Solheim Cup Team Europe - As It Stands Ahead Of Finca Cortesin 2023

The European Solheim Cup team will go in search of a third successive win at Finca Cortesin in Spain between 22 and 24 September.

In the previous match, at Inverness Club in Ohio, Catriona Matthew’s Team Europe beat Pat Hurst’s Team USA 15-13 for its seventh win overall.

With home advantage, optimism is high for more success in the build-up to this year’s match. Here are the key facts on Team Europe as anticipation builds for the 2023 edition.

Team Europe Captain

Taking over from Matthew for the 2023 Solheim Cup is Norwegian Suzann Pettersen. The 42-year-old claimed 21 professional wins, including two Majors, before retiring in 2019.

In fact, the end of Pettersen's playing career marked a moment of Solheim Cup history, as her final putt defeated Marina Alex to give Team Europe the trophy.

Could there be a more suitable candidate for the captaincy given that send-off? Certainly, there is plenty of faith in Pettersen to do a fine job in the role, as she has already been confirmed as captain for the 2024 match.

Pettersen competed in a total of nine editions of the Solheim Cup in her playing career, winning four times. Can she forge a similar reputation as captain?

Vice Captains: 

• Anna Nordqvist
• Laura Davies
• Caroline Martens

Team Europe Players

Celine Boutier

Celine Boutier topped the LET Solheim Cup standings to earn automatic qualification for Suzann Pettersen's team.

Boutier claimed her maiden Major win in her homeland of France in July’s Amundi Evian Championship and followed that up the week after with victory in the Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open. Those wins followed victory in the LPGA Drive On Championship in March to make her a shoo-in for qualification.

Boutier already has two Solheim Cup appearances under her belt, in 2019 and 2021, and has an impressive 5-1-1 scoring record.

Maja Stark

The Swede is yet to represent Team Europe in the Solheim Cup, but that will change in 2023, as she finished in the second automatic qualifying position, behind Boutier, in the LET standings.

Stark has amassed six LET wins in less than two years since turning professional, and also won the tri-sanctioned ISPS Handa World Invitational in 2022 within that time period.

Stark also finished T9 in the US Women’s Open, further enhancing her reputation as one of the game’s rising stars.

Charley Hull

There was disappointment for Hull following her second Major runner-up this year at the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath.

However, once that had subsided, she would have surely looked back with satisfaction on a week where, not only did she reach the world’s top 10 for the first time in her career, but she assured an automatic qualifying spot as the second-highest European player in the rankings behind Boutier.

Hull already has five Solheim Cup appearances to her name, with an overall record of 11-5-3.

Leona Maguire

Maguire is another who has qualified automatically courtesy of her world ranking. World No.14. Maguire has five top-10 finishes in 2023, including a win in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Maguire broke the all-time rookie points record in either the Solheim Cup or men's equivalent the Ryder Cup in 2021 with 4.5, and she’ll be a key asset for Pettersen’s team in 2023.

Georgia Hall

Hall has three Solheim Cup appearances to draw from, with wins in 2019 and 2021 and an overall record of 7-5-1.

At 16th in the world rankings, she has qualified automatically, despite a slightly underwhelming run in recent months.

Her 2023 overall has been solid, though, with five top-10 finishes and she will be confident of bringing her best form to a competition she has plenty of success in.

Linn Grant

Grant finished one place beneath compatriot Stark in the LET standings, and while that left her just short of qualifying via that route, her place in the world rankings confirms her appearance at Finca Cortesin.

While Grant has yet to appear in the Solheim Cup, 11 wins in her relatively short time professional career to date, including one on the LPGA Tour, suggest she’ll be an important player for Team Europe.

Carlota Ciganda

With 10 top-10 finishes in Majors, and an equal number of professional wins, the 33-year-old will bring huge experience to Pettersen’s team.

Ciganda has an enviable Solheim Cup record too, with a record of 7-8-4 in five appearances. 

With the 2023 edition taking place in her homeland of Spain, she’s likely to play a key role in Team Europe’s bid to retain the trophy.

Anna Nordqvist

Not only is Nordqvist a Vice Captain, has also qualified automatically for the match thanks to her world ranking. 

The three-time Major winner made seven appearances in seven editions of the Solhiem Cup between 2009 and 2021, emerging on the winning team four times with an overall record of 14-10-3. 

The 36-year-old will be keen to bring her vast experience to Pettersen's team on as well as off the course.

Madelene Sagstrom

The Swede was the first captain's pick revealed by Pettersen. Despite some inconsistent form in 2023, the World No.42 has had some high points, notably finishing T10 in the Cognizant Founder Cup, third in the Scandinavian Mixed and T9 in the Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open.

Sagstrom also has plenty of experience in the Solheim Cup having competed in the match in both 2017 and 2021. She has a 2-4-0 overall record.

Gemma Dryburgh

Scot Dryburgh will make her debut in the Solheim Cup as the second of Pettersen's wildcards. 

The 30-year-old has five professional wins, but the high point to date was arguably her victory in the 2022 Toto Japan Classic on the LPGA Tour.

She has demonstrated her credentials on the big occasion recently, too, when she impressed in the fourth Major of 2023, the Amundi Evian Championship, finishing eighth at Evian Resort Golf Club.

Caroline Hedwall

After Stark, Grant, Nordqvist and Sagstrom, Hedwall was the fifth Swede to make the team. 

The 34-year-old brings vast experience to it, too. She has 16 professional wins, including seven on the LET, most recently in the Spanish Women’s Open in 2022. Given this year's match is in the same country, Pettersen will hope that relatively recent success stands Hedwall in good stead at Finca Cortesin.

Hedwall also replaced Grant on the Swedish team for May’s matchplay tournament, the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown due to Grant’s vaccination status. Meanwhile, her four previous appearances in the Solheim Cup yielded an overall record of 8-6-1.

Emily Kristine Pedersen

Dane Pedersen has only had one top-10 finish in 2023, in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. 

However, she made her desire to make the team clear at the AIG Women’s Open, saying: “It’s no secret that I want to be there.” 

Pedersen eventually finished T30 in the tournament at Walton Heath and that, coupled with her Solheim Cup record of 3-4-0 from her two appearances, is enough to see her wish granted.

How They Qualified

LET Points Standings

• 1. Celine Boutier (Q)
• 2. Maja Stark (Q)
• 3. Linn Grant
• 4. Charley Hull
• 5. Carlota Ciganda
• 6. Ana Pelaez Trivino
• 7. Olivia Cowan
• 8. Georgia Hall
• 9. Johanna Gustavsson
• 10. Anna Nordqvist
  

Women's World Golf Rankings

• 1. Charley Hull - World No.9
• 2. Leona Maguire - World No.14
• 3. Georgia Hall - World No.16
• 4. Linn Grant - World No.19
• 5. Carlota Ciganda - World No.33
• 6. Anna Nordqvist - World No.37

Captain's Picks

• Madelene Sangstrom
• Gemma Dryburgh
• Caroline Hedwall
• Emily Kristine Pedersen