SOLHEIM CUP THE PREVIEW.
Tommy: Welcome to Tommy Does Golf, the podcast where three old timers give you our opinions on everything golf. I'm Tommy Long, joined by fellow PGA professionals James Morgan and Paul Charman. With over 100 years and counting in the golf industry between us, we are well into our back nine’s. We'll do our best to stay on topic, but just like our tee shots these days, this podcast could go anywhere.
We're hoping you enjoy the banter, and maybe, just maybe, we'll share a few pearls of wisdom along the way. Let's get into it.
Tommy: Welcome to our 2026 Solheim Cup preview. In a sport where it's normally just you against the golf course, marking a scorecard that really doesn't care about your feelings, making it onto one of these teams is huge. It's the payoff for every 5:00 AM alarm clock, every tough and lonely training session, and for pushing through those soul-searching moments in which every player will have asked themselves, Is all of this effort ever going to pay off?" And, How much longer do I give this? Along with having earned the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the very rivals you spend the rest of the year trying to bury, comes a weight of responsibility. You immediately carry the aspirations of your teammates and continent on your shoulders.
But that responsibility and that camaraderie with your team members, that's what makes wearing those colours such an incredible experience.
These ladies are serious athletes who consistently perform at a level we've almost become blase about. The US College Golf Pathway has been instrumental in elevating the women's game, and continues to do so today, nurturing the future superstars of the LPGA Tour. It deserves massive recognition for that.
Here's a stat to chew on, 19 of the 24 players across these two teams played US college golf. Now to navigate this episode, we've drafted in a reinforcement. Neil, our tipster supreme, is back in the studio. It's great to see you, fella.
Okay, here's the plan. A quick Solheim Cup history quiz to test the lads, a team roster rundown, Paul on the format, James with the inside track on the host venue, and Neil with some betting options and suggestions. Finally, we'll chew the fat on possible pairings and, with zero accountability, predict a winner.
Now, that sounds incredibly organized, doesn't it? But I can promise you right now, it won't be. Right, that's enough waffle from me. Let's get on with it. Fellas, are you ready for the quiz?
James: bring it on.
Tommy: Question one- who are the current holders of the Solheim Cup? Paul
Paul: the US, I think, are the current holders.
Tommy: Yes. Correct.
Paul: Winning score?
Tommy: Yeah, if you want to give it to me.
Paul: 15 and a half to the US, 12 and a half to the Europeans.
Tommy: Correct. The United States, current holders, won in 2024, 15 and a half to 12 and a half.
All right. Which player has played in the most Solheim Cups? Which player has played in the most Solheim Cups?
Tommy: Paul.
Paul: The legend that is Dame Laura Davies.
Tommy: Correct. It is Dame Laura Davies.
Paul: Get in.
Tommy: She made 12 consecutive appearances for Team Europe in the Solheim Cup. 1990 through 2011. Wow. Pretty impressive. Very good.
James: Mm.
Tommy: Okay, what about for the USA? Which player from the USA has made the most Solheim Cup appearances? Neil, have a stab
Neil: Julie Inkster
Tommy: She's one of. Yes tied with Cristie Kerr. They both appeared nine times in the Solheim Cup. Good shout, mate. Good shout. All right, now just a bit more of a random question. Paul's done a lot of research on this, so you might get this. What type of glass is the trophy made of? What type of glass is the Solheim Cup trophy made of?
Paul: Stab in the dark
Tommy: Go for it
Paul: Waterford crystal
Tommy: Cut glass Irish Waterford crystal Wow Very good nudge. Excellent. All right. Well, following up on that, we'll go one more, Paul, see if you've done this one. Who designed the Solheim Cup trophy?
Tommy: Paul
Paul: Mr. Waterford
Tommy: It wasn't. It was Billy Briggs. Oh. But I like the way you’re thinking. next question. Who are the current all-time points leaders for Europe and the USA? So who are the current all-time points leaders for Europe and the USA? Anybody wanna have a stab at Europe first?
Tommy: James?
James: Dame Laura
Tommy: Dame Laura Davies, absolutely. 25 points. And the USA, Cristie Kerr, 21 points for the States. Okay, next question. How many points are needed to win the Solheim Cup? So how many points are needed to win the Solheim Cup? Paul?
Paul: 14 and a half?
Tommy: It is 14 and a half. Correct. All right then, next question. How many points are needed for the defending champion to retain the cup?
James: 14
Tommy: It is 14 Got to be Correct. All right. Now a very, very simple one. How many singles matches are played on the final day? How many singles matches are played on the final day? Neil? 12. Yeah, it's 12. All right, next question. What is the USA's best category statistically since the Solheim Cup began? What is the USA's best category statistically since the Solheim Cup began? Let's have a guess, anybody. Neil?
Neil: Winning the singles.
Tommy: Yeah, it's the singles. They have a record of 106 wins, 33 halves, and 81 losses from the 226 singles matches to date. Wow. So yeah, they're pretty dominant in the singles, or they have been. Right. Next question. Who was the youngest ever Solheim Cup captain? Who was the youngest ever Solheim Cup captain? Anybody? Give us a clue. Well, she's European.
James: Lotte Neumann?
Tommy: Well, not bad. Along the right lines. Europe's Catrin Nilsmark, 36 years and 13 days old- Oh ... in 2003. Hmm. So quite young for a captain.
James: Yeah.
Tommy: Okay. All right. Now next question, which course has hosted the most Solheim Cups? Which golf course has hosted the most Solheim Cups? Not an easy question. Anybody have a stab at this?
Paul: Based on the fact that the first tournament took place at Lake Nona-
Tommy: Yes ...
Paul: I'll say Lake Nona.
Tommy: Yeah, it's a good way of thinking about it. Not bad, but it's not.
Paul: Well...
Tommy: So- It's got to
Paul: be in the States
Tommy: then ... it's none. Every edition has been played at a different venue.
Wow. So no course has hosted it more than once.
James: You trickster. Wow.
Paul:a trick question.
Tommy: Well, I had to-
James: I was just running through them all in my head. Couldn’t find two.
Tommy: Yeah, I had to, I had to throw you a bone. It’s kind of a trick question, but there you go.
Okay. Right. Here we go. What is the largest margin of victory in Solheim Cup history? What is the largest margin of victory in Solheim Cup history? Neil, I'm going to come to you
Neil: Eight
Tommy: Eight points correct. Can you tell me where it was?
Neil: I know the captain was Lisa Lotte Neumann.
Tommy: Wow, that's a good nudge. I didn't even know that myself.
Neil: yeh
James: I can tell you where it was ... 2013. It was.
Tommy: James?
James: Colorado.
Tommy: Colorado Golf Club, yeah.
James: See, I just had to scroll through 18 in my head then.
Tommy: 10. Well done. Yeah, well, you were going for them for the other questions, so well done. All right, here we go. Next question: Who is the youngest player ever to compete in the Solheim Cup? Who is the youngest player ever to compete in the Solheim Cup? Neil?
Neil: Charley Hull
Tommy: It is Charley Hull. Oh. 17 years and 149 days when she made her debut at Colorado Golf Club, James, in 2013.
James: There you go.
Tommy: Fantastic. All right. Here we go then. Who is the oldest player ever to compete in the Solheim Cup? Who is the oldest player ever to compete in the Solheim Cup? Paul, tell me.
Paul: Julie Inkster.
Tommy: It was Julie Inkster. How old? Any idea?
Paul: Mm, no. 51. 51. Was she 51?
Tommy: It was 51.
James: she was 51? And 91 days.
Tommy: It was, it was 51 and 91 days. Well done, James. So her ninth and final appearance was in 2011. What an incredible- Pretty incredible. Okay Good effort Next question. How many holes in one have there been in the Solheim Cup? How many holes in one have there been in the Solheim Cup? Neil, give it to me
Neil: Two
Tommy: There have been two.
James: I know who the first one was.
Tommy: Tell me, who was it?
James: Anna Nordqvist.
Tommy: Fantastic, it was. Second one?
James: No one remembers the second one.
Tommy: No, they don't
Neil: Emily Pedersen.
Tommy: It was Emily Pedersen. Oh. She made the second one- Well done ... in 2023. So there you go. All right. Which European player has the most singles victories? Which European player has the most singles victories? Lot of blank faces. I'm going to give this to you. Katrina Matthew. Oh. Six wins.
James: Oh, yeah.
Tommy: All right, Katrina Matthew. And the USA, Julie Inkster, also six wins. So that's the most singles. All right. Okay. What is the USA's biggest winning margin? What is the USA's biggest winning margin? Anybody? 11 and a half, four and a half in the inaugural 1990 Solheim Cup. At Lake Nona, of course. Okay. All right, next one. Who was the first European captain to win on American soil? Who was the first European captain to win on American soil? James?
James: Lotte Neumann?
Tommy: It was Lotte Neumann who led Europe to that 18, 10 victory in 2013-
James: 2013 ...
Tommy: at Colorado Golf Club. Okay. So that brings us to the final question in our Solheim Cup quiz. Here we go, boys. And you can all have a stab at this one. What is the home team win percentage in the Solheim Cup? James, you give it to me first. What do you reckon?
James: 80%.
Tommy: 80%. What are you going for, Neil?
Neil: I was going to say 80, so I’ll go for 82.
Tommy: Paul What are you going to go for?
Paul: I'm going to go lower.
Tommy: What are you going to go for?
Paul: 75.
Tommy: Well, you win the bet. It's 63.2%.
James: Wow.
Tommy: the host team has won 12 of the last 19 editions. So you did pretty well in the quiz there, boys. I'm quite impressed with that really. I learned things when I put those questions together.
Before we go to Paul to talk about the event format, I'm going to quickly introduce the teams.
My apologies in advance if my pronunciation of any of the team surnames is not on point. So first up, Team USA. Now, their captain is Angela Stanford, a Solheim Cup legend in her own right, having made six appearances as a player. She appointed Kristie McPherson, Paula Creamer, and Brittany Lang as her three assistant captains.
Now for the team itself, and in no particular order.
World number one, Nelly Korda. Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh, Auston Kim, Lauren Coughlin, Alison Corpuz, Angel Yin, Andrea Lee, Lindy Duncan, Megan Khang, Allisen Lee, and finally, Rose Zhang. So moving on to Team Europe. The captain from Sweden, three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist, also a Solheim Cup legend, playing in nine consecutive editions for Team Europe, amassing a career points tally of 18 and a half points in the process.
Nordqvist appointed fellow Swede Caroline Hedwall, England's Mel Reid, and Anne Van Dam from the Netherlands as her vice-captains. An impressive amount of Solheim Cup experience between the four of them to draw upon. Moving on to the playing team roster, again, in no particular order, we have Charlie Hull, Esther Henzelheit, Lottie Woad, Maja Stark, Celine Boutier, Carlotta Ciganda, Nanna Koerstz-Madsen, Leona Maguire, Julia Lopez Ramirez, Nastasia Nadaud, Mimi Rhodes, and finally, Linn Grant. Now fellas, I want to share a couple of things that I found really interesting. I had a look at the ages of the players on both teams. Team USA's average age came out at 28.42 years old, Compared to Team Europe's average age, which was slightly younger, of 27.58. So not even a year in that. The other thing that I did, because I spent far too much time on my research than I should have, was to work out the average world ranking for either team. Now, Team USA came out on top in that one, with an average world ranking of 31, compared to Team Europe's average world ranking of 54.
Initially, I was surprised how high both world ranking averages worked out to be, but when you consider that across the two teams, only three players are currently ranked inside the world's top 10 as of the 31st of August, those being world number one, Nelly Korda, Lottie Woad at number seven, and Charley Hull currently at number eight.
It becomes understandable. Coupled that with the fact that the rest of the world players, especially those from Asia, have been pretty dominant over the last 18 months, and as a result, occupy a number of the top 20 spots in the world rankings, it actually makes perfect sense. The last thing I'm going to bore you with is this. I also looked at the number of individual tournament wins in 2026 for the players on both teams. So on the European team, a total of three wins combined, on the American team in 2026, five wins combined. I was quite surprised when I looked at that. 24 players winning a combined eight tournaments between them in 2026. That's not to say we're not going to see some great golf at this year's Solheim Cup, but I did think that was interesting.
Okay, so now we're going to head over to Paul, who is going to explain to us the match play format of this event. Take it away, Paul.
Paul: Cheers, Tommy. So yeah, so the format is exactly the same format as the Ryder Cup. ~Um, ~three-day team match play competition. Speaker 34: Day one, the morning session usually consists of four foursomes ~Um, ~followed by the afternoon, which would be four four-balls. Now, again, this could change. ~It, ~it's the captain's call as to whether they want to swap that around.
Tommy: Don't want to ruin your flow, but is it the captain of the host team that gets that choice? Or is it the captain of the holders of the trophy?
Paul: Of changing the actual format?
Tommy: Yes. Morning and afternoon.
Paul: ~The home, ~the home captain.
Tommy: Okay. The home captain. All right. So Anna Nordqvist gets to decide whether it's- Whether it's g- foursomes in the morning or...
Paul: Yeah. Yeah.
Tommy: Okay. Perfect. Got it
Paul: But that's usually the way it actually starts off. So foursomes in the morning, four-ball in the afternoon. And then the same push repeat on Saturday. So basically the same on, ~uh,~ Saturday, ~ Uh, ~The last day, day three, the Sunday, that's when we move into the, singles, and that's 12 head-to-head match play the draw is actually done at random, ~so, you know, ~it doesn't necessarily mean that Nelly Korda, ranked world number one, will be playing against the highest ranked player of the European team. Each captain- can decide who they're going out first. Whether they want to, in theory, hold back some of their stronger players- to anchor it at the end. ~again, that is the captain's prerogative. But yeah, in a nutshell, that is the format. Three days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Foursomes In the morning, four-ball in the afternoon, same on the Saturday, and then the, the real exciting part the head-to-head, the singles- on Sunday
Tommy: It's a race to how many points for the winner?
Paul: So to win it, you've got to get to 14 and a half.
Tommy: Okay.
Paul: ~Um, ~but the team that is defending if they get to 14, if it's halved at 14, 14, 14- They retain the Solheim Cup
Tommy: then they retain the Solheim Cup. Brilliant.
Paul: Yeah.
Tommy: Eight points available day one, eight points available day two, 12 points day three.
Paul: Yeah.
Tommy: Perfect. All right. I think that's pretty clear, boys. Very good. All right. Thanks, Paul.
Paul: No worries.
Tommy: Let's head over to James. James has done a bit of research for us on the Bernardus Golf Club in the Netherlands. James, what can you tell us about it? Is there anything to look out for?
James: Par 72, four par threes, four par fives. They're going to play it at about 6,550 yards. So that's not overly long. But I think, there's some signature holes that they don't have to be long to be tricky.
Tommy: Okay.
James: So they're not actually playing in the order that the course was designed. They've moved a couple of holes around.
Tommy: Right.
James: So hole number 15 is one of their signature holes. It's a par 3. It's only 137 meters or 150 yards. Over water. A heavily contoured green. Three bunkers behind, and again, it's going to be how the state of the match is. You know, you're, you're two up playing the 15th. And the flag's tucked in the corner.
Do you go for it? Now you go for the middle of the green, bring in three putting. If you're two down, are you going to go at it? And the tee is sheltered, so they're saying any wind, and the first day is going to be windy. Any wind, you won't feel it.
So it's gonna be the experience of things like caddies, team captains sussing out where the wind's going to be coming to and from, through their practice rounds. Another hole to look for is hole number six. Another par 3, 185 yards. It's played over water to a peninsular green, massive green. But again, wind coming from the wrong direction brings the water into play.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: You've just got to trust yourself with these golf holes.
So at least that one's a little bit earlier in the round. And then, which is normally hole number two, one of the toughest holes is actually the 18th, which is a par 5. Uh, there's water on the left, and then it then cuts round about 150 yards out and then goes down the right-hand side, heavily bunkered.
So again, you're one down playing the last, you've gotta have a go. Yeah. And it's one of those greens where everything slopes to the water on the right and slopes off into a hollow on the left, and then you're chipping back towards the water.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: So I think it's actually gonna be quite an exciting golf course.
They've had three Dutch Opens there. Men's Dutch Opens.
Tommy: Yes, they have.
James: The big hitters. There are some short par fours which they can have a pop at.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: But again, those are earlyish on the round, and the problem with that is that there's a lot of risk around the greens.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: So The bigger hitters might be having a crack.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: But, again, I think it's a really fair test of golf that's
Tommy: - Yeah, and that's what you want, isn't it?
James: Yeah, it's gonna really set up for some great golf.
Tommy: It is gonna be really good, and I think the camera work around that golf course, the viewing points, it's going to be quite well televised, I think. They really are going to tell the story on the way round.
James: The other thing that I like about it is that, when you hear, like, 137 meter, 155 yard, par three, we can relate to, say, hitting an 8-iron, 7-iron. Watching some of the men's golf, there was a hole today that was 178 yards, and They weren't sure whether they'd hit a, a pitching wedge or a 9-iron. Yeah. It's just-
Tommy: totally. There's not really much more to say about the golf course. It was designed by Kyle Phillips, Kingsbarns and Dundonald Links were earlier designs of Kyle Phillips. So he's had a bit of experience before they opened this one in 2018.And like you said, James, 2021, '22, and '23, European Tour held the Dutch Open, so it's obviously a decent venue. So yeah, it's gonna be interesting to watch it and learn about this golf course. Can't wait. All right. Anything else on that? Or that's pretty much it, isn't it? Anything? Any other nuggets? I have got
James: the long-range weather forecast.
Tommy: Oh, when you mentioned that it's gonna be windy on day one, I thought, "He's got me a..." So give us it. Give us the long-term forecast.
James: So they're actually forecasting in the practice rounds Wednesday, Thursday for rain, on-and-off showers , which will change the way the course plays. Then on the Friday, they're talking of winds of between 15 and 30 miles an hour.
Tommy: Okay.
James: Which could really throw the cat among the pigeons. It could. And then on, over the weekend, the wind dies. It's just an 18 to 20 degrees. Yeah. Just a lovely weekend sort of thing, so.
Tommy: Europe has been burning, hasn't it, for the last sort of two months- three months. It's been ridiculously hot. And you know that yourself, Neil. It's part of your world tour, wasn't it? So it's probably bouncy, the fairways, I would imagine. Obviously they've got watering systems, -
James: the pictures I've seen, it is quite lush grass.
Tommy: Is it? Okay. Oh,
James: yeah, they've got a fair bit of grass.
Tommy: Fantastic. All right. Before we go over to Neil for his wisdom on some possible wagers, I want to say we're not encouraging you to gamble. A very wise man once told me to never bet more than you can afford to lose. So please heed that advice. And if you are partial to a small wager, please always gamble responsibly. Neil, it's over to you, mate.
Neil: Thank you, Tommy. A little bit early for the TAB or Paddy Power or Betfair particularly on any odds. ~Um, ~but they've got it priced very evenly. ~Um, ~they've got both teams equal really paying 2/1. ~Um, ~whichever one you want to pick, 13/1 , for a tie. We've only ever had one tie, so-
Tommy: Yeah
Neil: ~ ~It's priced very closely. You look at the stats you read out, ~it's~ It's a tough pick. ~I mean, um, ~personally, ~I,~ I think USA will maybe just grab it. But anyway, ~um, you know, ~there's still some bets out there. It's obviously very similar to a Ryder Cup, ~um,~ in terms of the betting. ~So, you know, ~if you look back to Ryder Cups and the opportunities that were there, ~you know, ~you've got options to bet on ~you know, ~probably outright winner or even a points margin individual highest points scorer. ~Um, ~you can either pick it on a team basis or overall. ~Um, ~and then obviously you've got the individual, you've got the foursomes and the fourballs, and singles on the final day. I think with the foursomes and the fourball, Europe, like the men's Ryder Cup, it's very similar that, ~um,~ in the Solheim, the ladies generally play the foursomes and fourball better.
Tommy: Yeah.
Neil: the key to really look at your pairings.
Tommy: Yes.
Neil: ~You know, ~I think, you know, till you get them out, I mean, if they go with some strong players, if they put, ~like,~ Nelly with Lauren Coughlin or Alison Corpuz, ~you know, they're, ~they're gonna be a hard team to beat. Yes. ~And,~
so I think you've got to really wait until the teams are announced to go on those bets, but, ~um,~ there's opportunities there. ~Um, ~some slightly different ones, ~you know, ~you're gonna have maybe the highest rookie scoring points. That's another one to look at. Captain’s picks. Yes. Obviously four for Europe, three for America.
~So, you know, ~picking who you think is gonna be the best one out of them.
Tommy: Yeah.
Neil: I think the key is look at the world rankings, look at players. ~You know, ~there could be some of these players might only get one game before the singles. If- Yeah ... maybe not even a game.
Tommy: Yeah.
Neil: So you gotta think who's going to be playing every game. That’s where you've gotta be looking to get your highest point scorers. And yeah, ~you know, ~we said again, hole in ones, there've only ever been two, so a bit of a gamble, but no hole in one I might eat my hat, but- Yeah ... I'm gonna go for no hole in one on the statistics.
Tommy: Yeah. ~Um, ~
Neil: and ~you know, ~look at some multis. , So for me, I might go USA to win. Nelly Korda, top highest point scorer.
Tommy: Yes.
Neil: Maybe chuck in Lottie Woad, debutant. Yeah. Maybe her to be the highest point scorer. Yeah. Multi them up. Yeah. And fingers crossed.
Tommy: Yeah. That's really good. ~I mean, ~like you say, until those teams come out, ~you know, ~in terms of the pairings, difficult to really add much of a punt, isn't it? But I'm sure I'll lose some money somewhere along the line. Gotta throw a few dollars at it to keep it interesting, really.
So before we do talk about some possible pairings, I've got some things that I want to share with you fellas. First up, the captain's picks. So out of the four captain's picks for Europe, Anna Nordqvist selected three rookies, those being Julia Lopez Ramirez, Nastasia Nadeau, and Mimi Rhodes.
Team USA, because of their qualifying system, only had three captain's picks. Captain Angela Stanford opted for experience by using only one of those picks on a rookie, that rookie being Lindy Duncan. Even though it's her maiden appearance in the Solheim Cup, she actually happens to be the oldest player on the US team, so I don't think she's gonna be short on confidence. Another one I found interesting was that when I added up the combined previous Solheim Cup appearances total for each team, the USA, they've got a combined previous Solheim Cup appearance total of 24 compared to that of Team Europe, which totals 27. So it's close. Again, not a lot in it. The next thing I had a look at, and now you'll be starting to realize just how much time I did waste on this, was the combined number of previous Solheim Cup points won across the 12 players from each team. Now I know there's some rookies in there, et cetera, but so far in previous Solheim Cups, for the European team, the combined points total accumulated is 56 and a half points. For the American team, it's 50. So again, remarkably close. It's not miles apart.
In terms of current top 10 players in the world who are playing this Solheim Cup, you've got Nelly Korda at world number one, rookie Lottie Wode, who's ranked number seven, and Charlie Hull, who's ranked world number eight. I could go on, fellas, but you're looking a little sleepy-eyed, so we better crack on. Let's have a chat about some possible pairings. Who do you think might be paired together by the captains, and what are your reasons why?
Tommy: Paul, tell me.
Paul: On the subject of a rookie, I would just like to mention that Lottie Woad 22 years old, okay, she won the KPMG Women's Irish Open while still an amateur in July 2025. Later in the same month, she won her first tournament as a professional golfer- which was the ISPS Handa Scottish Open. All right? Now, between 2019 and 2024, she played in 16 events where it was a team event. So she might be a rookie on paper in the Solheim Cup, but when it comes to actually representing her country, in this occasion, representing Europe there is no one better qualified, I think, to be up there as my player pick than Lottie Wood.
I think she's gonna stand out. I think she's got the mentality. I think she's got the game for it. Yeah. ~You know, ~James was talking about difficult conditions, possibly a lot of wind. Man, that's, Lottie Wood, from what I've seen, she can handle it all.
Tommy: James.
James: Relying on Charlie Hull, relying on Lottie Wood. ~You know, ~Maybe leaning too heavily on two or three players. A bit like the men did.
Tommy: Yep.
James: And then when you get to the singles, now luckily again, we keep going back to the Ryder Cup, but then by the time we got to the singles, the Europeans pretty much had it stitched up but only just got over.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: You just hope that the captain has, has really done their homework ~on, ~on pairings.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: As we all know, tiredness and making decisions on golf courses, they don't go well together. And you hope they've been out and played that golf course, 'cause the Americans will not have played the golf course. They won't have a clue about it. So you're just hoping that a lot of the European players have at some point been told, "Get over there and have a look."
Tommy: Yeah. Neil, what do you think?
Neil: I don't think there's a huge amount to add on that. I think they'll probably give, , two Swedish girls a, a run out together.
Tommy: Yes.
Neil: Yeah, I think we've covered most of the pairings. Rose Zhang and Megan Khang. Yeah. Pretty unbeatable chemistry.
Tommy: Yeah.
Neil: I wouldn't be surprised to see them in there. Yeah, I'm just gonna be really interested to see, like I say, when you look at the European world rankings, you've got four of them over the top 80. So it might be a real pressure on - some of the higher ranked players, like James said, a lot on their shoulders- Yeah ... and they're playing a lot of games, but you hope that, Europe gets off to a good start, and they give some of these, newbies an early run.
Tommy: An early run, get some experience. Yeah. I had a look into the colleges that these ladies went to, Even though a number of them attended the same college, there wasn't a lot of overlapping as to when they did so. But one that did stand out was on Team Europe, Linn Grant and Maja Stark, who both went to Arizona State together. They're known to be best friends and are often referred to as the Swedish soulmates, so surely they will be a pairing at some stage. On Team USA, . An obvious pairing is Nelly Korda and Megan Khang because they're very close friends. But because they both played in the Solheim Cup four times previously, Captain Angela Stanford might actually split them up get them to put their arm around a less experienced player. Who knows? The only other possible pairing that I could see happening is the French connection. Anna Nordqvist might give rookie Nastasia Nadaud a run with experienced Solheim Cup compatriot Celine Boutier. So yeah, as far as the pairings go, that's pretty much all I've got.
We're going to talk about the singles. The singles, we talked about it earlier, Paul, it is a bit of a lottery in the sense that... I think Charley would love to play Nelly Korda head-to-head. She wants that. She's like, "Bring that on."
But does Anna Nordqvist put her out number one, and Charley’s hoping that, Angela Stanford's done the same thing with, Nelly Korda. Because, you're either going to stack the front half, or you're going to have the anchor. If your team is down, you're more likely going into that singles to front load to get some momentum, to get some of your colour on the board.
And let's say the Americans were down going into the singles, they're likely to do that cause they're gonna want to quieten the crowd down, but by the same token, if Europe are down, and they can get some blue on the scoreboard early and get them right behind it. So it's a real interesting balance, isn't it?
And I don't think we're gonna be able to predict it accurately what the singles draw's gonna be or where those ranked players are gonna be until we know how their match stands after day two. What do you think, James?
James: Yeah, I mean, you look, look at the history of all these sorts of events.
You know, the captains don't necessarily pick. They might have an idea who they want, even from Friday morning to, say, Friday afternoon. Someone might have an absolute shocker in the morning, and it's like, "No, we'll beef you into touch for the afternoon," so it's, it's just fluid. Yeah. It's always changing.
Tommy: Yeah.
James: And that's what makes it exciting
Tommy: Course it does. It's gonna be great to watch. I mean, what do you think, Paul? You got anything on the singles ?
Paul: Look, I'm just gonna say one thing, and that is that I wish Anna Nordqvist was playing.
Tommy: Yeah.
Paul: I wish she was playing. I wish she had put herself down as a player. I think her against, Nelly Korda would just be a phenomenal, game. Yeah, look, Charlie Hull playing against Nelly Korda, maybe that's what everybody wants, but, Hey, stranger things have happened.
You put one of the rookies out there, you put Mimi Rhodes out against, Nelly Korda. Suddenly the pressure's on Nelly Korda, [00:33:00] you know?
Tommy: Yeah.
Paul: I think Nelly Korda would love to play against Charley Hull because she knows Charley Hull, she knows what to expect.
But then you suddenly put somebody up against Nelly Korda that everybody expects based on world rankings- Yeah ... you know, just inside the top 100 against the world number one, and everybody's going, "What chance has she got?"
James: I just want it to be close going into the final singles.
I think that's what you want.
Paul: Yeah.
Tommy: What do you think, Neil? Any more on the singles side of things? It's just a wait and see, isn't it, really?
Neil: Yeah it's a wait and see. Like I say- Yeah ... a bit like James said, who's on form, who's playing well.
I think ideally you go out strong early, and you have some strong players at the end. But like I say, you've got to see how the tournament's going, haven't you, and how people are playing.
Tommy: I did think when I first started looking at this, I thought, "Yeah, USA gonna run away with this."
But the more I've looked into it, and the more I've worked out the stats and had a look, I think it's gonna be close, boys. I do. I don't think it is gonna be a runaway. I think this could be a really exciting event to watch. And I'm gonna be first to put my neck on the line. I've got to come up with a prediction. I am going to predict Europe wins this 15-13. That is my points prediction. I'm going a European win 15-13. I just think the Dutch fans and the European fans around there, if the Europeans can do well in the first kind of day and a half, then I think that they really get behind them and, ~we know sport's about momentum, boys, don't we, what about you, James? ~ ~where are you at?
James: I've gone USA 16, Europe 12.
Tommy: Okay. Yeah.
James: I just think the Americans are just that little bit too strong.
Tommy: I'm gonna go to Paul where are you at,
Paul: USA to win. Points? I'm not gonna give you any points. I'm just gonna say that they're gonna win.
Tommy: So they're not gonna retain. Uh, they're-gonna win
Paul: They're gonna win ... they're not gonna retain. They're gonna win. But I don't want to specifically say a particular points [differential. I'm just gonna say US to win.
James: How's that splinter?
Paul: Good.
James: sitting on the fence
Tommy: On the fence isn’t he. He's on the fence. I'm gonna go USA to win. He's on the fence. Okay, you're going USA. James has gone USA, so it's two USA. Myself, I said Europe. Neil, who you going for, buddy?
Neil: I was gonna throw a tie in there just to mix it up. You don't have to. No, I, no, I'm gonna go USA 15-13.I think the key's gonna be maybe those captain's picks.
Tommy: Right.
Neil: Zhang and Kang, I think if they perform- Yeah ... that could be the difference.
Tommy: We're all hoping that we're going to see some great golf. I'm sure we will do. We're not really worried who wins, as long as it's played in the spirit that it's supposed to be, then, hey, it's going to be a fantastic Solheim Cup. So boys, look, that brings us to the end of our preview. I really enjoyed your insights, and honestly, I'm even more excited now to watch this event and see how it all plays out.
James: Same.
Tommy: To our listeners, we hope you've finished this episode slightly more knowledgeable than you were 30 minutes ago,
and that you're just as pumped up as we are now to watch the Solheim Cup.
We'll be back next time with our President's Cup preview. But until then, fellas,
that's a wrap
James/Paul/Neil: cheers, mate. Cheers, mate. Cheers, Tommy.
Tommy: If you've made it this far, we hope it's because you've enjoyed listening to Tommy Does Golf. To make sure you never miss our podcast, please hit follow. For more of our content or to get in touch, head to tommydoesgolf.com. So until next time, no matter how you're playing, smile, laugh, and most important of all, enjoy the walk