About two hours after Anna Nordqvist kissed the AIG Women’s Open trophy and thanked the whole of Scotland for having her, Solheim Cup captains Catriona Matthew and Pat Hurst gathered in one of the rooms at the Carnoustie Hotel and announced the final additions to their European and United States teams.

For Matthew, it was a wealth of riches. Emily Pederson and Georgia Hall (who was one birdie shy of forcing a playoff at the AIG Women’s Open) were the top points earners on the European Solheim list. From the Rolex Rankings, AIG Women’s Open champion Anna Nordqvist qualified, along with Sophia Popov, who won this major in 2020. Charley Hull and Carlotta Ciganda also earned spots on the European team through the rankings.

That left six spots for the captain to fill with at least 10 Europeans playing well enough to deserve consideration. In the end, Matthew went with a combination of recent form and long-term experience. For the former, she picked Matilda Castren, one of the hottest players on the planet, who won on both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour this year. Then Matthew picked Leona Maguire, who hasn’t quite broken through but has been knocking on the door of a victory all summer. She also picked Nanna Koerstz Madsen, who played well in the Olympics and was one hiccup on the 72nd hole away from forcing a playoff with Nordqvist at Carnoustie.

On the experience side, Matthew went with Madelene Sagstrom, who had a good week in Scotland and played well in Tokyo, Celine Boutier, who was one of the stars of Matthew’s 2019 Solheim squad at Gleneagles, and the most popular and patriotic person on the team, Mel Reid.

“I think Mel, (it’s) just experience,” Matthew said. “She perhaps hasn't been playing her best the last month. But with the Olympics there has been a lot of traveling and different things and she hasn't been home in a long time. With her experience and playing in it before, she'll pick up and be ready for (the) Solheim (Cup).

“Leona has had a fantastic year,” added Matthew. “She's right up there in the Race to the CME Globe and probably one of our top-two players before the week. Obviously, she was world No. 1 amateur for a couple of years. It's maybe just taken her two or three years longer than perhaps others to settle as a pro. But I think she's got that real grittiness. I think she's a really good match-play player, has a great record from the Curtis Cup and played well in the match play in Las Vegas. I think she'll be solid, one of those never-give-up type of players.”

On the U.S. side, Pat Hurst saw a little shakeup in the qualifying. But when it came to the captain’s picks, she went with the hottest hands she could find.

The U.S. qualifies nine players, seven off Solheim qualifying points and two off Rolex Rankings. At the end of play on Sunday, those were Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Ally Ewing, Austin Ernst, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda and Megan Khang, while Lizette Salas and Jennifer Kupcho punched their tickets through their spot in the rankings.

That left three picks for Hurst, who went with Yealimi Noh, Brittany Altomare, and Mina Harigae. Stacy Lewis, who was in the points race all year, will serve as the third assistant captain, joining Angela Stanford, who also played well and was on the qualifying list for most of the year, and Michelle Wie West.

“If you look at how they have played the last month and a half, the writing was on the wall as to who were the hottest players,” Hurst said of picking Noh and Harigae, despite their lack of Solheim experience and the fact that neither has won on the LPGA Tour. “In 2019, we had six rookies, so I didn't really have to worry about if we had enough experience or not, or if we needed more experience on the team, because everyone had pretty much played. With that being said, it made it a lot easier to pick those two.”

Altomare played the Solheim Cup in 2019 and was a stalwart for the U.S. side. Noh has been knocking on the door of a victory for months, including good runs at the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open. That left Harigae, who has been trending in the right direction. But the same could be said for a lot of players.

“[I first] noticed Mina back in the beginning of the [2020] year in Arizona playing some Cactus [Tour] events and playing well,” Hurst said. “She was kind of on my radar back then. I went out on a limb and invited her to one of our team bonding (meetings) and she was all-in for that. It was a lot of fun. She was totally a part of the team and that was great to see. I think once we did that, she kind of took off. She played well. So, it was there. I can tell that she wanted to be on the team from then on.”

Neither captain went out on a limb with any controversial picks, as Matthew did in 2019 when she chose Suzann Pettersen, who ended up clinching the Solheim Cup for Europe on the last green of the final match on the course.

But no one knows how players will handle the pressure of a Solheim Cup. That’s why the event is irresistible.

It’s why we can’t wait to watch.

Matthew takes Form, Experience While Hurst goes with Hot Hands In Solheim Picks

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