Solheim Cup Results – Results of the game over the years
Since the first Solheim Cup in 1990, there have been 18 editions of the biennial competition, each with 12 teams from the USA and Europe.
More than three decades later, the two have been involved in some dramatic confrontations. Here’s how the drama has unfolded over the years.
The first Solheim Cup was played at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, where Kathy Whitworth’s US team won a convincing 11.5-4.5 point victory over Mickey Walker’s Team Europe.
Team USA led by Kathy Whitworth won the first Solheim Cup
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Two years later, Europe, again with Walker at the helm, took revenge at the Dalmahoy Country Club in Edinburgh.
The hosts did not have high hopes at the start of the match, as Whitworth’s superstar team was expected to be even more dominant than in the first game. However, against all expectations, the Europeans won with a stunning score of 11.5-6.5, pulling off arguably the biggest upset in Solheim Cup history.
Team Europe won against all expectations in 1992
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That seemed to set the tone for a chequered battle over the years, with home advantage seemingly proving decisive. But things were much more one-sided towards the end of the 1998 competition, after the United States responded to its first Solheim Cup loss by reeling off three straight wins to take a 4-1 overall lead just eight years into the tournament’s existence.
In 2000, the match was played in Scotland again, this time at Loch Lomond Golf Club. But if US fans were citing recent history as a reason for their confidence, they were shocked on the first morning when the Europeans took a 4-0 lead in the foursome. As the match progressed, it became increasingly close, but in the end the Europeans won 14.5-11.5 to win the Solheim Cup for the second time.
Two years later, the United States reclaimed the trophy on home soil at the Interlachen Country Club, but it was a close match that ended 15.5-12.5, suggesting that early U.S. dominance in the category was coming to an end.
This impression was reinforced when the Europeans achieved another major victory in Sweden in 2003 with a score of 17.5:10.5.
The European team won clearly in 2003
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It was short-lived, however. Still searching for its first victory in the USA, Team Europe fell again in 2005, this time at Crooked Stick Golf Club, as Nancy Lopez’s hosts beat Catrin Nismark’s Team Europe 15.5-12.5.
The USA recorded its third victory in Europe in 2007. The Americans won again in 2009, this time at Rich Harvest Farms. The teams went into Sunday’s singles match tied at 8-8, but the USA won comfortably 16-12 to take an 8-3 overall lead from the start of play.
Beth Daniel led the USA to victory in 2009
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The tide turned decisively at Killeen Castle in 2011, when the Europeans overcame a deficit in the final hour of Sunday’s singles to claim their fourth victory since the start of the Solheim Cup, this time by 15-13.
Two years later, Team Europe achieved a real breakthrough with its first success in the USA: it defended the Cup with a convincing 18-10 victory at the Colorado Golf Club and reduced the overall gap to 8-5.
The USA struck back with victories of their own in 2015 and 2017, the first of which was the closest game in history at 14.5-13.5 in Germany.
The 2019 match ushered in the current era of European dominance, albeit with another extremely close 14.5-13.5 victory at Gleneagles.
Team Europe’s victory in 2019 marked the beginning of the current era of success
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Catriona Matthews’ team then defended the trophy with only its second win in the USA in 2021, before the first draw between the two teams (14:14) took place at Finca Cortesin in 2023.
Since the early days of the Solheim Cup, when the United States largely dominated, the situation has evened out considerably over the decades, with the United States holding a narrow 10-8 lead overall at the 19th edition, which will take place in September at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.
Solheim Cup results: 1990–2023
| Year | Winning team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Team USA | 11.5-4.5 |
| 1992 | Team Europe | 11.5-6.5 |
| 1994 | Team USA | 13-7 |
| 1996 | Team USA | 17-11 |
| 1998 | Team USA | 16-12 |
| 2000 | Team Europe | 14.5-11.5 |
| 2002 | Team USA | 15.5-12.5 |
| 2003 | Team Europe | 17.5-10.5 |
| 2005 | Team USA | 15.5-12.5 |
| 2007 | Team USA | 16-12 |
| 2009 | Team USA | 16-12 |
| 2011 | Team Europe | 15-13 |
| 2013 | Team Europe | 18-10 |
| 2015 | Team USA | 14.5-13.5 |
| 2017 | Team USA | 16.5-11.5 |
| 2019 | Team Europe | 14.5-13.5 |
| 2021 | Team Europe | 15-13 |
| 2023 | Team Europe | 14-14 |
