England Golf has renewed its push to bring the Solheim Cup to England for the first time, calling on the government to provide financial backing for a bid to host the 2030 edition.
The appeal follows Team Europe's 15-13 victory over Team USA at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands on Sunday, a win that returned the trophy to Europe and included three English players in the winning team.
The Solheim Cup, the biennial women's team contest between Europe and the United States, has been staged in seven different European countries but never in England. The 2030 edition will be the next one held on European soil, though no venue has yet been confirmed.
Several venues have expressed interest in hosting, including The Grove in Hertfordshire. Government funding would be required, in the absence of private investment, to support any English bid.
Tomlinson's case for England
Discussions over the 2030 venue are continuing, and England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson said he is confident that bringing the event to England would deliver "immeasurable good" for the sport.
"The Solheim Cup is in a really good place and it's going to get bigger," Tomlinson told Sky Sports. "I honestly think if we bring the Solheim Cup to England we can double, maybe even treble the crowds."
"We have several clubs that really want to put themselves forward and would really like to host the event. With a bit of government help, we really believe that we could bring it to England and it should be here for the first time."
"We're working with clubs, we're working with IMG and the Ladies European Tour and we have talks ongoing with UK Sport. I don't want to say too much, but we're feeling really positive about things and we would love to be able to bring it to England."
Cost compared with the Ryder Cup
Tomlinson said staging a Solheim Cup costs less than a tenth of the money required for a Ryder Cup, the equivalent event in the men's game, and he is hoping the government can underwrite an English bid.
"It always easy when you perhaps have an entrepreneur that comes forward and can underwrite a whole event, but we haven't had that yet," Tomlinson said. "We are somewhat dependent upon government to be able to step forward and help us. We have some discussions with them right now and they are positive, they are constructive."
"It a lot of money that you need to be able to put this on, but we truly believe, and I think government feel it as well, that the returns from a feel-good factor and a promotion of an incredible sport could be dynamic."
Team Europe's victory in the Netherlands
Team Europe regained the Solheim Cup with the 15-13 win at Bernardus Golf, where a packed grandstand welcomed players onto the first tee. Three of captain Anna Nordqvist's winning side, Lottie Woad, Charley Hull and Mimi Rhodes, were English.
Golf's growth since the pandemic
Tomlinson said golf's popularity has continued to grow since the pandemic. "Golf has continued to boom since the pandemic, there is no two ways about that," he said. "We have in excess of 12 and a half million people just in England, who in some way, shape or form, touch golf or participate in golf."
"We have an incredible amount of women that enjoy playing golf away from golf courses. We'd love more women, more girls to be able to come to the golf courses, but they need to have heroes and they need to have people to inspire them."
"We at England Golf truly believe that if we could get the Solheim Cup, it could do immeasurable good for the game of golf and for women in sport. It would be a very, very proud moment."
Sky Sports News has contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for comment.
The next edition of the Solheim Cup will be held in 2028 at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, from September 8 to 10 that year.
