Solheim Cup: European Team profiles
Wednesday 26 August 2015 11:57, UK
We take a look at who features in Carin Koch's European side ahead of the 2015 Solheim Cup, being held at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club this September.
Carin Koch - Captain
Winning two Solheim Cups as a player, the Swede now looks to lead Europe to a record third straight victory. Koch won all three of her fixtures during her first appearance in 2000 and featured in the next three sides, before acting as a vice-captain to Liselotte Neumann in 2013.
Annika Sorenstam - Vice-captain
As one of the sport's female greats, Sorenstam will assist the European side for a third Solheim Cup in a row. At one stage the all-time highest point scorer in tournament history, the 44-year-old made eight appearances before retiring from playing in 2008. With 10 major titles and eight Solheim Cup appearances on a glittering CV, the Swede's experience will once again be invaluable.
Sophie Gustafson - Vice-captain
Starring in eight consecutive Solheim Cups, the Swede won all four of her matches during her final appearance in 2011. She returns to the position she held two years ago, where she played an important role behind the scenes in Europe's title defence.
Maria McBride (formerly Hjorth) – Vice-captain
She registered six victories from her 21 matches during five Solheim Cup appearances, but failed to win any of her singles matches over the years. It will be her first time in the back room for the European Cup team.
Suzann Pettersen
The Norwegian star is making her eighth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance, having claimed a 21st career victory earlier in the year at the Manulife LPGA Classic. Pettersen looked on course to win her a third major title at July's Ricoh Women's British Open, but had to settle for a share of fifth after stuttering over the weekend. The 34-year-old world No 7 won both of her Friday morning foursomes in 2013 to help Europe get off to a strong start.
Gwladys Nocera
Having missed out on selection in the previous two tournaments, the Frenchwoman automatically qualifies this time around to make her first appearance since 2009. Two wins last year followed by victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup has seen the 40-year-old rise up the rankings, with Nocera now hoping to be part of a winning Solheim cup side for the first time at the fourth attempt.
Charley Hull
The teenager became the youngest player in Solheim Cup history when the then 17-year-old was chosen as a captain's picks two years ago. Her performance in Colorado, where she thrashed Paula Creamer in the Sunday singles, was a big factor in her being crowned Rookie of the Year, before she went on to win the Ladies European Tour's order of merit in her second season. One of the rising stars of the sport.
Melissa Reid
Reid wasn't selected two years ago, but a wire-to-wire win at the Turkish Airlines Open and a six way tie for fifth at the Tipsport Golf Masters saw her overtake Anna Nordqvist by 1.78 points to secure an automatic pick for Germany. In her only Solheim Cup appearance back in 2011 the rookie lost three of her four matches, but won her foursomes convincingly with a 4&3 victory over Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang with her partner Laura Davies.
Carlotta Ciganda
Ciganda won all three matches in her first Solheim Cup appearance in 2013, which included a controversial ruling decision when playing alongside Suzann Petterson. She was voted Rookie of the year in 2013, and won the European Tour Money list in the same year. While she was lying sixth in the Solheim Cup standings she hasn't had the easiest year, her best finish being fourth in the Ana International but failing to make the cut in the other three majors played so far this year.
Azahara Munoz
The world No 23 will play in her third successive Solheim Cup, having accumulated four-and-a-half points over eight matches played in Ireland and Colorado. The Spaniard was lying 10th in Solheim Cup points list and qualified through the Rolex Rankings. She has had four top 10 finishes in 2015, with her last two results being 21st and fifth in the Canadian Pacific Women's Open and the Cambia Portland Classic respectively.
Sandra Gal
Having missed out on selection in Colorado, Gal qualified through her Rolex rankings to reappear in the Solheim Cup team for the second time. Although only picking up half a point from her three matches in Ireland, the German player has had a steady run of results in 2015 and will be hoping to have an advantage on her home soil.
Anna Nordqvist
Nordqvist narrowly missed out on a first qualification spot, being less than two points behind Melissa Reid. The world No 10 qualified through Rolex rankings and having had eight top 10s this season is in very good form ahead of her fourth Solheim Cup. She will be hoping to improve her Solheim record, as the Swede is yet to win a singles match, having lost twice to Morgan Pressel in 2009 and 2011 and halving with Stacey Lewis in 2013.
Catriona Matthew
Solheim veteran Cartiona Matthews has played in the last seven consecutive Cups, only missing selection in 2002 after her rookie appearance in 1998. While 2013 produced her worst results with two losses and two halves, the half proved all-important as her draw with Gerina Piller won the Europeans the trophy outright with a par on the 18th in Colorado.
Caroline Hedwall
After clinching an important singles win against Michelle Wie in 2013 to retain the trophy (before Catriona Matthew's half won the trophy) her impressive Solheim Record speaks for itself. She broke records in 2013 to become the only player ever to go 5-0 in a Solheim Cup, and in total has seven-and-a-half points from nine games in her two Solheim appearances - the first being in 2011. She is the only European team member to be ranked outside the top 100 in the Rolex rankings.
Caroline Masson
The German player will make her second Solheim Cup appearance having played a part in the winning team in Colorado in 2013. She lost her singles match 4&3 against Lexi Thompson on the final day, but her team-mates had already secured the victory. Masson has had a mixed bag of results this season, having missed seven cuts but achieving five top 20 finishes and will be hoping to regain form to play in her home country.
Karine Icher
Icher has played in two previous Solheim Cups, being part of the 2013 winning team and the 2002 losing team in Minnesota. She has played seven matches in the Solheim Cup, totalling three-and-a-half points and failing as yet to win a singles match. This will be the French woman's first Solheim Cup team appearance on European Soil. She finished ninth in the recent Canadian Women's Open, her best result in 2015.
