European Solheim Cup Captain Suzann Pettersen announced her four captain’s picks Monday morning and, surprisingly perhaps, made no surprises with her choices. Pettersen selected veterans Georgia Hall and Emily Kristine Pedersen, her vice-captain Anna Nordqvist, and rookie Albane Valenzuela to round out her 12-player roster.
The Europeans are going for their third victory over the last four Solheim Cups after a late Sunday charge earned them a tie in Finca Cortesin last year, denying the Americans the Cup. This year’s competition will be held outside Washington D.C. in Gainesville, Virginia, at Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Club on Sept. 13-15.
“We can’t wait to try and make, create history once again,” Pettersen said. “We know we’re up against a tough team, but we know we can do it, and the girls believe they can do it. So we can’t wait and, yeah, bring it on.”
Suzann Pettersen picks three veterans and a rookie for her team that hopes to win the Solheim Cup for the third time in four tries – Stuart Franklin
Hall, who has played in four previous Solheim Cups, was the most obvious selection to make and the first choice Pettersen announced. The 28-year-old Brit is the top player in the Rolex Rankings not to qualify for the team at No. 43, two spots shy of Madelene Sagstrom, who took the final automatic qualifying spot off the rankings. Hall has dropped down the rankings from No. 16 when she made the European roster last season amidst a slow 2024 campaign for the two-time LPGA winner that has included just one top-10 finish and that being at the Dow Championship team event in July. Hall is 8-7-2 overall in the Cup.
Nordqvist, 37, is the steely veteran selection set to play for the ninth time in her career. That will tie her for the second-most appearances Solheim Cup history with legends Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Catriona Matthew and her captain, Pettersen, who lauded Nordqvist as a trusted voice and anchor in the team room. Expect the Swede, competing for a second straight as a playing vice-captain, to play in foursomes, as she has played in all but one foursomes session since 2009, going 7-8-0. Nordqvist’s overall record is 15-13-3.
Pedersen, Pettersen’s third pick, is the player the captain thinks resembles herself most. The Dane is making her fourth European team following her best appearance last year, going 3-2-0, and one of three players to go all five sessions in the hilly Finca Cortesin. “When it comes to match play, I got to dig deep to find anyone else that lives and dies so much for this as she does,” Pettersen said.
Valenzuela is the second rookie to round out Pettersen’s roster, joining qualifier (and Olympic silver medalist) Esther Henseleit. Pettersen took a different note talking about Valenzuela, remembering how challenging it was to tell her that she didn’t make the team in 2023. A year later, several solid performances highlighted by a runner-up finish in Thailand in early February has Pettersen viewing Valenzuela as providing her versatility. The captain believes the 26-year-old can be a good pair with nearly anyone on the team for either foursomes or fourball matches.
Notably not selected was Caroline Hedwall, the Sunday heroine of last year’s Solheim Cup, who birdied five of her last six holes to swing her match against Ally Ewing from 3-down to a 2-up victory, and help secure the team tie. Hedwall and Gemma Dryburgh are the two players not returning from last year’s roster for the 2024 matchup.
Full European Roster
Charley Hull
Esther Henseleit
Celine Boutier
Maja Stark
Linn Grant
Leona Maguire
Carlota Ciganda
Madelene Sagstrom
Georgia Hall
Anna Nordqvist
Emily Kristine Pedersen
Albane Valenzuela
Main Image: Supplied
