English golfer Charley Hull is buzzing to represent Team Europe at the 2026 Solheim Cup at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands, European captain Anna Nordqvist confirmed on Tuesday ahead of the tournament starting on Friday.
The 30-year-old is set to make her eighth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance as Europe aim to regain the trophy from Angela Stanford's Team USA.
Nordqvist praised Hull for embracing her growing leadership role within the squad during her pre-tournament press conference. "I've been part of basically every single team that Charley's been on and I will say it's been really nice to see how much she is starting to embrace the whole Solheim atmosphere," Nordqvist said.
The European captain added: "I've had multiple conversations with her and it is just nice to see how excited she is. It's just been really nice to see Charley excited and here buzzing about teeing it up this week."
Late arrival and practice tee time delay
Hull was the final European player to arrive at Bernardus Golf, travelling from the United Kingdom on Monday. Nordqvist had flown in on Saturday, while several American-based European players arrived on Sunday.
Nordqvist explained that the travel schedule was tailored to ensure optimal preparation for every member of the team. "In the process leading up to the event, I wanted to make sure that every player got the opportunity to prepare as well for the event," Nordqvist said. "For Charley, we decided that she was going to be better off preparing being in home in England. She flew in yesterday [Monday] but it has been very nice to see her."
Hull was scheduled to start her Tuesday practice round at 9:30am local time alongside teammates Lottie Woad, Maja Stark and Linn Grant. However, she arrived at the tee a couple of minutes late before catching up with her group.
Team Europe vice-captain Mel Reid took partial responsibility for the delay, explaining that Hull lost track of time while practicing on the driving range. "She was late to the tee because I was responsible for her, so I'll take a little bit of responsibility to that," Reid said.
Reid added: "She just thought her tee time was a little bit later. Trying to drag Charley Hull off a driving range is a feat in any tournament, especially a Solheim [Cup]. She was literally late because one, I couldn't drag her off the driving range, and, two, she thought her tee time was five minutes later than it was."
Nordqvist noted that the walk from the practice range to the tee took between five and 10 minutes because the practice group started on the third hole rather than the first hole. "I was on the first tee this morning and obviously I told the first three girls to go, because there's a little bit of a hike given that we start on the third hole and not the course first hole this week," Nordqvist said.
The captain added: "It takes a good, five, 10 minutes to get out there [from the range]. I told the first tee to go ahead and then Charley would just catch up, because we knew she was on the way."
Solheim Cup veteran record and background
Despite being just 30 years old, Hull holds the record for the most match wins in Solheim Cup history by any player before turning 30, with 15 victories. She made her tournament debut in 2013 as a 17-year-old, becoming the youngest player in Solheim Cup history.
Hull finished as Europe's top point-scorer during the 2015 contest and remained unbeaten during Team Europe's victory at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2019. In the 2024 Solheim Cup, Hull delivered the first point of the final day for Europe by dominating world number one Nelly Korda 6&4 in their singles match.
Korda, an American major champion and Olympic gold medalist, was beaten decisively as Hull won six more holes than her opponent with four holes remaining. The victory capped another impressive performance for the English player on golf's biggest team stage.
The Solheim Cup, founded in 1990 and named after golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, is a biennial team competition contested by 12-player teams from Europe and the United States. Bernardus Golf, a heathland course in Cromvoirt in the Netherlands, is hosting the 2026 tournament from September 11 to September 13.
Nordqvist, a three-time major champion from Sweden, is serving as European captain, while former LPGA Tour winner Reid serves as vice-captain. Nordqvist admitted that managing the captaincy responsibilities has been more than expected.
Live broadcast schedule on Sky Sports
Official proceedings begin on Thursday with the opening ceremony at 4:30pm, where the opening-day match pairings will be revealed.
Live television coverage on Sky Sports Golf begins at 6:00am on both Friday and Saturday, with at least 12 hours of live coverage broadcast each day. Morning foursomes matches, where pairs hit alternate shots with a single ball, will tee off at 6:40am (7:40am local time).
Afternoon fourballs sessions, in which all four players play their own ball with the lowest team score counting, are scheduled to start at 12:05pm (1:05pm local time) on both days. Coverage will continue until after the final putt is holed.
Sunday singles coverage starts at 9:00am on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of the opening tee shot at 10:10am. Following the crowning of the Solheim Cup winner, the closing ceremony will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ from 5:30pm.
