The Solheim Cup will be held September 14 through 16, 2007, at the Halmstad Golf Club in Halmstad, Sweden. Each team will be made up of 12 players: 10 guaranteed spots based on points and two captain’s picks. This year, Betsy King, holder of 34 career LPGA victories, will captain the Americans and Helen Alfredsson, a seven-time Solheim Cup team member, the European team. With several months remaining before the teams are finalized, the race for Solheim Cup points remains wide-open and heavily contested.
Here are the most recent points leaders for both the United States and European teams, along with current points:
United States
- Cristie Kerr 518.5
- Paula Creamer 469.5
- Pat Hurst 366.5
- Stacy Prammanasudh 363.5
- Morgan Pressel 363.0
- Julie Inkster 359.0
- Natalie Gulbis 306.0
- Sherri Steinhauer 243.5
- Brittany Lang 211.5
- Brittany Lincicome 188.0
- Angela Stanford 163.5
- Christina Kim 157.0
- Michele Redman 137.0
- Laura Diaz 135.0
- Meaghan Francella 123.0
Europe
- Gwladys Nocera (France) 120.00
- Laura Davies (England) 112.00
- Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) 83.50
- Stephanie Arricau (France) 57.40
- Rebecca Hudson (England) 53.67
- Veronica Zorzi (Italy) 50.75
- Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) 41.33
- Karen-Margrethe Juul (Denmark) 41.25
- Riikka Hakkarainen (Finland) 37.50
- Cecilia Ekelundh (Sweden) 36.00
- Anja Monke (Germany) 36.00
- Suzann Pettersen (Norway) 32.33
- Linda Wessberg (Sweden) 32.00
- V. Lagoutte-Clement (France) 30.33
- Amanda Moltke-Leth 30.07
The Solheim Cup Matches began in 1990. Since then, the United States has won six times to the European’s three. The 2005 Matches, won by the U.S. team, were held at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana. The 2003 Matches were also held in Sweden. The European team won the 2003 event in convincing fashion.
As in the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup alternates between U.S. and European locations and the matches are held every other year. The Solheim Cup consists of 28 matches: eight foresome matches, eight four-ball matches and 12 singles matches. The singles matches are held on the final day of competition and generally make for a dramatic finish. Five of the nine competitions have been decided by five points or less.
Captain Betsy King will announce the U.S. team on August 27, 2007, at the conclusion of the Safeway Classic in Portland, Oregon. The Solheim Cup, which is sponsored by Karsten Manufacturing, makers of PING golf clubs and equipment, has gained in popularity for both fans and players since it’s inception. The competition is open to United States-born players from the LPGA Tour and European-born golfers from the Ladies European Tour.
For another article about the LPGA visit LPGA Players Club Selection and the Suite 101 Golf homepage.
Source: LPGA.com (U.S. Solheim Cup information) and Ladieseuropeantour.com (European Solheim Cup Information).
