Lexi Thompson leads trio of captains’ picks for Solheim Cup | Golf news and tour information
U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis made the final three selections for next month’s contest against Europe, announcing Tuesday morning that she has selected Jennifer Kupcho, Sarah Schmelzel and Lexi Thompson as her captain’s picks to complete the 12-man squad.
The Americans are in a crucial position to end their longest-ever losing streak after failing to win the transatlantic clash with Europe in three consecutive matches. Europe managed to defend the Cup in Spain last year when the teams drew. This year’s American squad is more experienced, with only two players, Lauren Coughlin and Schmelzel, making their Solheim debut Sept. 13-15 at Robert Trent Jones Jr. Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, compared to five American rookies last time out.
“My feeling is we left (Spain) with some unfinished business and a pretty cool opportunity that Suzann (Pettersen, Europe’s captain) and I have. I feel like we’re going to settle the score here, so to speak,” Lewis said. “And she probably doesn’t see it that way, but I think for our players it was great to be so close together, just to keep it in their memory. I don’t think any of them have forgotten what happened in Spain.”
The Solheim Cup will be held for the second year in a row, as the competition will now be held in even-numbered years.
Lewis pointed out that Kupcho’s stock has risen with her best finish of the season in the Dow Championship in the two-person team, where she tied for second with fellow American Ally Ewing in a preview of potential pairings. Although the duo have been on the last two Solheim squads, they have never played together in a team session. Lewis hinted that could change this time around. Kupcho, a three-time LPGA winner at 27, could be a key factor in the Americans’ victory, as she was the team’s top scorer at Inverness in 2021, going 2-1-1 the last time the Solheim Cup was held in the States.
Schmelzel earned the award with a solid season, and Lewis called her one of the most consistent players on tour. She has six top-10 finishes, tied with Ewing for third on the list and only surpassed by the all-powerful Nelly Korda and Lauren Coughlin with seven. The stats-oriented Lewis pointed out that Schmelzel is in the top 10 on the LPGA in bogey avoidance and the 30-year-old has earned her spot on the team.
“Experience” was Lewis’ first word when describing why she picked Thompson. The six-time Solheim veteran received her first captain’s pick to win a Cup. The 29-year-old, soon to be semi-retired when Thompson announced she would retire from full-time play at the end of 2024, rebounded from a challenging 2023 season in which she scored no Solheim points to a season more in line with expectations for the 11-time winner. Thompson lost in a playoff in June for a chance at her first win in six years at the Meijer LPGA Classic and has four top-10 finishes this year.
These are consecutive cups in which only two players from the USA have won a Solheim tournament: Alison Lee triumphed in her only previous appearance in 2015 and Thompson won in 2015 and 2017.
Angel Yin was arguably the first woman to be cut from the roster. The two-time veteran followed up with a runner-up finish at the Portland Classic and a T-10 at the AIG Women’s Open in August. Her early-season ankle injury kept her out of action until April, and she missed five of eight cuts through August. Danielle Kang and Cheyenne Knight also did not return from the 2023 roster.
