As the person with the most Solheim Cup appearances (12) and the most Solheim Cup points (25) in history, you might expect Dame Laura Davies to be rooting for a European whitewash of Team USA when the latest edition of women’s golf’s premier team competition begins in the Netherlands this week. But she’s got the bigger picture in mind.
“I think it will be really close come Sunday,” she says in an exclusive interview with The Independent. “I hope for the galleries and the TV audiences it’s really close.”
But she can’t keep the proud European in her at bay for long. “Then I hope we just nick it down the last two or three matches, that would be the dream,” she smiles. “It’s happened recently a couple of times for Europe, so hopefully it’ll happen like that. If we went on to have a big win, I’d like that too, but ideally, a close run thing with a win for us. And I think it’s definitely possible.”
The Solheim Cup has had a habit of going down to the wire in recent years. The United States are the current holders, after a relatively serene 15.5-12.5 win in Virginia in 2024, but the three prior editions had seen 14.5-13.5 and 15-13 wins for Europe, plus a 14-14 tie.
The Americans haven’t lifted the cup on European soil since 2015 (a dramatic 14.5-13.5 triumph at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany, where Team USA roared back from 10-6 behind heading into the final day), so although the bookies have Angela Stanford’s side – led by superstar world No 1 Nelly Korda – as narrow favourites this time, there will be the weight of recent history hanging over the visitors at Bernardus Golf Club near Den Bosch, in the central-southern part of the Netherlands.
Europe will be led by Anna Nordqvist, a player at each of the last nine Solheim Cups, although appearances as a playing vice-captain in 2023 and 2024 have given the 39-year-old Swede a taste of what is required from a leadership standpoint.
In fact, Nordqvist emotionally announced her shock retirement from playing late last month, so unless she retains the captaincy for 2028, this may be her swansong in competitive golf.
“Her retirement came out of the blue for me,” admits Davies. “I think a lot of people were surprised. I haven’t spoken to anyone that said ‘oh yeah, she’s been talking about that for a while’.
“It’s definitely surprising because she’s still so good but it reaches a point in your career, if you’re not enjoying it, then it’s time to stop. Who knows, maybe she’s just not enjoying it as much as she used to? So it’s probably the right decision for her.”
Losing Nordqvist in a playing capacity is symptomatic of a slight trend for Team Europe, with Georgia Hall missing out after only recently returning from having a baby, the pregnant Madelene Sagstrom being unavailable and Emily Kristine Pedersen having lost form over the past couple of years. That quartet have played 22 Solheim Cups between them, leaving the hosts shorn of some potentially crucial experience.
There are four first-timers on the European side in the form of Lottie Woad, Julia Lopez Ramirez, Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes, although given her status as world No 7 and a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour since turning professional last summer, Woad is far from your traditional Solheim rookie.
But if they are to vanquish Korda and co, then Charley Hull will need to lead from the front. The 30-year-old Englishwoman’s endless quest to finally claim a first major may not yet have borne fruit but she is in the form of her life, entrenched in the world’s top 10 and ready to appear at an eighth Solheim Cup.
Davies makes no bones about the fact that Hull will need to shine if Europe are to triumph, even if she’s not a natural off-course leader.
“I think she’s a bit similar to me,” admits Davies. “I was not vocal in the team room and from what I’ve seen of it so far, Charley’s not either. But she doesn’t need to be.
“You’ve got a captain. You’ve got three really strong vice-captains, in Caroline Hedwall, Anne van Dam and obviously Mel Reid. So you’ve got all the noise in the team room and all the geeing up of people, although there will be some players that are like that. I don’t think Charley necessarily would be, or has to be. Just get out there and win points, which is what she loves to try and do.
“I think she is probably playing the best golf of her career. But the one thing about Charley, she doesn’t win enough. I’m not talking majors, I just think she’s so good, you can’t believe that she hasn’t won a few more tournaments. That is not a criticism, that’s a compliment. It’s amazing to see how good she is week in week out. Rarely puts in a terrible performance, always pretty solid. The major will come but also, more importantly for me, getting lots of wins in a given season because she deserves that, because her golf is that good.
“I think she really loves the Solheim Cup as well. The fact she’s got 11 teammates is a bonus, but I think she’s more than happy to get out there and try and get some points off the Americans.”
Hull isn’t the only Solheim veteran that Europe can call on, with Spaniard Carlota Ciganda also appearing for the eighth time, France’s Celine Boutier at her fifth and the hero of 2021 – Ireland’s Leona Maguire – bringing her incredible 70.83 winning percentage in Solheim Cup matches after receiving a captain’s pick.
Davies, who has been part of the European team room at the last couple of Solheim Cups and will be again this year, says that Nordqvist has already given the players a rough idea of who they might be playing with when the action starts on Friday morning.
Nerves will be jangling as practice rounds over the next couple of days determine the exact nature of the final selections but Davies claims there is nothing quite like a Solheim Cup and has urged the players to relish it.
“It was the best thing in my career,” insists the four-time major winner. “I played 12 of them over the years [between 1990 and 2011] and loved every one – I lost eight and won four but still, I’ve only got good memories of all of them.
“It’s a pressure packed cauldron of a tournament, but these players, they live for that. It’s great to have 11 teammates and all the other people to help you during that one week, every two years. If any of the players ever come away from it, not having enjoyed it, it’s a real waste.”
Watch every moment of the Solheim Cup live, exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW from Friday 11 September
