Proud Scottish run in Solheim Cup ends as US aim to ‘settle the score’

The 19th edition of the Solheim Cup, which starts at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia on Friday, is the first in the event’s history that will have no  Scottish representation.

Either in a playing or captaincy capacity, every match until now between Europe and the United States had involved at least one Scot, but that proud run has finally come to an end.

Dale Reid and Pam Wright were the early Saltire flyers in the biennial event, having both played in the first three stagings after the match was launched in 1990.

Reid, who passed away last November, also played in 1996, when Kathryn Marshall made her one and only appearance, before Catriona Matthew started her glittering Solheim Cup career in 1998.

Reid was then captain in both 2000 and 2002, with Janice Moodie playing in the former before Mhairi McKay represented Europe for the first time in the latter.

The 2003 contest involved Matthew, McKay and Moodie while Moodie also joined Mathew in 2009, but it was a case of flying as solo Scot for Matthew in 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

After a total of nine playing appearances, Matthew then enjoyed the thrill of being a winning captain on home soil at Gleneagles in 2019 before creating history two years later as the first European skipper to land back-to-back wins over the mighty Americans.

With Matthew bringing down the curtain on her involvement in the event, Gemma Dryburgh then kept the run going when she earned a captain’s pick from Suzann Pettersen for last year’s match in Spain, but it wasn’t to be for the Aberdonian for this latest edition.

Matthew, who recently led Great Britain & Ireland to a welcome win in the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale, is involved this week, though, on this occasion, it’s doing TV work as one of the expert analysts for American network NBC Sports.

With Pettersen and Stacy Lewis as the two captains once again, this week’s clash is a rematch after a 14-14 draw at Finca Cortesin last year. 

“Call it unfinished business,” said Lewis of the Americans feeling peeved about the trophy staying in European hands after that encounter. “In a way it worked out nicely that Suzann and I are both coming back because I feel like it's time to settle the score.”

When does the Solheim Cup take place and what is the format?

It starts on Friday, 13 September and finishes on Sunday, 15 September. On the first two days, four foursomes are played in the morning followed by four fourballs in the afternoon. Sunday’s closing session involves 12 singles matches. Europe will retain the trophy by reaching 14 points while the US need 14.5 points to regain it.

How can the Solheim Cup be watched in the UK?

Sky Sports has the exclusive rights to show the Solheim Cup in the UK. If you are not a subscriber, you can buy a day pass from NOW TV for £14.99, or a month pass for £34.99. More details https://www.nowtv.com/sports-purchase.

Who is representing Europe in the Solheim Cup? 

Suzann Pettersen’s side is made up of eight automatic qualifiers in Charley Hull, Esther Henseleit, Celine Boutier, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, Maja Stark, Linn Grant and Madelene Sagstrom while her captain’s picks went to Georgia Hall, Anna Nordqvist, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Albane Valenzuela.

Who is representing the United States in the Solheim Cup?

Automatic qualifiers for a team being captain by Stacy Lewis were Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang and Alison Lee, with the line up being completed by wildcards in Jennifer Kupcho, Sarah Schmelzel and Lexi Thompson.