Solheim Cup 2024: European team line-up, key players and their qualification
Team Europe has confirmed its 12-player roster ahead of the 2024 Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
The highly anticipated team event begins on Friday 13 September and ends on Sunday 15 September, with the Europeans hoping to continue their fantastic run of defending the trophy in all three editions since 2019.
The US team has won only two of the last seven Solheim Cups, with two away victories for Europe playing a key role in maintaining this recent period of relative dominance.
The USA leads the historic series 10-8 after the competition ended in a tie for the first time last year. In September 2023, an incredibly dramatic final day at Finca Cortesin in Spain ended with a score of 14-14 and defending champions Europe retained the trophy.
In order to score at least 14 points again on the other side of the pond, captain Suzann Pettersen will lead a very similar group of golfers into battle again.
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Two European golfers qualified automatically via the Solheim Cup points list, while six others secured their place on the team based on their positions in the world rankings. The final four were selected by Pettersen as wildcards.
Here is Team Europe’s full 12-player roster for the 2024 Solheim Cup.
| player | This is how they qualified |
|---|---|
| Charley Hull | LET Solheim Cup points list |
| Esther Henseleit | LET Solheim Cup points list |
| Celine Boutier | World ranking |
| Maja Stark | World ranking |
| Linn Grant | World ranking |
| Leona Maguire | World ranking |
| Carlota Ciganda | World ranking |
| Madelene Sagstrom | World ranking |
| Georgia Hall | Captain selection |
| Anna Nordqvist | Captain selection |
| Emily Kristine Pedersen | Captain selection |
| Albane Valenzuela | Captain selection |
Charley Hull (Points List)
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Charley Hull is arguably Europe’s star player. The Englishwoman, currently ranked number 11 in the world, will take part in the Solheim Cup for the seventh time in 2024. She made her debut in 2013 and has a record of 12-7-3 so far.
Hull led the LET Solheim Cup points list with 23.68 points from 18 events, nearly 44 points ahead of the third-place player.
The 28-year-old only managed to score one point at Finca Cortesin last year, so she will be keen to play a much bigger role in Europe’s success this time around.
Esther Henseleit (points list)
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The German has had a fantastic 2024, thanks to four top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour, another top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour and – most importantly – an Olympic silver medal in Paris.
The 25-year-old was just behind Hull in the Solheim Cup points list and played four fewer events. She demonstrated her quality with three second places – one of them at Le Golf National.
Esther Henseleit’s consistency has been particularly impressive this season and could benefit Pettersen’s team when the world number 30 makes her Solheim Cup debut at Robert Trent Jones.
Celine Boutier (world ranking)
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Celine Boutier has yet to lose a Solheim Cup as part of Team Europe and has an overall match record of 5-4-1 since her debut in 2019. Team victories then and in 2021 preceded the great draw in 2023.
While Boutier’s overall record is good, her personal record last year was poor: the Frenchwoman lost all three matches she took part in. A somewhat surprising result considering that the current world number 9 had just won her first major title at the Evian Championships.
As the top-ranked European, Boutier hopes to be in better form this time.
Maja Stark (world ranking)
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Maja Stark made the most of her debut opportunity at last year’s Solheim Cup, taking 2.5 points from three matches. The Swede continued her excellent play in 2024, finishing fourth in the LET’s Solheim Cup points standings despite teeing off in just 11 events.
The world number 26 hasn’t exactly had the best two weeks of links golf before the Solheim Cup, but Robert Trent Jones isn’t a links course, so the 24-year-old will probably feel more comfortable there.
Linn Grant (World Ranking)
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Linn Grant played all five matches in her debut last year, winning three and losing two. Since then, she has secured a victory at the LET in the Scandinavian Mixed and four top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.
Just one place behind her compatriot Stark in the Rolex rankings, 25-year-old Grant finished third in the Solheim Cup points list, ahead of her Swedish compatriot.
Leona Maguire (World Ranking)
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Leona Maguire is making her third Solheim Cup appearance and has an incredible 7-2-1 overall record. The Irish star went 3-2 at Finca Cortesin after going unbeaten on her American debut two years earlier, and more inspired performances on US soil this time around will go a long way in helping her continue that winning streak.
Maguire is ranked number 33 in the world and has already demonstrated her match play skills this year, reaching the final of the T-Mobile Match Play, where she lost to American world number 1 Nelly Korda.
Carlota Ciganda (world ranking)
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Carlota Ciganda is already a Solheim Cup legend, having participated in six previous editions and was the heroine of Team Europe the last time in her home country.
The current number 34 in the world rankings defeated Korda on singles Sunday in 2023 with decisive birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to improve her overall record of 11-8-4.
This time, the 34-year-old Spaniard qualified for the team due to her world ranking position – helped by two top-10 finishes on both the LPGA Tour and the LET.
Madelene Sagstrom (world ranking)
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The last woman to make it into the European team on her own was Madelene Sagstrom, number 39 in the world rankings.
Selected as captain in 2023, Sagstrom battled through a three-game battle of one win, one loss and half a point, bringing her overall record to 3-5-1.
2024 will be the 31-year-old’s fourth appearance and third away from home. She hopes to use her experience and three top-10 finishes this year as a boost to help Team Europe win.
Georgia Hall (Wildcard)
Georgia Hall hopes for the 2023 Solheim Cup
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Georgia Hall missed automatic qualification for the 2024 Solheim Cup by just two places in the Rolex rankings, so it made sense for Team Europe captain Pettersen to nominate the Englishwoman as one of her four wildcard picks.
The world number 41 is ready for her fifth appearance and has an overall record of 9-7-1, having achieved 1-2-1 in Spain last year.
After her nomination, Hall said: “I love being part of the European team. This will be my fifth Solheim Cup and it’s always great to be able to represent Europe. When you’ve won the last three and been there, you always want to do it again.”
Anna Nordqvist (Wildcard)
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Anna Nordqvist has been a permanent member of Team Europe since 2009 and will appear in a Solheim Cup for the ninth time, for the second year in a row as vice-captain.
She qualified last year via the Rolex Rankings but needed a wildcard this time because she had five top-15 finishes on both main tours in 2024.
Nordqvist, who won just one of four matches in Spain, said: “There is no greater honour than to represent Europe in the Solheim Cup, so I am delighted to have been selected for my ninth Solheim Cup. This is beyond my wildest childhood dreams.”
Emily Kristine Pedersen (Wildcard)
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At just 28 years old, Emily Kristine Pedersen will be taking part in her fourth Solheim Cup after being selected as captain for the second year in a row. She played in all five sessions last year, going 2-2-1 and has an overall record of 5-6-1.
Pedersen made her debut at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in 2017, where Europe lost, so she will be hoping for revenge seven years later after a season that included two top-10 finishes on both the LPGA Tour and the LET.
She said: “I am delighted to have been selected again. I love Solheim, I love team golf and I am proud to be playing for Europe again. I have always looked up to Suzann and I am delighted to be playing in the Solheim Cup on American soil again.”
Albane Valenzuela (Wildcard)
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Albane Valenzuela is the other European debutant alongside Henseleit, although the Swiss already took part in the Junior Solheim Cup in 2015.
The No. 62 in the world rankings finished tied for fourth at the 2023 Chevron Championship and has two top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour this season. Valenzuela also finished tied for 20th at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Captain Pettersen explained why Valenzuela was on Team Europe’s roster: “It’s fantastic to have Albane on the team. She has played solid golf over the last two years and this year in particular she has proven that she deserves a place on this team. She is a great ball striker and brings a lot of good energy to the team room.”
Captain and Vice-Captains of the Solheim Cup of Team Europe
| name | position |
|---|---|
| Susann Pettersen | captain |
| Laura Davis | Vice Captain |
| Caroline Martens | Vice Captain |
| Mel Reid | Vice Captain |
| Anna Nordqvist | Vice Captain |
