(Image by: nellykorda)
The ultimate team prize in women’s golf is quickly drawing upon us and the 2024 Solheim Cup looks set to be one of the best editions in the competition’s history. Set to be played amongst a partisan American crowd at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, it is the American team who are the bookmakers favourites for outright victory. Boosted by having both Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu who are the top two players in the women’s world rankings, the American’s will hope to stop the recent reign of European dominance and win back the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017.
Ahead of what looks to be three fantastic days of drama, here are some of the players to keep an eye on.
Team USA
Nelly Korda: World ranking 1
For the third successive Solheim Cup, Nelly Korda will head out as the best female player in the game. A winner of six LPGA events this year, through the first half of 2024 nobody could come close to her as she stamped her class and authority over the world’s best competition.
However, despite her historic start to the season, the last few months has seen Korda’s form regress and although she started all five majors as the woman to beat, she would have been disappointed to have gone another year without adding to her major haul.
We last saw Korda on the famous links of St Andrew’s and although she found herself in contention for most of the week, she fell away during the third round and left herself with too much to do as the tournament reached its conclusion.
Set to make her fourth appearance, Korda is yet to taste Solheim Cup success and has already said in the build up to this year’s event that she has ‘unfinished business’ to take care of this time around. Holding a 7-4-1 record, the Americans will be looking for the world number one to lead the way.
Lilia Vu: World ranking 2
Although most of the pre-competition spotlight has fallen on Nelly Korda, one player that American Captain Stacey Lewis will be greatly relying on is current world number 2, Lilia Vu.
The Women’s Open Champion back in 2023, Vu almost defended her crown this year but would have to settle for a second place finish. Although she can’t rival the titles that Korda has won this season, there is an argument that throughout the season she has been the game’s most consistent player and she should be ready to roll this weekend.
Making her second appearance and first on home soil, Vu will hope to banish the demons of her debut showing. Only able to win one match across the four matches she played, the world number two will hope to show what she is all about this time around and it wouldn’t be a surprise if she were to be one of the most consistent players of the week.
(Image by: liliavu)
Lexi Thompson: World ranking 39
Although there are many players across both the American and European teams that are ranked higher than Lexi Thompson when it comes to world ranking, there is no player from either team that can beat her experience.
Making her seventh Solheim Cup appearance, Thompson is one of only a handful of American players in the 2024 team who have tasted Solheim victory. Set to be the lightning rod for the team, this will be Thompson’s last ever Solheim as a player due to her impending retirement at the end of the season.
Her captain for the week, Stacey Lewis, has spoken glowingly of her in the lead up to this weekend’s event and it's clear that Thompson is going to be handed a pivotal role over the next few days. A gritty competitor, Thompson holds a 9-7-7 record and was America’s leading performer back in 2023 when earning three points from a possible four.
Wanting to end her Solheim Cup career on a high, expect Thompson to play her best golf and potentially lead the Americans out for the singles on Sunday.
Team Europe
Celine Boutier: World ranking 10
The highest ranked European player this weekend is Frenchwoman, Celine Boutier. A six time winner and major winner on the LPGA Tour, Boutier will be making her fourth Solheim Cup appearance and arrives in America with a point to prove.
After a brilliant 2023 where Boutier captured her first major title, she flattered to deceive at the Solheim Cup losing all three matches that she played. Usually partnered with Georgia Hall, the pair went unbeaten in 2021 and European Captain, Suzanne Pettersen will be hopeful that the duo will be back to their best and will help get some early points on the board.
Charley Hull: World ranking 12
It could be argued that there is no more naturally talented player in the Solheim Cup line up than Charley Hull.
A European stalwart, Hull is on course to smash all sorts of Europe Solheim Cup records and despite being only 28, this will be her seventh Solheim Cup appearance.
Although the Englishwoman is yet to win the game’s biggest prizes, she has shown on numerous occasions that when she can play consistently, she can be an absolute force on the course. Having been close on numerous occasions to winning her first major title, you feel her time is close. A gritty competitor when on the course, Hull has partnered with her captain in previous Solheim Cups so Suzanne Pettersen knows exactly what Hull is all about.
Most likely to play all five sessions, Hull will want to improve her impressive Solheim Cup record which currently stands at 12-7-3.
(Image by: charley.hull)
Leona Maguire
When Europe last competed for the Solheim Cup on American soil back in 2021, a key factor behind them winning that year was the form of Irishwoman Leona Maguire. The undoubted star of the show, Maguire was able to capture 4.5 points and create a Rookie Record as no other Rookie in the history of the Solheim or Ryder Cup has gone close to repeating the feat.
A quiet competitor, Maguire may not boast the personality of some of her more extroverted teammates, but behind her calm facade, you know that Maguire will be doing everything she can to end up on top.
Looking destined for the top of the game, in the last few seasons Maguire has slipped down the world rankings but often seems to save her best for this event.
The three points that she was able to contribute at the 2023 Solheim Cup were a huge reason as to why Europe were able to retain their crown. Having fond memories of the last time the Solheim Cup was held in America, Pettersen and the rest of the European team will hope that Maguire can repeat her heroics from three years ago.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
