Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we break down the Americans’ Solheim Cup victory and look ahead to the most important events remaining in 2024.
The Americans reclaimed the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, beating Europe 15.5-12.5 on Sunday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. What was the difference for the U.S. this time around?
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): The stars showed up. Back in 2019, Lexi and Danielle Kang (two of their top-three players) combined for 2 points. In 2021, that duo combined for 2.5 points. Last year, Rose Zhang only secured a half point, and Lilia Vu, who won two majors last season, earned just a point. This season? Zhang was 4-0! Lauren Coughlin, the hottest U.S. player entering the week, didn’t slow down, finishing 3–0–1 to secure 3.5 points. Throw in three points from Nelly Korda, whose only loss was to a dialed-in Charley Hull on Sunday, and that’s how you win on home soil.
Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Sometimes, it’s as simple as what Josh says above. The best players on the U.S. showed up. An even more strict reading is that they simply held serve. They were the favorite, they have the best players, and they were playing at home. It’s never that simple, but the better team won. That’s not always the case.
Jonathan Wall, managing equipment editor (@jonathanrwall): I concur with my colleagues. The big names showed up and put points on the board in bunches. The odds increase greatly in your favor when the big guns are firing on all cylinders. Thankfully for the Americans, it all came together this week.
Who takes home MVP honors for each team?
Berhow: It’s easy to just pick the top point-earner… but I’m going to pick the top point-earner, especially since Rose Zhang went from earning just a half point last year to 4 this year. And Rose didn’t just win this week, she dominated — 3 and 2, 5 and 4, 6 and 4, and 6 and 4. She never played the final two holes this week, and three of her four matches didn’t make it past the 14th! I’ll give Hull the European MVP. She earned 3 points but, more importantly, took down Nelly Korda in the leadoff match of Sunday singles. If Europe was going to mount a comeback, that had to happen.
Zak: I’ll lean in Megan Khang’s direction for the American honors. She’s the lifeblood of the squad. She gets the best golf out of her bestie, Nelly Korda. She thumped Emily Pedersen in her singles match. And Berhow nailed the European honors. Charley Hull, playing five matches, did everything she could to squeeze out points for the team in blue. Man, she’s fun to watch play golf.
Wall: It has to be Rose Zhang. She continues to live up to the hype on the biggest stages. Team USA was always going to need their stars to step up when it mattered to break the Solheim Cup drought — and Zhang did so when it mattered most. She kept the possibility of an all-time Sunday comeback on ice.
Whose performance were you most surprised by?
Berhow: Surprised might not be the right word, but Lauren Coughlin had a tough assignment this week. She won in each of the past two months and was playing what was essentially a home game, which only added pressure on top of lofty expectations. She delivered, and that’s not easy to do.
Zak: I think Esther Henseleit is the name to watch for 2025. She didn’t go undefeated and didn’t play five matches, but it felt like every time I saw her hit an approach, it was flagged. She never seemed to shy away from the moment, which you love to see from a rookie (and someone who was outside the top 100 in the world at the beginning of 2024). Add it to her silver medal from August, and this could be the summer that really launched a career.
Wall: I’ll go with the event organizers. With an event of this magnitude, you’d think every logistical scenario would have been discussed and analyzed before the opening tee shot on Friday. It was one of the biggest blunders I’ve ever seen.
The U.S. snapped its Solheim Cup slump thanks to this genius strategy
Could European captain Suzann Pettersen have done anything differently? What changes or tweaks might you have made?
Berhow: I don’t think Leona Maguire was thrilled to play just twice after she was a key member of the last two Solheim Cups, but she also wasn’t great in an afternoon four-ball matchup on Friday, which led to her missing all of Saturday. Hard to second-guess too much here. Like I said before, the Americans’ best players did their jobs. And, as Rory McIlroy has told us, it’s really hard to win these team events on the road.
Zak: It’s funny. The majority of this European team was at last year’s Solheim Cup, where they won. So we’ve changed location and we’ve changed a few players and earned a slightly different result. What gives? Not much is the answer. I’m not sure she needed to do anything different. The Euros won 1.5 fewer points this year. That can come down to randomness.
Wall: I hate second-guessing the captains in the aftermath of defeat. They’re trying to make the best decisions at the moment, even if they seem like the wrong ones after the fact. As Josh mentioned, only trotting out Leona Maguire twice in three days is an odd one. She was a key cog in the last triumph for the Europeans and could’ve helped stop the bleeding when things went sideways during team play. Her comments on social media confirmed she wasn’t happy with the decision. I don’t blame her.
Friday’s first day was marred by transportation issues, which left hundreds of fans stranded for hours in the parking lot and forced them to miss the opening tee shots. What’s your take on the snafu and the LPGA’s reaction to it?
Berhow: We covered this extensively here, but it sounds like the weekend was much better. How this happens on the first tournament day of the LPGA’s biggest event of the year is still a head-scratcher, but I’m glad things were fixed for Saturday and Sunday and it wasn’t a storyline.
Zak: It’s really unfortunate. It made me really sad to see photos and videos stream across social media of thousands of people who wanted to watch women’s golf but couldn’t. Clearly, the LPGA made appropriate changes over the weekend, but you simply cannot make a mistake that big and kill one of the greatest vibes in all of golf: Friday morning on the 1st tee.
Wall: Before last week, the worst transportation debacle I ever witnessed was the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. It took over two hours to go 10 miles on a media shuttle. Some tournament-goers got so frustrated, they decided to walk to their cars. The Solheim Cup debacle was on another level. How the LPGA allowed things to go from bad to worse on Friday is baffling. I feel bad for everyone who showed up and waited in line for hours, only to watch the opening tee shots on their phone. That should never happen at an event of this magnitude.
Our Dylan Dethier broke down the key events still remaining in 2024. Which are you most excited for?
Berhow: The Hero and PNC Challenge took a hit if Tiger Woods isn’t healthy enough to play following his latest back surgery, but it’s got to be the Presidents Cup. The PGA Tour vs. LIV match is an intriguing angle, but I’ve grown bored of those manufactured made-for-TV events.
Zak: I’ll select the Dunhill Links, played out over three courses on the east coast of Scotland. And not just with the typical DP World Tour crowd. This year’s Dunhill is going to have Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and a number of the best European pros. And for the folks who are ready to turn over to football viewing season, that’s OK! The Dunhill will mostly be in the morning time. Coffee golf lives on!
Wall: The RSM Classic is a sneaky-good event. Guys are cagey because their job is on the line, and it’s tough to beat Sea Island in the fall.
