LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Charley Hull and AIG Women’s British Open runner-up Esther Henseleit spearheaded the list of eight golfers who automatically qualified for the European Solheim Cup team ahead of next month’s matches in the Netherlands.
The names were finalized Sunday following the Women’s British at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. The team will be completed Monday when captain Anna Nordqvist announces her four wildcard selections at 10 a.m. ET. The biennial contest between the U.S. and Europe is set for Sept. 11-13, at the Bernadus Golf Club in the Netherlands. The U.S. won the 2024 matches in Virginia and will finalize its team later this month.
The top two European qualifiers came from the Ladies European Tour’s Solheim Cup points list, and six spots were taken by the top European players on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
The names, however, all moved slightly at the last possible moment.
Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini appeared in the second position on the points list but when Germany’s Henseleit drained her 40-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Women’s British to get into a playoff she moved into the second automatic spot. With Henseleit moving from one category to the other, that left Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen to move into the last of the six qualifying spots from Rolex Rankings.
Lottie Woad (England), Maja Stark (Sweden), Celine Boutier (France), Carlota Ciganda (Spain) and Linn Grant (Sweden) will join Hull, Henseleit and Madsen. Woad is the only player among the eight who has not played in a Solheim Cup.
Hull entered the Women’s British Open having already locked up the No. 1 European spot via the LET, courtesy of her victory at the PIF Saudi Ladies International earlier this year and top-20 results at the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas and the Evian Championship in France. She and Ciganda will both be playing in their eighth Solheim Cup.
Nordqvist, the captain, undoubtedly is one of the 12 best players in Europe but has said all along that she will not pick herself to play on the team. She has played on nine teams and has amassed a 17-15-3 career record.
“I’m playing good,” said Nordqvist, who tied for 29th place at the Women’s British. “I’m not going to pick myself, but I feel like my golf is good enough to be up there with the girls. I hope that’s going to give a little bit of respect.