Anna Nordqvist and Angela Stanford, the European and United States Captains, have announced their pairings for the Friday morning foursomes matches, which will officially see the 20th Solheim Cup tee off at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
The first tee will be buzzing with anticipation as fans await the biggest stars in golf. In the opening match at 7.40am, Europe’s top two ranked players, Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, ranked eighth and seventh in the Rolex Rankings respectively, will play against World No.1 Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz of the United States (32nd).
Captain Stanford said: “With Allisen and Nelly’s history, they seem to have a nice rapport about them. I felt like they’ve earned the right to go out first.
“We can talk about Nelly and her being the number one player in the world but don’t sleep on Allisen. I’ve called her the backbone of our team and she’s pretty tough. That dynamic, there’s a lot of good things going on in that pairing and they complement each other pretty well.”
Nordqvist said: “First out, but it’s such a big picture. We’ve got three days. Charley has been such a great player at this event over the years. This is her eighth Solheim Cup, and it’s really grown on her. She and Carlota are the most experienced players. She has been buzzing.
“Charley is a really fun player to be around with banter and I couldn’t wait to play her soon enough. As soon as she got here, she’s ready to tee it up on Friday. Her and Lottie have played together quite a bit on tour this year, so they are both very excited to be here.”
In the second match at 7.52am, Dane Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Céline Boutier of France will play against Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin.
“Nanna and Céline wanted to play together, they played on the LPGA together this year. I really liked the pairing and they’re good friends,” Nordqvist continued.
The third match at 8.04am features Esther Henseleit of Germany and Irishwoman Leona Maguire, who will face Andrea Lee and Lindy Duncan.
Stanford continued: “For us to get Lindy out there in her first match… Andrea is very steady and is the best driver of the golf ball on tour. To get Lindy out there and have some steadiness, that was key. They are a pretty even keel. Now, I see Andrea as a veteran, so we’ll get her out there and get her feet wet.”
In the fourth match at 8.16am, Swedes Maja Stark and Linn Grant will face Rose Zhang and Jennifer Kupcho.
“Maja and Linn have played so much amateur golf together and they’re really good friends, so that was another pairing that felt natural,” said Nordqvist.
“It’s a team event. It’s obviously a hard choice. You try to make sure you find the pairings that the players enjoy and that they play their best. We’ll see what happens.”
Nordqvist has played in the last nine Solheim Cups but, having recently retired from the game, she will now be leading her players as a non-playing captain and living up to her mantra of ‘All In, All Heart, All Team’, as they compete to reclaim the Solheim Cup.
The European Captain added: “It’s definitely going to be a different feeling. I said earlier in the week on Monday, going through that tunnel to the first tee, I’m going to miss this, because it’s the best feeling you can have in your career, hitting that tee shot. I’m going to embrace it differently this year.
“It will be nice to be there in a supporting role and it’s not just always about you. There are so many ways to embrace golf and so many ways to find golf rewarding. This week, seeing things come together, thriving and being happy. Ultimately, it’s a great experience and I’m so grateful I got to play in nine Solheim Cups. Come Sunday, I’ll always look back at this week and be grateful I had the opportunity to be the captain of this team.”
Leave a comment