2015 Solheim Cup

2015 Solheim Cup
Logo
Dates 18–20 September 2015
Venue Golf Club St. Leon-Rot,
St. Leon Course
Location St. Leon-Rot, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Captains
Europe 13½ 14½ United States
United States wins the Solheim Cup
Golf Club
St. Leon-Rot
Location in Germany

The 2015 Solheim Cup was the 14th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held 18–20 September at the St. Leon course of Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, St. Leon-Rot, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States. It is a three-day match play event between teams of twelve players with a similar format to the Ryder Cup.

The United States won by a score of 14½ to 13½, the closest score in the history of the Cup.[1][2]

Course layout

Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4194511674301844923473994243,3133884851582623801626024274153,2796,592
Par453435444364534435443672

Format

The Solheim Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The format is as follows:

With a total of 28 points, 14½ points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes. If the score is even after 18 holes, each team earns one-half point.

Teams

Eligibility criteria

The European and United States teams have different eligibility criteria:

Team Europe
Members of the European team must:

  1. be current members of the Ladies European Tour in any category or membership;
  2. have played in six Ranking Events during the Qualifying Period as a member of the LET, unless selected as a Captain's pick (provided she is otherwise eligible);
  3. must be a "European national", defined by Solheim Cup rules as someone:[3]

Either:
(i) born in a European country; and
(ii) holding a current passport of that European country;
Or:
(i) having been naturalised as a citizen of a European country;
(ii) having held a current passport of that European country for the immediately preceding four consecutive years;
(iii) having resided in that European country for the immediately preceding four consecutive years.

A European country is a nation situated in the continent of Europe and is recognised as an independent state by the United Nations.

Any player who holds dual nationality (of which one shall be the nationality of a European country) shall elect on joining the LET in each of 2013 and 2014 whether she wishes to be eligible for selection for the 2015 European Solheim Cup Team.

Team USA
Members of the United States team must be current members of the LPGA Tour and meet one of these three citizenship criteria:

Team selection

The European and United States teams were selected by different methods.

Team Europe
Team Europe consists of the top four players from the LET Solheim Cup standings, followed by the top four LET members on the Women's World Golf Rankings as of 24 August who were not already qualified via the Solheim Cup standings, and four captain's selections. Qualifying points for Team Europe were awarded weekly to the top-10 finishers at official LET events.[3]

Team USA
Team USA qualifies by earning points for wins and for top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour over a two-year period. Points were earned beginning with the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open (25 August) and concluding with the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women's Open (23 August). Points were increased in 2015 and doubled in the five major championships. The eight players with the highest points are automatically selected for Team USA. Two additional players will qualify based on their position in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings and two were selected as wildcards by the team captain from among all eligible players.[5]

Team Europe

Carin Koch was the captain of Team Europe.

Europe    Team Europe
Name Age1 Country LET points
rank[6]		 Points[6] Rolex
ranking		 Solheim
experience		 Prior Solheim
record
Carin Koch
Non-playing captain		 44  Sweden 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 10–3–3
Sophie Gustafson
Non-playing assistant captain		 41  Sweden 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 13–12–6
Maria McBride*
Non-playing assistant captain		 41  Sweden 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 6–10–5
Annika Sorenstam
Non-playing assistant captain		 44  Sweden 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 22–11–4
Suzann Pettersen 34  Norway 1 241.00 7 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 14–9–6
Gwladys Nocera 40  France 2 192.00 63 2005, 2007, 2009 5–3–2
Charley Hull 19  England 3 158.00 45 2013 2–1–0
Melissa Reid 27  England 4 133.83 77 2011 1–3–0
Anna Nordqvist 28  Sweden 5 132.05 10 2009, 2011, 2013 6–5–1
Azahara Muñoz 27  Spain 10 77.38 23 2011, 2013 4–3–1
Sandra Gal 30  Germany 34 24.88 43 2011 0–2–1
Carlota Ciganda 25  Spain 6 112.67 52 2013 3–0–0
Catriona Matthew
Captain's pick		 46  Scotland 18 50.00 53 1998, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 12–9–8
Karine Icher
Captain's pick		 36  France 24 41.50 57 2002, 2013 3–3–1
Caroline Masson
Captain's pick		 26  Germany 17 56.50 71 2013 2–1–1
Caroline Hedwall
Captain's pick		 26  Sweden 47 18.38 107 2011, 2013 7–1–1

1Age at the start of the 2015 Solheim Cup matches on 18 September 2015. Reid had her 28th birthday on the second day.
Rolex rankings as of the date of team selection on 25 August 2015.
* Maria McBride played in the Solheim Cup as Maria Hjorth.

Team USA

Juli Inkster was the captain of Team USA.

United States    Team USA
Name Age1 USA points
rank[7]		 Points[7] Rolex
ranking		 Solheim
experience		 Prior Solheim
record
Juli Inkster
Non-playing captain		 55 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 15–12–7
Pat Hurst
Non-playing assistant captain		 46 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 10–7–3
Wendy Ward
Non-playing assistant captain		 42 2002, 2003, 2005 2–8–1
Stacy Lewis 30 1 1039.5 3 2011, 2013 2–5–1
Lexi Thompson 20 2 701.0 8 2013 1–2–0
Cristie Kerr 37 3 499.5 14 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 12–14–4
Michelle Wie 25 4 463.5 20 2009, 2011, 2013 6–5–1
Brittany Lincicome 29 5 440.5 13 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 5–7–2
Morgan Pressel 27 6 398.5 24 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 8–5–2
Angela Stanford 37 7 326.5 33 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 3–11–3
Gerina Piller 30 8 318.5 38 2013 0–2–1
Alison Lee 20 15 147.0 29 Rookie –
Lizette Salas 26 9 291.5 32 2013 0–1–2
Brittany Lang
Captain's pick		 30 10 283.5 42 2009, 2011, 2013 5–4–2
Paula Creamer
Captain's pick		 29 11 277.5 40 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 12–6–5

1Age at the start of the 2015 Solheim Cup matches on 18 September 2015. Lincicome turned 30 on 19 September.
Rolex rankings as of the date of team selection on 25 August 2015.

Day one

Friday, 18 September – Saturday, 19 September, 2015

Morning foursomes

The opening match was all square after six holes. The USA team of Pressel and Creamer then won four of the next seven holes and went on to win the match 3 & 2. The second match alternated between all-square and 1-up for the European team of Hull and Reid through 16 holes. A birdie on the 17th sealed Europe's 2 & 1 win. The USA team of Kerr and Thompson led the third match throughout, extending the lead to 4-up by the sixth hole. Three birdies in a row on holes 13-15 by the European team of Icher and Muñoz closed the gap to 1-up before the USA team birdied the 17th hole to secure a 2 & 1 win. In the fourth match, the USA team of Lewis and Salas got off to a 1-up lead after two holes but the European team of Gal and Matthew pulled ahead, winning six of the next 14 holes to the USA team's two to win the match 3 & 2.[8]

United States Results Europe
Pressel/Creamer United States 3 & 2 Nordqvist/Pettersen
Wie/Lincicome Europe 2 & 1 Hull/Reid
Kerr/Thompson United States 2 & 1 Icher/Muñoz
Lewis/Salas Europe 3 & 2 Gal/Matthew
2 Session 2
2 Overall 2

Afternoon four-ball

Europe's Nordqvist and Hedwall led the first match from the second hole on the way to a 4 & 3 victory; The USA team of Pressel and Creamer won only one hole in the match. Europe's Hull and Nocera were never behind in their match. A run of four birdies in five holes saw them take a 4-hole lead on the 12th. They closed out the match by a 3 & 2 margin on the 16th hole having been dormie three. Play had been suspended at about 4:30 pm CET because of a thunderstorm and, although play resumed an hour later at 5:30 pm, there was not enough daylight to complete the final two matches. Play was suspended 7:47 pm and resumed the following day at 7:45 am. After resuming Melissa Reid and Lexi Thompson both had birdies on the 18th to ensure that the third match was halved. In the anchor match Gerina Piller and Brittany Lang fought from a one hole deficit back to secure a half a point.

United States Results Europe
Pressel/Creamer Europe 4 & 3 Nordqvist/Hedwall
Lee/Stanford Europe 3 & 2 Hull/Nocera
Kerr/Thompson halved Reid/Ciganda
Piller/Lang halved Masson/Gal
1 Session 3
3 Overall 5

Day two

Saturday, 19 – Sunday, 20 September 2015

Morning foursomes

Because of the delay the previous day, the foursomes did not start until 9:15 am. Reid and Ciganda were never behind in their match and closed it out 4 & 3 on the 15th hole. In the second match Hull and Pettersen were 4 down to Creamer and Pressel before a run of birdies from the 12th hole saw the European team make the match all-square on the 17th hole. Pettersen holed the put for the win on the 18th. Gal and Matthew always had a lead in the third match but it became a very tight affair and Stanford and Lincicome brought them to the 18th hole with Europe 1-up. The teams halved the 18th with fours to give Europe the win. In the anchor match, the American pairing of Lewis and Piller regained a one-hole lead at the 7th hole and eventually defeated the all-Swedish duo of Nordqvist and Hedwall by a 5 & 4 margin on the 14th hole.

United States Results Europe
Lee/Wie Europe 4 & 3 Reid/Ciganda
Creamer/Pressel Europe 1 up Hull/Pettersen
Stanford/Lincicome Europe 1 up Gal/Matthew
Lewis/Piller United States 5 & 4 Nordqvist/Hedwall
1 Session 3
4 Overall 8

Afternoon four-ball

Match 4 (Lewis/Piller v. Masson/Hedwall) started before Matches 2 and 3. The table below reflects the official order. Play was suspended at 7:40 pm because of darkness and resumed on Sunday at 8:45 am.

United States Results Europe
Thompson/Kerr United States 3 & 2 Muñoz/Ciganda
Salas/Lang Europe 2 & 1 Icher/Matthew
Lee/Lincicome Europe 2 up Pettersen/Hull
Lewis/Piller United States 1 up Masson/Hedwall
2 Session 2
6 Overall 10

Day three

Sunday, 20 September 2015

Singles

The start of the singles matches was delayed until 10:40 am.

Going into singles, the United States trailed 10–6 and needed 8½ more points to win back the Cup. The Americans did just that, with Creamer winning the final match to give the USA a one-point victory. It was the biggest comeback in the history of the Solheim Cup.[9]

United States Results Europe
Lexi Thompson halved Carlota Ciganda
Morgan Pressel United States 2 up Catriona Matthew
Brittany Lincicome Europe 3 & 2 Karine Icher
Brittany Lang Europe 2 & 1 Melissa Reid
Alison Lee United States 3 & 1 Gwladys Nocera
Gerina Piller United States 1 up Caroline Masson
Stacy Lewis Europe 2 & 1 Anna Nordqvist
Lizette Salas United States 3 & 1 Azahara Muñoz
Angela Stanford United States 2 & 1 Suzann Pettersen
Cristie Kerr United States 3 & 2 Charley Hull
Michelle Wie United States 6 & 4 Caroline Hedwall
Paula Creamer United States 4 & 3 Sandra Gal
8½ Session 3½
14½ Overall 13½

Individual player records

Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.

Europe

Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Carlota Ciganda 2 1–1–2 0–0–1 1–0–0 0–1–1
Sandra Gal 2.5 2–1–1 0–1–0 2–0–0 0–0–1
Caroline Hedwall 1 1–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 1–1–0
Charley Hull 4 4–1–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 2–0–0
Karine Icher 2 2–1–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 1–0–0
Caroline Masson 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–1
Catriona Matthew 3 3–1–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 1–0–0
Azahara Muñoz 0 0–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Gwladys Nocera 1 1–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 1–0–0
Anna Nordqvist 2 2–2–0 1–0–0 0–2–0 1–0–0
Suzann Pettersen 2 2–2–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 1–0–0
Melissa Reid 3.5 3–0–1 1–0–0 2–0–0 0–0–1

United States

Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
Paula Creamer 2 2–2–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–1–0
Cristie Kerr 3.5 3–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–1
Brittany Lang 0.5 0–2–1 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–1
Alison Lee 1 1–3–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–2–0
Stacy Lewis 2 2–2–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 1–0–0
Brittany Lincicome 0 0–4–0 0–1–0 0–2–0 0–1–0
Gerina Piller 3.5 3–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–0 1–0–1
Morgan Pressel 2 2–2–0 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–1–0
Lizette Salas 1 1–2–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Angela Stanford 1 1–2–0 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–1–0
Lexi Thompson 3 2–0–2 0–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1
Michelle Wie 1 1–2–0 1–0–0 0–2–0 0–0–0

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Solheim Cup 2015: USA roar back to win after bitter row on 17th green". The Guardian. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Fired Up by Disputed Call, U.S. Rallies for Solheim Cup". The New York Times. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Team Qualification Criteria". Solheim Cup. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Solheim eligibility criteria changing for U.S. team". Golf Channel. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Team USA Standings". Solheim Cup. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 "2015 Solhiem Cup – Team Europe – Rankings". Solheim Cup Europe. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  7. 1 2 "2015 Solheim Cup Team USA Standings". U.S. Solheim Cup. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Solheim Cup 2015 Leaderboard". LPGA.
  9. ↑ Tays, Al (20 September 2015). "U.S. rallies to win Solheim Cup". Golf Channel. Retrieved 21 September 2015.

External links

Coordinates: 49°14′42″N 8°38′10″E / 49.245°N 8.636°E / 49.245; 8.636

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