The 2019 Solheim Cup will be the 16th edition of the popular golf tournament which sees the top female players from the United States and Europe go head to head in a four-day event.
The Solheim Cup takes place every two years and venues alternate between Europe and the USA, with the 2019 event due to take place at Gleneagles, in Scotland. The 2019 Solheim Cup will be played between the 9th and 15th September and tickets are for sale on the official website.
The Solheim Cup has been dominated by the United States over the years and they have won each of the last two events. The United States defeated Europe in a closely fought contest in Germany in 2015, winning by a single point but won more convincingly on home soil in 2017, retaining the Solheim Cup with a comfortable 16.5 to 11.5 victory.
Of the 15 tournaments to date, United States have won 10 times and Europe have 5 wins to their name, the last of which came in 2013 at Colorado Golf Club. That was the only time to date a European team has won on American soil, with each of the remaining 4 happening on European golf courses.
Interestingly, 50% of Europe’s victories on European courses have come in Scotland and they will be relishing the chance to return to the site of their greatest success, the 11.5 to 6.5 win of 1992. However, the format has changed since then and the United States team will be determined to win the Solheim Cup in Scotland for the first time.
Many onlookers fancy the chances and the United States team, who will be captained by Juli Inkster for the third time in succession and start the tournament as favourites. Inkster has not only led the United States to two Solheim Cups as captain, she has also played in the event nine times and has a huge amount of experience when it comes to pressure situations.
The European team will be led by Catriona Matthew, a Scottish professional golfer who plays on both the US LPGA Tour and the European Tour. Matthew has won the Women’s British Open, doing so in 2009 and has come close to many of the major tournaments in women’s golf including ANA Inspiration, U.S. Women’s PGA Championship and U.S. Women’s Open.
Matthew was named as the vice-captain of the 2017 European team but was forced to play following an injury to Suzann Pettersen. She will have the opportunity to focus fully on leading the team at Gleneagles in 2019. Matthew has previous on this course, having won the 1998 McDonald’s WPGA Championship, a Ladies European Tour event at Gleneagles and this will give the European team a great deal of confidence.
The United States will arrive in Scotland as the favourites to win their third successive Solheim Cup but Europe will have other ideas and the tournament could be much closer than the odds suggest.