2017 Solheim Cup
| Dates | August 14–20, 2017 | ||||
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| Venue | Des Moines Golf and Country Club | ||||
| Location | West Des Moines, Iowa | ||||
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The 2017 Solheim Cup is the 15th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, being held August 14–20 at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa. The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States. It is a three-day match play event between teams of twelve players with a similar format to the Ryder Cup. Juli Inkster will captain the U.S. team for the second time and Annika Sörenstam will captain the European team for the first time.[1]
The United States is the defending team, having won the cup in 2015.
Format
The Solheim Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The format is as follows:
- Day 1 (Friday): Four foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and four fourball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
- Day 2 (Saturday): Four foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and four fourball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
- Day 3 (Sunday): 12 singles matches. All 12 players from each team participate.
With a total of 28 points, 14½ points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes. If the score is even after 18 holes, each team earns one-half point.
Teams
Eligibility criteria
The United States and European teams have different eligibility criteria:
Team USA
Members of the United States team must be current members of the LPGA Tour and meet one of these three citizenship criteria:
- U.S. citizens by birth, regardless of their birthplace.
- Those who were naturalized as U.S. citizens before age 18.
- Those who became U.S. citizens by adoption before age 13.[2]
Team Europe
Members of the European team must:
- be current members of the Ladies European Tour in any category or membership;
- have played in six Ranking Events during the Qualifying Period as a member of the LET, unless selected as a Captain's pick (provided she is otherwise eligible);
- must be a "European national", defined by Solheim Cup rules as someone:[3]
Either:
(i) born in a European country; and
(ii) holding a current passport of that European country;
Or:
(i) having been naturalised as a citizen of a European country;
(ii) having held a current passport of that European country for the immediately preceding four consecutive years;
(iii) having resided in that European country for the immediately preceding four consecutive years.
A European country is a nation situated in the continent of Europe and is recognised as an independent state by the United Nations.Any player who holds dual nationality (of which one shall be the nationality of a European country) shall elect on joining the LET in each of 2015 and 2016 whether she wishes to be eligible for selection for the 2017 European Solheim Cup Team.
See also
References
- ^ "Annika Sorenstam named 2017 European Solheim Cup captain". ESPN. Associated Press. March 31, 2016.
- ^ "Solheim eligibility criteria changing for U.S. team". Golf Channel. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ^ "Team Qualification Criteria". Solheim Cup. Retrieved August 12, 2015.