S.
Age: 25 World Ranking: 14
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 1-3-2 (1-0-1)
Khang, like Ewing, remains looking for her first team match win. However, her playoff victory at the CPKC Women’s Open against Jin Young Ko to cap off the U.S. team’s qualifying period and earn her first-ever LPGA title brings a more confident player this go around. Khang followed up the win with a sixth-place finish in at the Cambia Portland Classic, arriving in Spain in form.
U.S.
Age: 27 World Ranking: 10 Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
The U.S. Women’s Open champ is the most accurate driver on the American side, hitting 82.9 percent of fairways this season. She also has shown herself able to handle big-time pressure this year, with a T-4 at the Chevron, a T-6 at the British and a T-15 at the KPMG Women’s PGA in addition to the U.S. Women’s Open triumph. Only blip for now is she’s missed her last two cuts heading into the Solheim.
EUROPE
Age: 24 World Ranking: 15 Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
The Swede’s success at keeping her LPGA card into 2023, despite being unable to play in the U.S. for more than a year because of the U.S. policy on COVID-19 vaccination for international travelers, is pretty remarkable. With the policy lifted in May, Grant has continued her consistent presence at the top of tour leaderboards. Before missing the cut at the Kroger, Grant had six consecutive top-20 finishes, starting with her first LPGA career victory at the Dana Open in July, and also has the best LPGA scoring average of any of this year’s Solheim players (70.29), narrowly edging out Nelly Korda (70.35). It’s easy to see her having the opportunity to be a breakout rookie in Spain.
EUROPE
Age: 28 World Ranking: 17
Solheim Cup appearances: 1 Record (singles): 4-0-1 (1-0-0)
Maguire almost singlehandedly powered Europe’s second-ever Solheim Cup win in the U.S. at Inverness in 2021 with a dominant 4½-point performance. The Solheim stalwart arrives in Spain having won her first two LPGA titles—another reminder of her ability to perform under pressure. Her closing bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to win this year’s Meijer LPGA Classic in June is her best round of the season.
U.S.
Age: 25 World Ranking: 2 Solheim Cup appearances: Rookie
Vu brings a rare résumé to her Solheim debut, being is the first Cup player to win two majors in the year of the competition since Annika Sorenstam in 2005. She also leads the competition with three LPGA wins this season. The success didn’t come easily for Vu, who admitted that adjusting to becoming a major champion took time, explaining four consecutive missed cuts following her Chevron title in April. Yet after her British Open triumph, which led her to become (briefly) No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s Rankings, Vu has not slowed down, heading to Spain off three straight top-25s and in good form to serve as a key cog for the Americans.
U.S.
Age: 25 World Ranking: 3
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 5-2-1 (2-0-0)
Korda remains the U.S. team’s headliner. Despite still searching for her first win in 2023, the major champion’s game shapes up well for match play, with seven top-10 finishes, the most of anyone competing in Spain, and the most birdies or better per round (4.19). The American’s performance may be the bellwether for the U.S. team’s hopes of stopping a European three-peat—she dominated foursomes in 2019 while going 0-2-0 in 2021.
EUROPE
Age: 27 World Ranking: 8
Solheim Cup appearances: 5 Record (singles): 11-5-3 (2-2-1)
Hull impressively has four runner-up finishes on the LPGA this year, with three coming in her last six starts. The dynamic Englishwoman combines an excellent 2023 season with a dominant team-match Solheim Cup history, going 5-1-1 in foursomes and 4-2-1 in four-balls. However, despite five previous Cup appearances, her only past team partner on this year’s roster is Pedersen, whom she went 2-1-0 with last year.
EUROPE
Age: 29 World Ranking: 5
Solheim Cup appearances: 2 Record (singles): 5-1-1 (2-0-0)
Let’s not overthink this. The Frenchwoman was the best player on the planet in Europe this summer, and there’s no reason to expect anything different in Spain. Boutier’s back-to-back victories in August at the Evian and the Scottish boosted the profile of an already strong Solheim player, who went 4-0-0 in her debut in 2019. It makes Boutier’s solid 1-1-1 showing in 2021 look a little less impressive, that she did claim her singles point with a 5-and-4 drubbing of Mina Harigae.