With a little more than 200 days to go before the Solheim Cup comes to Colorado, it’s a bit early to begin a countdown.
But it’s not too soon to look at which players are likely to be competing Aug. 16-18 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, where the biennial team competition between the best women’s players from the U.S. and Europe will take place.
As American captain Meg Mallon said late last summer in a visit to Colorado, “It’s a pretty exciting time for women’s golf. We’ve got veterans like Angela (Stanford) and Cristie Kerr playing (well), then you’ve got young players like Lexi Thompson that are coming up and trying to make the team. It’s going to be fun to see how it develops” in the months leading up to the event.
While players have been accumulating qualifying points for the Solheim Cup since 2011, 2013 tournaments will take on extra importance. European players will earn twice as many points as before, while American will receive 1.5 times as many points as before, with points doubled at major championships.
The 2013 LPGA Tour schedule begins Feb. 14 in Australia, while the Ladies European Tour debuts Feb. 1, also Down Under.
The 12-player U.S. team will consist of the top eight golfers on the points list through the Women’s British Open (Aug. 1-4), the next two highest-ranked Americans from the Rolex Rankings, and two captain’s picks divulged by Mallon in early August.
If the points were finalized now, here’s what the automatic qualifiers for the American team would look like: 1. Stacy Lewis (pictured) 518 points; 2. Kerr 294; 3. Paula Creamer 264; 4. Stanford 234; 5. Brittany Lincicome 203; 6. Brittany Lang 154; 7. Thompson 132; 8. Katie Futcher 97; and from the Rolex Rankings: 9. Morgan Pressel; 10. Michelle Wie.
The Europeans’ roster will be made up of the top four players from the Solheim Cup points list, the four next-best Europeans from the Rolex Rankings, and four captain’s picks announced by Liselotte Neumann in early August.
Here’s how the European automatic qualifiers would look like if the qualifying period ended today: 1. Caroline Masson 79.5 points; 2. Carlota Ciganda 78.2; 3. Pernilla Lindberg 60.21; 4. Giulia Sergas 58.38; and from the Rolex Rankings: 5. Suzann Pettersen; 6. Catriona Matthew; 7. Azahara Munoz; 8. Anna Nordqvist.
At least on paper, the U.S. should have a leg up with the 2012 LPGA Rolex Player of the Year on its roster. Lewis, who won four LPGA Tour events last year, was the first American to earn the Player of the Year honor since Beth Daniel in 1994.
Lewis figures to be playing in her second Solheim Cup, after the Europeans edged the U.S. 15-13 in Ireland two years ago.
“Things didn’t quite end the way we wanted them to (in 2011), and I’ve been wanting to get points every week and get back on the team (for this year) so we can take the Cup back,” Lewis said at Colorado Golf Club.
The top six players on the American Solheim Cup standings have 39 LPGA Tour victories among them, with Kerr (15) and Creamer (nine) leading the way. Thompson, the youngest LPGA Tour event winner in history (16 years, 7 months), is also a fan favorite, as is veteran Wie, winner of two LPGA events in her career. Another player who falls into the fan-favorite category, Natalie Gulbis, will need a strong year to automatically qualify for the team as she’s currently 12th on the U.S. points list with 74.
U.S. players earn points through top-20 finishes at official LPGA Tour events.
On the European side, a good bet to find a spot on the team one way or another is Laura Davies, a 25-time LPGA Tour champion who has played in every Solheim Cup since its debut in 1990.
The Americans will have 18 LPGA Tour events before the Solheim Cup, while the European will have about a dozen Ladies European Tour tournaments to earn additional points.
