 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Europe or United States |
| Established | 1990 |
| Tour(s) | Ladies European Tour LPGA Tour |
| Format | Match play |
| Prize fund | None |
| Month played | September |
| Current champion | |
 United States | |
 2024 Solheim Cup | |
TheSolheim Cup is a biennialgolf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representingEurope and theUnited States. It is named after theNorwegian-Americangolf club manufacturerKarsten Solheim, who was a driving force behind its creation.
The inaugural Cup was held in 1990, and the event was first staged in even numbered years until 2002, alternating years with theRyder Cup (the equivalent men's event). As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events after the one-year postponement of the2001 Ryder Cup following theSeptember 11 attacks, the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbered years beginning in 2003. Another reshuffle of team golf events took place in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and the Solheim Cup will return to even numbered years from 2024 onwards.[1]
The United States teams have won the cup eleven times, compared with eight for Europe. The current holders are the US, who regained the cup with a 15.5–12.5 win in 2024.
The trophy is a cut-glass Irish Waterford Crystal, designed in 1990 by one of Waterford's top designers, Billy Briggs. Weight: about 20 pounds. Height: 19 inches, including the mahogany base. Diameter of wooden base: 8 inches. Diameter at top: 4 inches.[2]
The tournament is played over three days. Since 2002, there have been 28 matches—eightfoursomes and eightfour-balls played on days 1 and 2, and 12 singles on the final day. This format is also used in theRyder Cup. Before 1996, and also in 2000, the Solheim Cup used a similar, but abbreviated format.
One point is awarded to the team that wins each match; in the event of a tie, both teams score half a point. After all matches are complete, the team with more points wins or retains the Cup. Any ties are broken in favor of the defending champion team.
In addition to the indicated number of players, each team includes one captain and a set number of assistant captains (three as of 2015), none of whom play in the matches.
| Year | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total Points | Players per team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Afternoon | Morning | Afternoon | ||||
| 1990 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 8 singles | 16 | 8 | ||
| 1992 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 10 singles | 18 | 10 | ||
| 1994 | 5 foursomes | 5 fourballs | 10 singles | 20 | 10 | ||
| 1996–1998 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 12 singles | 28 | 12 |
| 2000 | 4 foursomes | 4 foursomes | 6 fourballs | 12 singles | 26 | 12 | |
| 2002– present | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 12 singles | 28 | 12 |
| or | or | ||||||
| 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 4 foursomes | ||||
The U.S. team[3] is selected by a points system, with American players on theLPGA Tour receiving points for each top-twenty finish on tour.[4] Through the 2013 event, U.S. citizens born outside the country were ineligible for consideration; beginning in 2015, eligibility for Team USA was expanded to include many more categories of (female) U.S. citizens.[5][a] For the European team,[6] up to 2005, seven players were selected on a points system based on results on theLadies European Tour (LET). This allowed top European players who competed mainly on theLPGA Tour to be selected to ensure that the European team was competitive. Since 2007, only the top five players from the LET qualify and another four are selected on the basis of theWomen's World Golf Rankings. This reflects the increasing dominance of the LPGA Tour, where almost all top European players spend most of their time.[7] In addition, each team has a number of "captain's picks", players chosen at the discretion of the team captains, regardless of their point standings, though in practice the captain's picks are often the next ranking players.
Team captains are typically recently retiredprofessional golfers with Solheim Cup playing experience, chosen for their experience playing on previous Cup teams and for their ability to lead a team.
In the 19 competitions through 2024, the United States leads the series 11–7–1 with Europe retaining as holders when the teams tied in 2023.
| Year | Hosts | Course | Location | Dates | Last hosted | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Europe | Bernardus Golf | Cromvoirt,North Brabant,Netherlands | 7−13 September | n/a | [8] |
| 2028 |  United States | Valhalla Golf Club | Louisville,Kentucky | TBD | n/a | [9] |
Bernardus Golf has previously hosted three editions (2021, 2022, 2023) of the men'sEuropean Tour'sDutch Open and will be the Netherlands' first Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup venue.
Valhalla Golf Club has hosted the men'sPGA Championship four times in1996,2000,2014 and2024 as well as theSenior PGA Championship twice in 2004 and 2011. Despite being a first-time Solheim Cup venue, it previously hosted the Ryder Cup in2008 and will become just the fourth course afterThe Greenbrier,Muirfield Village and theGleneagles Hotel's PGA Centenary to host both events.
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