Solheim Cup Results – Outcomes Of The Match Through The Years

Since the Solheim Cup began in 1990, there have been 18 editions of the biennial contest involving teams of 12 from the US and Europe. 

Over three decades later, the two have been involved in some dramatic tussles. Here's how the drama has unfolded through the years. 

The first Solheim Cup was held at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, where Kathy Whitworth’s US team swept to a convincing 11.5-4.5 point victory over Mickey Walker’s Team Europe.

Two years later, Europe, with Walker again at the helm, gained revenge at Dalmahoy Country Club in Edinburgh. 

The hosts weren't given much hope as the match began, as Whitworth's team of superstars were expected to be even more dominant than the first match. Against all the odds, though, the Europeans won by a staggering 11.5-6.5 as they pulled off arguably the biggest upset in Solheim Cup history.

That appeared to set the tone for a to-and-fro battle as the years progressed, with home advantage apparently proving crucial. However, by the end of the 1998 contest, there was a distinctly one-sided look about things after the US responded to its first Solheim Cup defeat by reeling off three successive victories to take an overall lead of 4-1 after just eight years of the match's existence.

The match returned to Scotland in 2000, this time at Loch Lomond Golf Club, but if US fans were pointing to recent history as a reason for confidence, they would have had a shock to the system after the very first morning, when the Europeans took a 4-0 lead in the foursomes. It tightened up as the match progressed, but eventually, the Europeans won by 14.5-11.5 points to take the Solheim Cup for the second time.

The US reclaimed the trophy two years later back on home soil at Interlachen Country Club, but it was ultimately a tight affair, finishing 15.5-12.5 to suggest that the early US dominance of the trophy was on the wane.

That notion was enhanced further when, in Sweden in 2003, the Europeans achieved another big win, taking a 17.5-10.5 victory.

It proved short-lived. Still looking for its first win in the US, Team Europe came unstuck again in 2005, this time at Crooked Stick Golf Club, when Nancy Lopez’s hosts won by 15.5-12.5 over Catrin Nismark’s Team Europe.

The US then followed that up with its third win in Europe in 2007. The Americans claimed yet another victory in 2009, this time at Rich Harvest Farms. The teams went into the Sunday singles locked at 8-8, but the US eased to a 16-12 win to take an overall lead of 8-3 since the match began.

The tide turned decisively in 2011 at Killeen Castle when the Europeans came back from behind in the final hour of the Sunday singles to claim its fourth victory since the Solheim Cup began, this time by 15-13.

Two years later, Team Europe had a real breakthrough with its first success in the US as it retained the trophy with a thumping 18-10 win at Colorado Golf Club to narrow the overall gap to 8-5.

The US hit back with wins of its own in 2015 and 2017, the first of which was the closest match in history at that point, 14.5-13.5 in Germany.

The 2019 match began the present era of European dominance, albeit with another desperately close 14.5-13.5 win at Gleneagles.

Catriona Matthews' team then retained the trophy with just its second win in the US in 2021 before the first tie between the two teams, 14-14, at Finca Cortesin in 2023.

From the Solheim Cup's beginnings, when the US largely dominated, it has evened up considerably over the decades, meaning that, with the 19th edition coming in September at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, the US holds a slender 10-8 overall lead.

Solheim Cup Scores: 1990-2023