Solheim Cup Winners and History

Solheim Cup Winners and History

Played biennially since 1990, the Solheim Cup is a team golf competition between players representing Europe and the United States.

Players compete in 28 matches over three days: Eight Foursomes, eight Four-Balls and on the final day, 12 singles. The eight Foursomes are played Friday and Saturday morning. The eight Four-Balls are played on Friday and Saturday afternoon.  One point is awarded for each match. A total of fourteen points are required to defend a title.

Click on the link for more on the Solheim Cup playing format: Foursomes, Four-Balls and Match Play.

The competition is named for Karsten Solheim, founder of Ping Golf, who agreed in 1990 to sponsor the event for twenty years.

The Solheim Cup alternates with the Ryder Cup, which features men’s teams from Europe and the United States. The Solheim competition originally was played in even years, but when the Ryder Cup was postponed for a year following the September 11 attacks, the Solheim Cup also was delayed and ended up being played on odd numbered years.

Each Solheim Cup team consists of twelve players. On the US side, ten players are selected via a points system; the remaining two are Captain’s Picks. For Europe, four players are selected via a points system, four on the basis of their Rolex Rankings and four via Captain’s Picks.

A few Random Solheim Cup records:

• The largest Solheim Cup margin of victory was Europe of the United States (18-10) in 2013.
• Laura Davies (Europe) holds the record for most appearances, with 12. She also holds the record of most points earned (25); most matches played (46), most matches won (22).
• The record for most team points scored belongs to Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas (Europe), with five. On the American side, Dottie Pepper and Brandie Burton hold the record with 4.5 points scored as a team.
• Julie Inkster holds the record for most points scored in singles competition at 7.

A list of Solheim Cup winners follows:

Year	Venue	Winning team	Score	USA captain	Europe captain
2023	Finca Cortesin, Spain	Tie, Europe Retains Cup	14-14	Stacy Lewis	Sweden: Suzann Pettersen
2021	Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio	Europe	15-13	Pat Hurst	Scotland: Catriona Matthew
2019	Gleneagles, Scotland	Europ	14 1/2 – 13 1/2	Julie Inkster	Scotland Catriona Matthew
2017	Des Moines Golf and Country Club, Iowa, USA	United States	16 1/2–11 1/2	Juli Inkster	Sweden Annika Sörenstam
2015	Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, Germany	United States	14½–13½	Juli Inkster	Sweden Carin Koch
2013	Colorado Golf Club, Colorado, USA	Europe	18–10	Meg Mallon	Sweden Liselotte Neumann
2011	Killeen Castle Golf Resort, Ireland	Europe	15–13	Rosie Jones	England Alison Nicholas
2009	Rich Harvest Farms, Illinois, USA	United States	16–12	Beth Daniel	England Alison Nicholas
2007	Halmstad GK, Sweden	United States	16–12	Betsy King	Sweden Helen Alfredsson
2005	Crooked Stick Golf Club, Indiana, USA	United States	15½–12½	Nancy Lopez	Sweden Catrin Nilsmark
2003	Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, Sweden	Europe	17½–10½	Patty Sheehan	Sweden Catrin Nilsmark
2002	Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota, USA	United States	15½–12½	Patty Sheehan	Scotland Dale Reid
2000	Loch Lomond Golf Club, Scotland	Europe	14½–11½	Pat Bradley	Scotland Dale Reid
1998	Muirfield Village, Ohio, USA	United States	16–12	Judy Rankin	Sweden Pia Nilsson
1996	St Pierre Golf & Country Club, Wales	United States	17–11	Judy Rankin	England Mickey Walker
1994	The Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA	United States	13–7	JoAnne Carner	England Mickey Walker
1992	Dalmahoy Country Club, Scotland	Europe	11½–6½	Kathy Whitworth	England Mickey Walker
1990	Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Florida, USA	United States	11½–4½	Kathy Whitworth	England Mickey Walker

Solheim Cup Winners, Scores, Captains and Venues

Solheim Cup Winners

Year	Venue	Winning team	Score	USA captain	Europe captain
2019	Gleneagles, Scotland	Europ	14 1/2 - 13 1/2	Julie Inkster	Scotland Catriona Matthew
2017	Des Moines Golf and Country Club, Iowa, USA	United States	16 1/2–11 1/2	Juli Inkster	Sweden Annika Sörenstam
2015	Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, Germany	United States	14½–13½	Juli Inkster	Sweden Carin Koch
2013	Colorado Golf Club, Colorado, USA	Europe	18–10	Meg Mallon	Sweden Liselotte Neumann
2011	Killeen Castle Golf Resort, Ireland	Europe	15–13	Rosie Jones	England Alison Nicholas
2009	Rich Harvest Farms, Illinois, USA	United States	16–12	Beth Daniel	England Alison Nicholas
2007	Halmstad GK, Sweden	United States	16–12	Betsy King	Sweden Helen Alfredsson
2005	Crooked Stick Golf Club, Indiana, USA	United States	15½–12½	Nancy Lopez	Sweden Catrin Nilsmark
2003	Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, Sweden	Europe	17½–10½	Patty Sheehan	Sweden Catrin Nilsmark
2002	Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota, USA	United States	15½–12½	Patty Sheehan	Scotland Dale Reid
2000	Loch Lomond Golf Club, Scotland	Europe	14½–11½	Pat Bradley	Scotland Dale Reid
1998	Muirfield Village, Ohio, USA	United States	16–12	Judy Rankin	Sweden Pia Nilsson
1996	St Pierre Golf & Country Club, Wales	United States	17–11	Judy Rankin	England Mickey Walker
1994	The Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA	United States	13–7	JoAnne Carner	England Mickey Walker
1992	Dalmahoy Country Club, Scotland	Europe	11½–6½	Kathy Whitworth	England Mickey Walker
1990	Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Florida, USA	United States	11½–4½	Kathy Whitworth	England Mickey Walker

Solheim Cup Winners, Scores, Captains and Venues