The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. The inaugural Cup was held in 1990, and the event was staged in even number years until 2002. As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events caused by the postponement of the 2001 Ryder Cup due to 9/11, the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbered years from 2003, which means that it does not clash with the Ryder Cup, which is the eqivalent men's event between the USA and Europe.

The US team is selected by a points system, with American players on the LPGA Tour receiving points for each good finish on tour. For the European team, only seven players are selected on a points system based on results on the Ladies European Tour. This is to allow top European players who compete mainly on the LPGA Tour to be selected to ensure that the European team is competitive.

The cup is played over three days. Since 2002 there have been twenty eight matches - eight foursomes, eight four-balls and twelve singles on the final day. This is the same format of the Ryder Cup. Before 2002, the Solheim Cup used a similar, but abbreviated format.

Results

The PING Junior Solheim Cup

A version of the Solheim Cup for girls, called the PING Junior Solheim Cup, was inaugurated 2002. It follows the same format as The Solheim Cup and features the top 12 U.S. girls versus their European counterparts. The United States won in 2002, and the European side evened the series in Sweden in 2003. The next edition will be held at The Bridgewater Club in Noblesville, Indiana, USA, in September 2005.

External link

Official site