Anna Nordqvist will captain Team Europe against Angela Stanford's Team USA at the 2026 Solheim Cup at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. The tournament takes place from September 11 to 13, 2026. Nordqvist makes her debut as European captain after nine consecutive appearances as a player, having also served as a vice-captain during the last two contests. The Swedish veteran succeeds Suzann Pettersen, who led Europe in back-to-back editions in 2023 and 2024.
Nordqvist selected Caroline Hedwall and Mel Reid as her vice-captains for the 2026 contest. Hedwall has represented Europe as a player on five occasions, while Reid has competed four times and acted as vice-captain in 2019 and 2024.
Stanford takes over from Stacy Lewis to captain Team USA in their title defence. The 47-year-old former major champion featured six times for Team USA and was part of three winning teams, with her last appearance seeing her part of a comeback victory on European soil in 2015. Stanford served as an assistant captain for the last three editions, including both contests under Lewis. Stanford announced Kristy McPherson and Paula Creamer as vice-captains, and added five-time Solheim Cup player Brittany Lang as an assistant captain on June 3.
European Roster and Qualifiers
Team Europe confirmed its line-up following the conclusion of the European qualification period at the 2026 AIG Women's Open, played at Royal Lytham & St Annes, on August 2. The qualification period began at the 2024 La Sella Open, awarding automatic spots to the top two players on the Ladies European Tour Solheim Cup points list and the next six available via the world rankings.
Charley Hull topped the Ladies European Tour points list to secure her eighth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance. Esther Henseleit pipped Chiara Tamburlini to second by 0.9 points after her runner-up finish at the final women's major of the year. England's Lottie Woad will make her debut as the highest-ranked European in the world rankings, having won on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour over the past 13 months since turning professional.
Sweden's Maja Stark and Linn Grant return for their third consecutive Solheim Cups, with France's Celine Boutier, Spain's Carlota Ciganda and Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen also qualifying automatically. Nordqvist announced Ireland's Leona Maguire as one of her four wild card picks, along with three debutants: Spain's Julia Lopez Ramirez, France's Nastasia Nadaud and England's Mimi Rhodes.
United States Team and Qualification
The qualification campaign for Team USA began at the 2024 FM Championship and will end following the 2026 CPKC Women's Open, held from August 20 to 23, where the nine automatic qualifiers will be confirmed. The top seven players on the Solheim Cup list at the end of the qualifying period, based on points accumulated from all ranking events, secure automatic spots. The next top two players on the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings not already qualified will also earn spots, while the captain will have three picks to complete her line-up.
Angel Yin and Jennifer Kupcho have already scored enough points to definitely be in the top seven on the Solheim Cup list, leaving 10 more qualification spots available for Team USA.
Netherlands Venue and Schedule
The 2026 contest heads to the Netherlands for the first time, with Bernardus Golf confirmed as the venue. Located in Cromvoirt, close to Eindhoven, the Championship course was designed by American golf course architect Kyle Phillips and previously hosted the Dutch Open on the DP World Tour. The course is described as a "heathland golf course with tricky water hazards, a compact layout, an architecturally stunning clubhouse and world-class practice facilities."
The Solheim Cup is back to even-numbered years to avoid clashing with the Ryder Cup, which moved to odd-numbered years after being postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The shift resulted in back-to-back Solheim Cups in 2023 and 2024, but it now reverts to a biennial contest. The 2028 edition is set to take place at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, 20 years after hosting the Ryder Cup, while host courses for future contests after 2028 have yet to be announced.
Solheim Cup History and Format
The Solheim Cup is a three-day competition played between teams of 12 players from the USA and Europe. Launched in 1990, the event was named in honour of Karsten and Louise Solheim and family, the founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, which makes PING golf equipment.
There are 28 matches played over three days under three different types of match play: foursomes, fourballs and singles, with each match worth one point. The team that reaches 14.5 points first will win the Solheim Cup. Two sessions of foursomes each contain four matches of two European golfers against a pair from the USA, where team members alternate shots using one ball.
Fourballs also features two golfers from each team competing, but each player uses their own ball, with the lowest score from each pair counting towards their total in that match. All players compete in the Sunday singles, where every member from the USA team plays against a European opponent in a head-to-head contest.
Recap of the 2024 Contest
Team USA won the last Solheim Cup, withstanding a final-day fightback from Team Europe to claim a 15.5-12.5 victory at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club and win the trophy for the first time since 2017. Lewis' side took a 10-6 advantage into the Sunday singles, leaving them requiring 4.5 points for victory. Megan Khang, Allisen Corpuz and Rose Zhang all posted big wins to move Team USA closer to their target.
Charley Hull led from the front to thrash world number one Nelly Korda 6&4 to post the first point of the day for Europe, while Georgia Hall also claimed a big win. Celine Boutier and Leona Maguire won their matches to move Europe closer to the 14 points required to win for the fourth time in a row. At that stage, seven matches were left on the course either tied or in favour of Europe.
Lilia Vu secured the half-point needed for victory when she won her final two holes to tie against rookie Albane Valenzuela. Tickets are on general sale for both grounds passes and hospitality for the 2026 event. Viewers can watch Team Europe's bid to regain the trophy exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf from September 11 to 13.
