The 2023 Solheim Cup heads to Spain for the first time Sept. 22-24 and a number of new faces might make their debuts at Finca Cortesin. Much can happen between now and then, of course, but U.S. captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen have several impressive rookies already the mix.
The selection criteria is different for the two teams. Team USA takes the top seven players from the Solheim Cup points list (points are doubled next year), plus the next two highest-ranked players off the Rolex Rankings. Lewis gets three captain’s picks.
Team Europe takes only the top two players off its points list plus six LET members off the Rolex Rankings not already qualified. Pettersen will receive four captain’s picks.
Right now, Carlota Ciganda seems to be the only Spanish native with a chance to make the team, though Azahara Munoz recently returned from maternity leave and could make a run. Munoz is a veteran of five Solheim Cups and most recently competed in 2019.
Other players not listed below but worth keeping an eye on include: Hawaii’s Allisen Corpuz, California’s Alison Lee, Yealimi Noh, and Mina Harigae, Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden and Germany’s Leonie Harm.
TEAM USA
American golf bags at the 2019 Solheim Cup at the Gleneagles Hotel in Gleneagles, Scotland, on September 12, 2019. (Photo by Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)
Lexi Thompson
Lexi Thompson at the 2021 Solheim Cup. (Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports)
A veteran of five Solheim Cups, Lexi Thompson has an overall record of 6-6-7. Though Thompson hasn’t won on the LPGA since 2019, she currently leads the U.S. points list.
Jennifer Kupcho
Jennifer Kupcho of Team USA reacts after their win on the 17th hole during the Foursomes Match on day two of the Solheim Cup at the Inverness Club on September 05, 2021 in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Jennifer Kupcho, a three-time winner this year, made her Solheim Cup debut last year at Inverness and put together a 2-1-1 record. Kupcho won 2.5 points with Lizette Salas as a partner. The pair won together this year at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational team event.
Nelly Korda
Ally Ewing of Team USA and Nelly Korda of Team USA react on the 16th green during the Foursomes Match on day one of the Solheim Cup at the Inverness Club on September 04, 2021 in Toledo, Ohio….
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