Solheim Cup captain’s picks: Here’s who’s in and who’s out

For those who think the pro-golf calendar is winding down, buckle up. We’re just getting started on the team golf portion of the schedule, with both the Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup scheduled for the next few weeks. 

Up first is the biennial women’s competition between Europe and the United States, played for the second year in a row (the event is shifting to be played in even-numbered years). It will be difficult to top the excitement from last year’s Cup, where Spaniard Carlota Ciganda toppled Nelly Korda to win in her homeland, in front of the King of Spain, no less

This time around the Americans will be hosting at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, just outside Washington D.C. And now that the major championship season has passed, the qualification period is over, and this week has been all about captain’s picks. 

On Monday morning, European captain Suzann Petersen finalized her roster, selecting Georgia Hall, Anna Nordqvist, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Albane Valenzuela. They’ll join a group of eight automatic qualifiers who have been thriving lately:

Charley Hull, Ester Henseleit, Celine Boutier, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, Maja Stark, Linn Grant and Madelene Sagstrom. 

The only remaining pieces for the competition needed to come from U.S. captain Stacy Lewis, who took the stage Tuesday in Boston to choose her three captain’s picks. Up first: Jennifer Kupcho, a major champion who will play in her third Solheim Cup. Second was Sarah Schmelzel, a 30-year-old Solheim rookie.

For her final pick, Lewis selected Lexi Thompson, who may come as a slight surprise. Thompson is in the waning stages of her career, having announced her intentions to step away from a full competitive schedule a few months ago. Thompson showed off some good form in the middle of the summer, contending at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but was ranked 14th in the Solheim Cup standings. She was by no means a shoo-in. But Lewis looked at a roster and saw a need for experience. 

“The Lexi Thompson that shows up at Solheim Cup is even different than week-in and week-out,” Lewis said. “I know that’s what I’m going to get out of her. She’s going to be more prepared than anybody. She’s going to lead this group by her actions and the way she goes about her business and how she prepares. That’s what I want with a young group, to have some experience there.”

Thompson struggled in the lead-up to last year’s Solheim Cup but starred in southern Spain, where she went 3-1. This will be her seventh (and likely final) Solheim Cup appearance as a player. 

As with every captain’s pick, there are always worthy players left on the outside looking in. This year the most surprising absentee is Angel Yin, who was a captain’s pick last year and won two out of three matches. Cheyenne Knight, who was also a captain’s pick last year, also was left out. The automatic qualifiers for Team USA, which includes eight of the top 30 in the world, are as follows:

Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Ally Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang, Alison Lee and Megan Khang. 

The Solheim Cup will be played Sept. 13-15.