Dewi Weber was ineligible to play for Team Europe at the 2026 Solheim Cup in the Netherlands, despite a career-best season, because she is not a member of the Ladies European Tour.
The biennial contest takes place at Bernardus Golf near Den Bosch from September 11-13, with Anna Nordqvist captaining Team Europe as it bids to regain the trophy after losing to Team USA in 2024.
Weber pushed herself into contention at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship earlier this summer, when a tied-third finish lifted her from outside the world's top 200 to a career-high world No 82.
How Weber learned she was ineligible
Weber said she only realised the problem when Nordqvist texted her to ask whether she was an LET Tour member. "I was aware of it the second I got a text from Anna, who was asking, 'are you an LET team member?' I said no," Weber told Sky Sports at the AIG Women's Open. "Then the goal just became, 'well, then you've got to win' and was the goal since."
To be offered LET membership, Weber needed to win one of the three remaining qualifying events. She missed the cut at the Amundi Evian Championship, then finished tied-44th at both the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and the AIG Women's Open.
Weber on a tough qualifying stretch
"Obviously Evian definitely didn't go my way," Weber admitted. "I had a bit of a hard time at the Scottish with some of the holes. I was trying my best out here and everyone knows how hard it is to win, let alone at a freaking major. It's not like I'm going out there and every shot I'm above going, 'oh, this has to be good because I have to win because of Solheim'. I was just trying to play golf and thinking about Solheim Cup doesn't really help my case."
Qualification closed after the AIG Women's Open. The top two players on the LET Solheim Cup points list and the next six available players in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings earned automatic spots.
The captain's picks
When the team was confirmed the following day, Nordqvist handed captain's picks to Ireland's Leona Maguire, Spain's Julia Lopez Ramirez, France's Nastasia Nadaud and England's Mimi Rhodes. Lopez Ramirez, Nadaud and Rhodes, all ranked below Weber, will make rookie appearances for Team Europe.
Weber's ties to a home Solheim Cup
Weber had been aiming to become only the third player from the Netherlands to play in the Solheim Cup, following Christel Boeljon in 2011 and Anne van Dam in 2019. She said she was "absolutely" open to any involvement in the event on home soil.
"I mean it would have been so special," Weber explained. "It's the first time the Netherlands is hosting and I really like that golf course. They've put so much effort into both the place and the event itself."
"That event is going to be super cool for the Netherlands, for youth golf in the Netherlands and for golf generally in the Netherlands, especially women's golf. It is going to be amazing."
