Best Solheim Cup captain’s picks of all time

Often debated by fans and the media, captain’s picks can make or break a national team.

Do you go for the hot hand or a player with past success in the event? What about the team room, how will a player fit in? Who can they be paired with? It’s an intriguing additional element to already exciting events.

The history of captain’s picks is different for each national team event. The Solheim Cup, for example, began in 1990 but it wasn’t until 1998 that both the Americans and Europeans used a team format of automatic qualifiers and captain’s picks to determine their 12-player rosters. Different styles have been used across the 13 matches since, but there’s been one constant: the Europeans use far more picks.

Since 1998 the Europeans have made 56 captain’s picks compared to the 27 made by the U.S. The Americans made only two captain’s picks from 1998-2021, where they took three. This year’s matches at Finca Cortesin in Spain, Sept. 22-24, mark the first U.S. team to use six captain’s picks, whereas their European counterparts began making six captain’s picks in 2021.

That got us thinking, who have been some of the better selections over the years, and how crucial a role have they played?

Carin Koch and Catrin Nilsmark of Europe celebrate during the morning Foursomes match at the 2000 Solheim Cup played at the Loch Lomond GC, Loch Lomond, Scotland. Picture: Stuart Franklin. (Photo: Allsport)

We start in 2000, where a trio of late additions led the charge for the Europeans en route to a 14½-11½ win. The Europeans made five captains picks, and three earned 3 points: Carin Koch (3-0-0), Catrin Nilsmark (3–0–0), and Janice Moodie (3–1–0).

The U.S. won Sunday Singles, 7-5, but it was Nilsmark, Koch and Moodie who claimed three of the last four points to seal the deal for the European win and stop the American comeback.

Annika Sorenstam and Carin Koch smile as they walk down the fairway during the friday morning foursome matches for the 2002 Solheim Cup matches between USA and Europe held at the Interlachen Golf Club in Edina, Minnesota, USA on September 20, 2002. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

In her second start as a captain’s pick, Koch improved on her debut with a dominant 4½-point showing thanks to a 4–0–1 record. The Swede was a lone bright spot that week for Team Europe, as just two players earned more than two points (Annika Sorenstam, 3½).