How can United States reverse Europe's recent Solheim Cup dominance this week?
Victory in the Solheim Cup, something that was once a cakewalk for the United States team, is now a grind for the Americans as they travel to Spain this week for the renewal of the women's golf matches against Europe.
The Americans won eight of the first 11 Solheim Cups, including claiming three in a row twice. But starting with the 2011 matches, the Europeans have won four of the last six Cups. As the U.S. team enters the 2023 matches this week, the team faces more questions than answers in trying to reverse the trend of European victories.
American captain Stacy Lewis has put together the best team she can through points, world rankings and captain’s picks. But some long-time players are missing like Jessica Korda, Angela Stanford and Lewis herself.
Some are also questioning how important the matches are with the great players from Asia not able to play in such matches. But the Americans and Europeans will show plenty of emotion and team pride as they face off this week, showing the matches are still very relevant.
As a young and relatively inexperienced U.S. team enters the competition, here are five things to watch:
The European stars
Europe is pretty much always an underdog in these matches, having won seven matches to the 10 victories for the United States. But the last two Solheim Cups have gone to Europe, and Europe will count on its top four or five players to make up for some weakness on the bottom of the roster. Among the players Europe will need to win plenty of points will be Charley Hull, Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist. If that quartet wins more points than they lose, the Americans could be in trouble again.
Lexi Thompson
It says something about Thompson, long one of the top American players, that she didn’t qualify for her sixth Solheim Cup on points, but through the world golf rankings. Thompson’s play has been so substandard by her own career performances (eight missed cuts, no top-10s this year) that even U.S. captain Lewis admitted Thompson is a concern for the U.S. team heading into the matches. Don’t expect to see Thompson play more than a match a day, and if she can’t turn her form around, it will hurt the U.S. team. But these matches can turn a player’s focus and play around in a hurry.
Suzann Pettersen
The European captain has the feel of a leader who through her own emotions can elevate her team. Think back to Seve Ballesteros when he captained the European Ryder Cup team to a win in Spain. Pettersen was a nine-time Solheim Cup player, including making the clinching putt in 2019. U.S. captain Lewis is certainly a fighter and a competitor, but Pettersen is the emotional spark the Europeans might need to win this year.
Rose Zhang
The U.S. rookie has made plenty of news in her first year as a professional, including a win in her LPGA debut as a pro. But after a blazing start with a win and three more top-10 finishes, the last few weeks have seen Zhang slow down with finishes outside of the top-30 in her last four events. Zhang will be a fixture on the U.S. Solheim Cup team for years to come, but how will she handle the first time playing for her country and playing in a foreign land where she won’t have all the fans rooting for her?
The other American rookies
This team has the feel of a generational change for the U.S. squad, with new names like Allisen Corpuz, Cheyenne Knight, Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu joining Zhang as rookies on Lewis’ team. But Corpuz and Vu each won a major title this year, Zhang has shown she can win anywhere and Lee and Knight both seem to be coming into their own after a few years of not being near the top of the leaderboard. With players like Thompson perhaps hitting the back nine of their careers, the Americans can use all the new blood they can get for Solheim Cups. But will it be enough to win this time around?
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: How can United States reverse Europe's recent Solheim Cup dominance?
