Solheim Cup 2026: Teams, captains, venue, format and how players will qualify for Europe vs USA in the Netherlands | Golf News

Where and when will the next Solheim Cup take place? How does the scoring system work? Which players can qualify? All you need to know about the 2026 edition…

What is the Solheim Cup?

The Solheim Cup is a three-day competition played between teams of 12 players from the USA and Europe.

The event launched in 1990 and was named in honour of Karsten and Louise Solheim and family – the founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, which makes PING golf equipment.

The biggest team tournament in women’s golf, where Team USA face Team Europe, is next held from September 11-13, 2026.

The Solheim Cup is back to even-numbered years to avoid clashing with the Ryder Cup, which moved to odd-numbered years after being postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It resulted in the Solheim Cup taking place in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024, but now reverts to a biennial contest – like the Ryder Cup – as it was previously.

The tournament heads to the Netherlands for the first time in 2026, with Bernardus Golf – a course previously used for the Dutch Open on the DP World Tour – confirmed as the venue.

The Championship course, designed by American golf course architect Kyle Phillips, is described as a heathland golf course with tricky water hazards, a compact layout, an architecturally stunning clubhouse and world-class practice facilities.

The 2028 edition is set to take place at the iconic Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, 20 years on from hosting the Ryder Cup, with the host courses for all future contests yet to be announced.

What is the format?

There are 28 matches played over the three days, under three different types of match play – foursomes, fourballs and singles – with each match worth one point to the team total. The team which gets to 14.5 points first will win the Solheim Cup.

There are two sessions of foursomes, each containing four matches of two golfers from Europe competing against a pair from the USA. Team members alternate between shots and each team uses one ball.

Fourballs also sees two golfers from each team compete but each player uses their own ball, with the lowest score from each pair counting towards their total in that match.

All players compete in the Sunday singles, where every member from the USA team plays against a European opponent in a head-to-head contest.

The European side has previously been made up of the top two players in the European Solheim Cup points list, earned from performances on the Ladies European Tour, with the qualifying period running until the summer of 2026.

The next six available players in the world rankings traditionally qualify, with four captain’s picks completing the European line-up.

The top seven players on the Solheim Cup list at the end of the qualifying period, based on points accumulated from all ranking events, will secure automatic qualification for Team USA.

The next top two players on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings at the end of the qualifying period – not already qualified – will also earn a spot, while the captain will have three picks to complete her line-up.

The qualification campaign began at the 2024 FM Championship and will end in the summer of 2026, although the end date and final qualification tournament has yet to be confirmed.

Anna Nordqvist has been named as Europe’s captain for 2026, having made nine consecutive appearances as a player and served a dual role as vice-captain for the last two contests.

The Swede succeeds Suzann Pettersen, who was captain for back-to-back editions in 2023 and 2024, with Nordqvist yet to announce who she will include as part of her backroom team.

Who captains the United States?

Team USA have yet to announce who will be their captain for 2026.

Stacy Lewis has served as captain for the previous two editions and is open to a third term, just as Juli Inkster did in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Angela Stanford and Morgan Pressel, both vice-captains for each of the previous two Solheim Cups, are other potential options.

Who has previously won the Solheim Cup?

Team USA withstood a final-day fightback from Team Europe to claim a 15.5-12.5 victory and win the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017.

Lewis’ side took a 10-6 advantage into the Sunday singles at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, leaving them requiring just 4.5 points for victory, with Megan Khang, Allisen Corpuz and Rose Zhang all posting big wins to move them closer to their target.

Charley Hull led from the front to thrash world No 1 Nelly Korda and Georgia Hall also claimed a big win to raise hopes of a historic European comeback, with seven matches left on the course either tied or in favour of Pettersen’s side at that stage.

Celine Boutier and Leona Maguire won their matches to move Europe closer to the 14 points required to win for the fourth time in a row, only for Lilia Vu to secure the half-point needed for victory when she won her final two holes to tie against rookie Albane Valenzuela.

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