There has been little to separate Team Europe and Team USA in recent editions of the Solheim Cup, with nothing to suggest that this week’s contest will be any different. Anna Nordqvist's European team look to regain the trophy on home soil at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands, live on Sky Sports, two years on from a 15.5-12.5 loss in Virginia and their first defeat in the biennial contest since 2017. Whereas the Ryder Cup has typically delivered big winning margins in recent editions, aside from last year's edition at Bethpage Black and a brilliant final-day comeback from Team USA, the Solheim Cup has offered the opposite.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The last three Solheim Cups held in Europe have produced the three closest finishes in its history, with the 2015 and 2019 editions both being won by a single point before the 2023 contest produced the first 14-14 tie. Each gave their own unique drama and excitement, with Team USA mounting a record singles comeback to win in 2015 before Suzann Pettersen drained THAT putt on the 18th green to help Team Europe to Gleneagles glory four years later. That's without forgetting the thrilling climax - and Europe retaining - in Spain, where Pettersen's side recovered from being swept in Friday's opening session and came back from the brink in the singles to reach the 14 points required.
Add in the 2011 contest in Dublin, where Europe's winning margin was only two because of an injury withdrawal from Cristie Kerr in the singles, and the last four contests on this side of the Atlantic have had a total winning difference of six points combined. Given the similarities between this year's line-ups in terms of form, world ranking and past Solheim Cup experience, it's just as hard to predict which team may end up lifting the trophy on Sunday evening. Team Europe regularly play the 'underdogs' role in the Solheim Cup because of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, given the number of American players higher up the standings, although boast more inside the world's top 10 this time than their rivals.
Charley Hull makes her eighth consecutive Team Europe appearance and world No 7 Lottie Woad features as a rookie in name only, having already won two LPGA Tour titles in just over a year as a professional. Nordqvist does have five of the world's top 35 at her disposal, as Esther Henseleit climbed after her runner-up finish at the AIG Women's Open and both Maja Stark and Celine Boutier regularly contend on the LPGA Tour. Team USA do have rankings depth at their disposal, with nine inside the world's top 50 and rookie Lindy Duncan the lowest at world No 66, whereas five European players - including all four captain's picks - head into that weekend below that position.
"I firmly believe it will come down to home advantage," Dame Laura Davies, a 12-time Solheim Cup player, told the Sky Sports Golf podcast.. "It's going to be a very loud week with our girls playing in front of a huge audience. "On paper, the Americans will probably be favourites because they always are because they all play on the LPGA Tour.
I just think that home advantage makes such a difference." Other than Korda's ridiculous start to the LPGA Tour season, where she won four times and finished no worse than eighth in a 10-tournament stretch, there's been very few - in either team - to reach the winner's circle in 2026. Coughlin's Aramco Championship success is the only other win by an American Solheim Cup player on the LPGA Tour, while Celine Boutier and Lottie Woad are the only two to have won Stateside from the European side. Hull was a winner on the Ladies European Tour at the PIF Saudi Ladies International in February, with the Englishwoman now a Solheim Cup stalwart and arriving with the bragging rights of thrashing Korda 6&4 in the Sunday singles two years ago.
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