It’s officially captain’s picks season here in pro golf, with Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup teams being finalized over the next few days. Up first is the women’s event, the Solheim Cup, where U.S. captain Stacy Lewis made three selections Monday to round out her American roster.
Joining the nine Americans who qualified automatically will be Angel Yin, Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight, all ranked in the world top 50. Yin nearly won a major championship earlier this spring when she lost in a playoff at the Chevron Championship. Ewing has featured in each of the last two Solheim Cups, both losses by the Americans, while Knight won the LPGA team event, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, last month.
With those three picks, the United States team is now official. Suiting up for the red, white and blue will be:
Lilia Vu (No. 1 in the world)
Nelly Korda (No. 2)
Allisen Corpus (No. 8)
Megan Khang (No. 27)
Jennifer Kupcho (No. 28)
Danielle Kang (No. 30)
Lexi Thompson (No. 21)
Rose Zhang (No. 31)
Andrea Lee (No. 43)
Angel Yin (No. 32)
Ally Ewing (No. 34)
Cheyenne Knight (No. 44)
Notably left off the list is Alison Lee, who ranked 10th in the Solheim Cup standings, largely on the back of her T11 finish at the Women’s Open Championship earlier this month. Lee is ranked 54th in the world, but was a member of the victorious 2015 Solheim Cup squad, going 1-3.
This American announcement comes one day before United States Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson makes six captain’s picks for the upcoming Cup in Rome. It also comes one week after the European Solheim team was finalized by captain and Solheim Cup legend Suzann Pettersen.
Pettersen chose Madelene Sagstrom, Gemma Dryburgh, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Caroline Hedwall to join the blue and yellow. The following players (and their world ranking) will compete for Europe three weeks from now.
Celine Boutier (No. 3 in the world)
Maja Stark (No 40)
Charley Hull (No. 9)
Leona Maguire (No. 14)
Georgia Hall (No. 16)
Linn Grant (No. 19)
Carlota Ciganda (No. 33)
Anna Nordqvist (No. 37)
Madeline Sagstrom (No. 42)
Gemma Dryburgh (No. 48)
Emily Kristine Pedersen (No. 114)
Caroline Hedwall (No. 120)
