There was Monday at Bernardus Golf course in the Netherlands. Players walking to the first tee for the Junior Solheim Cup were greeted by cheers, music — and a few puffs from a machine at the end of their entranceway. It was a good touch, though if you weren’t ready for it, it caught you by surprise, which you can see below.
Let’s make that No. 1, then, on this list of “18 things to know about the Solheim Cup”: Starting Friday morning — and very early East Coast time — there should be a scene for the opening tee shots. As for which side will follow the potential smoke with fire, maybe the words below can help.
Players to watch
2. Let’s start with six players to watch on the American side. No. 1 is the world No. 1 — Nelly Korda. Her Solheim Cup record (10-5-1), across four appearances, is good, but her teams have won just one Cup, at the 2024 event. Korda, Jennifer Kupcho and Allisen Korpuz are the Americans with major wins — Korda has four; and Kupcho and Korpuz have one.
3. Lauren Coughlin. She’s the next highest-ranked American, at No. 17. She made her Solheim debut at the ’24 event and went 3-0-1.
4. Angel Yin. She missed two months of play and lost 35 pounds due to stomach issues, but told Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols she will play.
5. Lindy Duncan. At 35, she is making her Solheim Cup debut.
6. Meghan Khang. Khang will be playing in her fifth Solheim, and she’s unbeaten across her past two appearances (3-0-0 in ’24 and 3-0-1 in ’23).
7. Alison Lee. Lee will be the first mom to play in the event since 2019, when Suzann Pettersen did.
8. Lottie Woad leads our list of six European players to watch. She’s the highest-ranked Euro, at No. 7. This will be her Solheim debut.
9.Charley Hull. She’s the next highest-ranked European, at No. 8. This will be her eighth Solheim appearance.
10. Carlota Ciganda. This will also be her eighth appearance. She clinched the retaining point at the 2023 event in her home country of Spain — and sounds of Car-lo-ta Ci-ganda, sung to the refrain of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” are still in our head.
11. Celine Boutier. She’s one of two European players to have won a major. Boutier won the 2023 Evian.
13. Linn Grant. She’s making her third Solheim appearance. She also recently gave GOLF’s Maddi MacClurg approach-shot advice, which you can watch below.
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The captains
14. U.S. captain Angela Stanford. She played in six Solheims, and her singles victory in 2015 completed the largest comeback in tournament history.
15. European captain Anna Nordqvist. She made nine Solheim appearances. Last month, she also announced her retirement.
The course
16. As mentioned above, the Solheim Cup will be played at Bernardus Golf course in the Dutch village of Cromvoirt, which is about an hour south of Amsterdam. And transportation to the course will be unique, at least for some. Nearby Den Bosch will likely be where most fans come in from, and they can do so by shuttle — or bike. The Bernardus Golf website says the bike ride takes 20 to 30 minutes.
As for the course itself, it has public play through one-day memberships, along with overnight packages. It was designed by American Kyle Phillips, who’s also worked on Kingsbarns, the Grove and Yas Links, and it hosted the DP World Tour’s KLM in 2021, ’22, and ’22.
Wrote Zephyr Melton: Europe and Carlota Ciganda. She’s an absolute menace in this event. I expect it to continue this week.
Wrote Josh Schrock: Europe and Esther Henseleit. She showed a ton of moxy at the AIG Women’s Open and I feel like she’s destined to be a problem for the Americans. If the U.S. wins, it’ll be because Zhang and Yealimi Noh play to their ceiling.
Wrote Jack Hirsh: Europe and Carlota Ciganda. She’s like the Solheim Cup’s version of Ian Poulter.
The author’s pick?
Let’s have some fun. USA, with newcomer Lindy Duncan winning the clinching point. I love a good story.
