Solheim Cup player profiles: Introducing Suzann Pettersen’s Team Europe and their past records | Golf News
We take a look at who features in Suzann Pettersen’s Team Europe side at the 2024 Solheim Cup.
Europe are in search of history and hoping to keep the trophy for the fourth consecutive edition, having won in 2019 and 2021 before retaining the trophy with a dramatic 14-14 tie in Spain last September.
Pettersen will have 10 of the last line-up at her disposal and two rookies for this year’s contest at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, live from September 13-15 on Sky Sports, with Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela and Germany Esther Henseleit the two debutants.
Albane Valenzuela says she is ‘speechless’ after being selected for Team Europe at the Solheim Cup 2024
Henseleit qualified via the European Solheim Cup points list, joining Charley Hull, while Celine Boutier, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, Maja Stark, Linn Grant and Madelene Sagström all secured their spots via the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Valenzuela was then joined by Emily Kristine Pedersen, Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist as the four captain’s picks to complete Europe’s line-up, announced the Monday after the AIG Women’s Open. We take a closer look at the European players chasing another victory on American soil..
Charley Hull (England – European Points List)
Age 28. Caps 6. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 12-7-3
England’s Charley Hull topped the LET Solheim Cup Points list with 203.50 points after recording seven top-five finishes on the LET in 2023 and 2024.
Charley Hull tees off her own cover shoot inspired by her career and personal style. In this Edition, Charley, the youngest competitor to participate in the international Solheim Cup, reflects on her ADHD diagnosis and her relationship with style
Hull, who made her Solheim Cup debut back in 2013, will be making her seventh appearance in the prestigious event and has won 13.5 points from her 22 matches
Esther Henseleit (Germany – European Points List)
Age 25. Caps 0. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: N/A
Henseleit moved into the second automatic qualifying spot for the Solheim Cup after firing seven birdies across the final round to card a six-under 66 and clinch silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She followed up by finishing second behind Lauren Coughlin at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open, plus claimed top-15 finishes in three of the five women’s majors this year.
Celine Boutier (France – Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings)
Age 30. Caps 3. Majors 1.
Solheim Cup record: 5-4-1
Boutier enjoyed a glorious 2023 campaign as she produced eight top-finishes, within which came victories at the Maybank Championship, the Women’s Scottish Open, the Evian Championship and the LPGA Drive On Championship.
Celine Boutier won the Evian Championship by six shots last July to claim her maiden major victory in front of her home fans in France
Her fine form also included a tied-fifth finish at the BMW Ladies Championship, tied third at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and tied fourth at the Honda LPGA Thailand. Her form in 2024 has been less emphatic, though Boutier did place second at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Maja Stark (Sweden – Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings)
Age 24. Caps 1. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 2-1-1
Maja Stark, along with fellow Swede Linn Grant (we’ll get to her shortly), added a real youthful spark to Europe’s Solheim Cup squad last year. The pair were defeated in the opening foursomes but returned to best Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee the following morning, while Stark beat Allisen Corpuz 2&1 in the Sunday singles.
Team Europe celebrated retaining the Solheim Cup by jumping in a swimming pool!
Stark pushed Nelly Korda all the way at the Chevron Championship this year, her runner-up finish the 24-year-old’s best at a major so far and coming in the midst of three top-three finishes in the space of four LPGA Tour tournaments.
Linn Grant (Sweden – Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings)
Age 25. Caps 1. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 3-2-0
Grant arrives as another of the automatic qualifiers and just finished tied for 10th at the AIG Women’s Open, having shared third at the recent Dana Open and placed tied-ninth at the Women’s PGA Championship in June.
Could Linn Grant and Maja Stark form a formidable partnership once again against Team USA?
The Swede’s last win on tour came in July 2023 when she was victorious at the Dana Open, after which she went on to place tied-sixth at the Canadian Open and tied-seventh at the Portland Classic. She played all five sessions in last year’s Solheim Cup and will play an important part once again.
Leona Maguire (Ireland – Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings)
Age 29. Caps 2. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 7-2-1
A bit of a Solheim Cup fan favourite, Maguire burst on the scene as a rookie when she won four of her five match-ups in the 2021 triumph – her 4.5 points still an all-time record for a Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup debutant. She then won both her fourball matches last year and also prevailed in the Sunday singles.
Leona Maguire had the crowd on their feet when she holed a big eagle putt during Europe’s 2021 success
Her summer form since the LET Aramco Team Series win in London in July may not be the best, finishing no higher than 37th in her next five events, although she also has a runner-up finish to Nelly Korda at the T-Mobile Match Play among her standouts from 2024.
Carlota Ciganda (Spain)
Age 34. Caps 6. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 11-8-4
Ciganda features having played a pivotal role in helping Team Europe retain their Solheim Cup trophy last year when she went unbeaten while securing the crucial point to ensure they would retain the trophy, with the Spaniard now returning for a seventh Solheim Cup outing.
Carlota Ciganda produced some scintillating golf on 16 and 17 to beat Nelly Korda in the singles and gain the crucial point needed to retain the Solheim Cup for Europe
The Spaniard’s best performance of 2024 so far came back in March when she tied for third at the Ford Championship, after which she went on to place sixth at the Chevron Championship, although she is without a worldwide top-10 in the six months since.
Madelene Sagstrom (Sweden)
Age 31. Caps 3. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 3-5-1
Sagstrom was the last player to qualify via the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and will make her third appearance on America soil and fourth for Team Europe overall.
Madelene Sagstrom won 1.5 points from her three matches in 2023
She is without a win since her breakthrough LPGA Tour success at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA but did come second at the Founders Cup earlier this year, with Sagstrom also having a strong week at the Evian Championship before missing the cut at the AIG Women’s Open.
Georgia Hall (England)
Age 28. Caps 4. Majors 1.
Solheim Cup record: 8-7-2
Hall has been an automatic qualifier for Europe’s last four Solheim Cup teams, but the former AIG Women’s Open champion required a captain’s pick after narrowly missing out on moving above Sagstrom in the world rankings.
Following the announcement that Georgia Hall will represent Team Europe in the Solheim Cup 2024, team captain Suzann Pettersen said that Hall is ‘a brilliant competitor’
The Englishwoman has endured mixed fortunes in 2024 having managed just one worldwide top-10 finish in 17 starts to drop outside the world’s top year, having began the year in the top 20, although had a solid week at the AIG Women’s Open and a string of top-25 finishes over the summer.
Anna Nordqvist (Sweden)
Age 37. Caps 8. Majors 3.
Solheim Cup record: 15-13-3
Nordqvist is no stranger to the Solheim Cup stage as she prepares to make her ninth appearance, making her the most-capped Swede in the competition’s history, with the three-time major winner set to serve as vice-captain for the second straight year.
On day one of the 2023 tournament Emily Pederson followed Anna Nordqvist’s 2013 ace with just the second hole-in-one in the history of the Solheim Cup
A stalwart of the women’s game, the 37-year-old is chasing a first win since her 2021 AIG Women’s Open and remains in search of her first top-10 finish in 2024, with her best result being tied for 12th at both the LPGA Classic and Founders Cup.
Emily Pedersen (Denmark – captain’s pick)
Age 28. Caps 3. Majors 0.
Solheim Cup record: 5-6-1
Pedersen printed her name in Solheim Cup history last year when she recorded just the second hole-in-one in the competition’s history, with her latest appearance seeing her equal Iben Tinning as the most-capped Dane for Team Europe.
Emily Pedersen says that representing Team Europe at the Solheim is ‘the highlight of my career’
The 28-year-old has dropped out of the world’s top 100 after missing the cut in four of the five majors this year, although has registered four worldwide top-10s in 2024 and contended on both sides of the Atlantic.
Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland – captain’s pick)
Age 26. Caps 0. Majors 0
Solheim Cup record: Debutant
Valenzuela will be making history in September as she becomes the first player from Switzerland to represent Europe in the Solheim Cup. The 26-year-old went to LET Q-School in December 2022 with the aim of gaining LET membership to be able to qualify for Team Europe, with her dream made a reality in less than two years.
She was born in America to a Mexican father and French mother but is eligible for Team Europe since moving to Switzerland as a child, with a tied-20th at St Andrews continuing a consistent summer that saw her also feature at the Olympics.
Who will win the 2024 Solheim Cup? Watch Team Europe take on Team USA live from September 13-15 on Sky Sports. Stream the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and more sport with NOW.
