2019 Solheim Cup: Team Europe and USA profiles

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Sky Sports has been getting to know more about Team Europe

Team Europe will attempt to regain the Solheim Cup when they take on the United States at Gleneagles, with extended coverage live on Sky Sports Golf.

Catriona Matthew’s side are aiming to avoid a third straight defeat against Juli Inkster’s American team, who produced a final-day comeback to win in 2015 and claimed a 16.5-11.5 victory two years’ ago.

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Europe have only won five of the 15 Solheim Cups since its inception but hold a 100 per cent record in Scotland, home of this year’s contest, with the hosts looking for their first victory in the event since winning by a record-breaking margin in 2013.

The action gets underway on Friday and we have taken a look at both teams for the biennial contest…

TEAM EUROPE

Carlota Ciganda (Spain)

Age: 29

Caps: 3 (2013, 2015, 2017)

Record: Won 5 Lost 4 Halved 2

Europe’s top ranked player, Ciganda secured her place thanks to a consistent campaign which produced seven top-10 finishes, including in the Evian Championship and AIG Women’s British Open.

Georgia Hall (England)

Age: 23

Caps: 1 (2017)

Record: Won 2 Lost 3 Halved 0

Hall played all five matches on her debut in Des Moines two years ago and won a maiden major title the following year in the Women’s British Open.

Her only top 10 of the season came in the first event in January.

Charley Hull (England)

Age: 23

Caps: 3 (2013, 2015, 2017)

Record: Won 7 Lost 3 Halved 1

Hull made her Solheim Cup debut as a 17-year-old wild card and has the highest winning percentage (68.18) of any member of the European side, despite claiming just one win from three matches in 2017.

Caroline Hedwall (Sweden)

Age: 30

Caps: 3 (2011, 2013, 2015)

Record: Won 8 Lost 4 Halved 1

Won seven of her first nine matches in the Solheim Cup, including five wins out of five in the victory in Colorado in 2013, where her singles win over Michelle Wie ensured Europe retained the trophy.

Caroline Masson (Germany)

Age: 30

Caps: 3 (2013, 2015, 2017)

Record: Won 3 Lost 6 Halved 2

Masson made the cut in all five major championships in 2019, saving the best until last with a tie for 11th in the Women’s British Open at Woburn.

She won two and a half points on her Solheim Cup debut in 2013 but just one and a half points from her last two appearances.

Azahara Munoz (Spain)

Age: 31

Caps: 3 (2011, 2013, 2015)

Record: Won 4 Lost 6 Halved 1

The Spaniard missed out on a fourth straight appearance in 2017 as she struggled to deal with a thyroid problem, which left her low on energy.

However, she has enjoyed a consistent 2019 campaign, which included four top-10 finishes in her first six events.

Anna Nordqvist (Sweden)

Age: 32

Caps: 5 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)

Record: Won 11 Lost 7 Halved 2

Nordqvist is an experienced campaigner who went into the final qualifying event in Scotland just 0.01 points ahead of Celine Boutier in the standings, but made sure of her sixth appearance with a tie for 13th.

She was sent out first in the singles in both 2013 and 2017.

Anne Van Dam (Holland)

Age: 23

Caps: 0

The only rookie to qualify automatically, the big-hitting Van Dam has won four times on the Ladies European Tour since 2016 and made sure of her place in the side with a tie for sixth in the final event.

Celine Boutier (France)

Age: 25

Caps: 0

Boutier narrowly missed out on an automatic place but was an obvious wildcard selection given her performances in the Women’s US Open and Women’s British Open, where she finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Suzann Pettersen (Norway)

Age: 38

Caps: 8 (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)

Record: Won 16 Lost 11 Halved 6

Pettersen is something of a debatable selection having played just twice – missing the cut both times – between November 2017 and the side being named.

She was also the villain in a controversial incident in the 2015 defeat in Germany, but has vast experience despite missing out two years ago through injury.

Bronte Law (England)

Age: 24

Caps: 0

Ineligible for automatic qualification due to not playing enough LET events, Law won her maiden LPGA Tour title in May having lost out in a play-off in her previous start.

She compiled a 5-0 record in the 2016 Curtis Cup.

Jodie Ewart Shadoff (England)

Age: 31

Caps: 2 (2013, 2017)

Record: Won 3 Lost 4 Halved 0

Shadoff started the season with three top 10s in her first four starts but withdrew from the Evian Championship with a back injury and underwent what was described as a “minor procedure” shortly before the team was announced.

TEAM USA

Marina Alex

Age: 29

Caps: 0

Debutant Alex is short of team competition experience apart from her time at Vanderbilt University but earned her way on to the team thanks largely to her first LPGA Tour win in the Cambia Portland Classic in 2018, where she finished four shots ahead of runner-up Georgia Hall.

Brittany Altomare

Age: 28

Caps: 0

Altomare secured the eighth and final berth via the US points list with seven top 10s during the qualifying period, including a runner-up finish at the 2017 Evian Championship.

She was a member of the 2006 Junior Ryder Cup team.

Danielle Kang

Age: 26

Caps: 1

Record: Won 3 Lost 1 Halved 0

Kang made an impressive Solheim Cup debut in 2017, winning three points from her four matches, including a victory over Emily Pedersen in the final singles match, although the overall result had been decided by then.

Megan Khang

Age: 21

Caps: 0

One of five rookies in the team, Khang was undefeated in the 2015 Junior Solheim Cup in Germany as the United States won a hard-fought contest 13-11.

She recorded two top 10s in majors in 2019.

Jessica Korda

Age: 26

Caps: 1

Record: Won 1 Lost 2 Halved 1

Korda returns to the Solheim Cup for the first time since her debut in 2013. She was set to compete in Des Moines in 2017 but was forced to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Paula Creamer.

Nelly Korda

Age: 21

Caps: 0

Nelly Korda joins her sister, Jessica, as the first pair of siblings to compete on the US Solheim Cup team.

She secured a debut in the event with victories in Taiwan and Australia in the last two seasons after narrowly missing out on a wild card in 2017.

Annie Park

Age: 24

Caps: 0

Another rookie with good experience in other team competitions, Park led her team at the University of Southern California to the school’s third national championship in 2013.

She was also a member of the Curtis Cup-winning team the following year.

Lizette Salas

Age: 30

Caps: 3

Record: Won 4 Lost 4 Halved 2

Salas returns for her fourth consecutive Solheim Cup in excellent form having finished runner-up in the AIG Women’s British Open and third in the CP Women’s Open.

She claimed three points in 2017, including the winning point in the singles.

Lexi Thompson

Age: 24

Caps: 3

Record: Won 5 Lost 2 Halved 4

Although just 24-years-old, Thompson is one of the veterans in the American side as she makes a fourth consecutive appearance, although she will need a new partner in Scotland as Cristie Kerr failed to make the team.

Angel Yin