15 Things You Didn’t Know About The Solheim Cup

1. The Solheim Cup is a biennial women’s tournament played between the US and Europe. It is the women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup.

2. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturers Karsten and Louise Solheim. The founders of the PING brand were instrumental in its development.

3. The first Solheim Cup was held in 1990 at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Florida. The USA, captained by Kathy Whitworth, cruised to victory by 11.5 to 4.5 points.

4. To begin with, the Solheim Cup was held on even numbered years as the Ryder Cup took place on odd-numbered years. However, the 2001 Ryder Cup was postponed until 2002 after the 9/11 attacks, so the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbers from 2003 to avoid clashing.

5. The 2020 pandemic forced another postponement of the Ryder Cup. Its next tournament was held in 2021, the same year as the Solheim Cup. After the two are played in the same year again in 2023, the Solheim Cup will revert to even-numbered years from 2024.

6. Each team has 12 players. Team Europe comprises the two highest-ranked players in the LET Solheim Cup rankings, the top six eligible players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and four captain’s picks.

7. Team USA is selected from the top seven players on the US Solheim Cup points list, the two highest-ranked eligible players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and three captain’s picks.

8. Like the Ryder Cup, there are 28 matches in total played over three days of match play with one point awarded for a win and 0.5 points awarded to each team when a match is halved. The team that reaches 14.5 points first wins. If the teams are locked at 14-14 after each match has been played, the team that won the previous Solheim Cup retains the trophy.

9. After 17 editions through 2021, the USA led Europe 10-7.

10. The tournament has never been held at the same venue twice

11. The European countries that have hosted the event are Scotland, Wales, Sweden, Ireland, Germany and, for the first time in 2023, Spain. Of those, Scotland has held the event the most times, on three.

12. Laura Davies holds the record for most Solheim Cup appearances, on 12.

13. Davies is also the record points scorer in the Solheim Cup, with 25.

14. Up to and including the 2021 tournament, there had only ever been one hole-in-one in the Solheim Cup, achieved by Team Europe’s Anna Nordqvist in 2013.

15. The trophy is made from Waterford Crystal with a mahogany wood base.