9 Big Names In Danger Of Missing Out On The Solheim Cup

Georgia Hall and Lexi Thompson are two players unsure of their Solheim Cup status

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 20th edition of the Solheim Cup is just around the corner, with the biennial battle between the best golfers in the women’s game from Europe and the US taking place in September at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.

For the Europeans, the opportunity to qualify automatically for the 12-player team has now come down to the final women’s Major of the year, the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

In total, eight automatic spots are up for grabs, with two via the Solheim Cup points list and the remaining six through the world rankings.

After that, anyone who misses out will be at the mercy of captain Anna Nordqvist’s four wildcard picks, which she will reveal on Monday 3rd August.

For the Americans, there is more breathing space, with players fighting for positions until the end of the CPKC Women’s Open on 23rd August.

Once the tournament finishes, the top seven in the Solheim Cup standings will be guaranteed their place, with the next two in the world rankings not already qualified also securing their spots.

The final three places will be decided by captain Angela Stanford.

So, which big names from both teams are in danger of missing out on the 2026 Solheim Cup?

Europe

Leona Maguire

Leona Maguire has played in the last three editions of the Solheim Cup, but she may face an anxious wait to secure her place.

The Irishwoman is currently 79th in the world rankings, with Swedish player Linn Grant the player in the final qualifying position via that route, in 50th.

As a result, Maguire, who has yet to win a Major, will need a big finish at the AIG Women’s Open to leapfrog Grant.

That leaves the Solheim Cup points list, where she is currently 12th, 57.53 points behind second-placed Chiara Tamburlini.

To overtake the Swiss star, she’d need at worst a runner-up finish at Royal Lytham & St Annes, with 75 points going to any eligible player finishing solo second.

While it would be a surprise to see Maguire miss out on a captain's pick given her Solheim Cup record, she appears increasingly likely to need one from Anna Nordqvist.

Georgia Hall

Englishwoman Georgia Hall is a Solheim Cup regular, but she’s relying on a captain’s pick to make it six consecutive appearances in 2026.

That’s because she is making her first start of the year at the AIG Women’s Open after giving birth in February.

With too much ground to make up to make the team via each of the qualifying routes, she is relying on Nordqvist's decision.

However, she will surely have a chance considering her vast experience and overall Solheim Cup record of 10–9–2.

Emily Kristine Pedersen

Emily Pedersen at the FM Championship — Emily Kristine Pedersen has lots of Solheim Cup experience, but poor recent form

Another European who has run out of opportunities to qualify automatically is Emily Kristine Pedersen.

Like Sagstrom, the Dane is not playing in the AIG Women’s Open, meaning her hopes also rest with Nordqvist.

That’s not an unusual situation for Pedersen, who didn’t qualify automatically in 2023 or 2024 either, but can she be confident of being a captain's pick for the third consecutive match?

She has collected wins in each of her last three Solheim Cup appearances, which will work in her favor, but she has only played five times in 2026, and she missed the cut on four of those occasions.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen

Nanna Koertz Madsen at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship — Nanna Koerstz Madsen played in the 2021 Solheim Cup

At least for LPGA Tour winner Madsen, there was a chance of automatic qualification ahead of the AIG Women’s Open.

However, an opening round of four over suggested she would struggle to do enough to make it via either her world ranking or the Solheim Cup points list.

In the plus column for a captain’s pick is the Dane's world ranking, which, at 63rd, makes her the highest-ranked European not in an automatic qualifying place.

She also has Solheim Cup experience, having played in 2021, where she had a 1-1-1 record.

USA

Lexi Thompson

It was inevitable that Thompson would eventually begin falling down the world rankings once she scaled back her professional commitments.

Because of that, she will likely need a captain’s pick to compete in her eighth consecutive Solheim Cup.

Even with just four appearances in 2026 so far, that will surely be a temptation for Stanford, with Thompson having amassed 13.5 Solheim Cup points.

Lilia Vu

After winning two Majors in 2023, Lilia Vu stormed to the top of the world rankings, making her an automatic qualifier for the Solheim Cup that year and again in 2024.

However, by the time she made her second appearance at the match, her career had already suffered a setback with a lay-off due to a back injury.

Despite maintaining her position in the world’s top 10 until halfway through 2025, she has since struggled to find anything close to her best form, meaning she is now 171st in the world rankings.

With an automatic qualifying berth nowhere in sight and still in a run of poor form, she is surely in danger of being overlooked for a captain’s pick.

Megan Khang

Unlike Vu, Khang still has a realistic chance of forcing her way into the automatic qualifying picture, sitting 11th in the Solheim Cup standings.

However, several US players stand between her and her other route to automatic qualification, her world ranking, meaning it’s a big few weeks for Khang, who has played in the Solheim Cup four times.

With a 7-3-3 overall record, it seems likely she would be one of Stanford’s captain’s picks, but she’ll be keen not to leave anything to chance in the coming weeks.

Rose Zhang

After making a flying start to her professional career, Rose Zhang made her first two Solheim Cup appearances in 2023 and 2024, emerging with an impressive 4-2-1 overall record.

Life on the LPGA Tour has not been as easy for her in recent months, though, with a world ranking currently outside the top 70 and 14th in the Solheim Cup standings.

She has time to pull things round with some good performances between now and the CPKC Women’s Open, but with two T9s the best to show for her efforts in 2026 so far, she might be left hoping for a captain’s pick.

Alison Lee

Alison Lee, who made Solheim Cup appearances in 2015 and 2024, is still in the running for an automatic qualifying place.

However, she’ll need to either climb 10 places in the Solheim Cup standings or boost her current world ranking of 61st.

As things stand, Lee seems set to battle it out with Lindy Duncan and Jenny Bae for a qualifying spot via her world ranking.

Recent form, including T5 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, suggests she has reason to be confident.

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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.