Who Are The 2026 Solheim Cup Captains And Assistants?
Take a look at the Solheim Cup captains and their assistants for the match at Bernardus Golf as Team Europe welcomes Team USA to the Netherlands
After two editions of the Solheim Cup where both Team Europe and Team USA were led by the same respective captains, Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis, it’s all change at the top for the 2026 edition at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
Both Pettersen and Lewis had mixed results during their tenures, with Team Europe retaining the trophy it won in 2021 at Finca Cortesin two years later courtesy of a 14-14 tie.
The following year, Lewis had her revenge, captaining Team USA to its 11th Solheim Cup win, beating the Europeans 15.5-12.5 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
So, who is tasked with leading the two teams in 2026, and who are their assistants?
Who Is The Team Europe Solheim Cup Captain?
Anna Nordqvist
Anna Nordqvist takes over from Suzann Pettersen
Until recently, three-time Major winner Anna Nordqvist was still pursuing her playing career.
However, just weeks before the Solheim Cup, she announced her retirement.
Nordqvist, who had 16 professional wins including nine on the LPGA Tour, also has an enviable Solheim Cup playing career to look back on.
The Swede made nine playing appearances, with an overall record of 17-15-3.
In her 2023 and 2024 appearances, Nordqvist also took on the role of vice-captain to Pettersen, which is sure to stand her in good stead in the hotseat for the first time.
Who Are The Team Europe Solheim Cup Assistant Captains?
Caroline Hedwall
Caroline Hedwall is an assistant captain for the first time
The Swede made five Solheim Cup appearances between 2011 and 2023, with an overall record of 9-7-1.
Memorably, in 2013, she became the first Solheim Cup player to win all five of her matches, including two foursomes sessions alongside Nordqvist.
She didn’t make the team for the 2024 match, but two years later she is back in the fold as one of Nordqvist’s three assistant captains.
Hedwall has 18 professional wins, including seven on the LET.
Mel Reid
Mel Reid won 7.5 points as a Team Europe player
The Englishwoman has been an assistant captain twice before, in 2019, when she worked under Catriona Matthew at Gleneagles and in 2024 under Pettersen.
Reid made four playing appearances on the Solheim Cup, winning 7.5 points.
Her most recent Solheim Cup appearance came in 2021, when Europe won on American soil for only the second time in the match’s history.
Anne Van Dam
Anne van Dam ensures Dutch representation at the Solheim Cup
With the omission of Dewi Weber from the European Solheim Cup team, the 2026 match will take place without a Dutch player in front of the home fans.
However, Anne van Dam’s role as an assistant captain ensures that there will be some Dutch influence on the team at Bernardus Golf.
Van Dam, who has five LET wins, has made one playing appearance at the Solheim Cup, in 2019, when she won one of her four matches.
Who Is The Team USA Solheim Cup Captain?
Angela Stanford
Angela Stanford succeeds Stacy Lewis
Major winner Angela Stanford brought the curtain down on a glorious playing career in 2024.
That included six Solheim Cup appearances between 2003 and 2015, with her final appearance featuring a pivotal Sunday singles win over Suzann Pettersen to help Team USA to a 14.5-13.5 win at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany.
Stanford also played a big role in the last three editions of the Solheim Cup, working as an assistant captain to Pat Hurst in 2021 and twice under Stacy Lewis in 2023 and 2024.
Now, she has taken on the responsibility from Lewis, where she is plotting to guide the US to its first success on European soil since that famous win 11 years ago.
Who Are The Team USA Solheim Cup Assistant Captains?
Kristy McPherson
Kristy McPherson played in one Solheim Cup
Kristy McPherson was named the first of Stanford’s assistant captains in 2025.
At the time, Stanford said: “Kristy and I have been friends since 2006. We traveled and played on Tour together, and I was just always impressed with her attitude.
"It didn’t matter what was going on around her or in her life. She showed up with a positive attitude and was always ready to give it her best.”
The three-time LPGA Tour runner-up made one Solheim Cup appearance as a player, in 2009, when she won one of her four matches.
Paula Creamer
Paula Creamer was on the winning team five times as a player
Paula Creamer is one of the most successful players in US Solheim Cup history, having helped the team claim the title five times in her seven appearances between 2005 and 2017.
The 2010 US Women’s Open champion is also no stranger to the assistant captain role. She took it on for the first time under Stacy Lewis in 2024.
Creamer has 12 professional wins in her career, including 10 on the LPGA Tour.
Brittany Lang
Brittany Lang played in the Solheim Cup five times
Former US Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang made five Solheim Cup appearances between 2009 and 2017, emerging on the winning team three times.
During that time, she forged a formidable four-ball partnership with Brittany Lincicome, going 4-0-0.
Stanford, who was a Solheim Cup teammate of Lang’s four times, outlined the qualities she will bring to the role, saying: “The traits that have always impressed me the most about Brittany are her confidence and her demeanor.
“If Lang has ever been rattled, you would never know. She has a very no-nonsense look about the task at hand and that's what makes her perfect for an away game.”
