Your Preview to the 2026 Solheim Cup

The Solheim Cup returns from 11–13 September 2026, as 24 of the world’s leading female golfers head to Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands for three days of intense team match-play action.

The United States arrive as defending champions after winning on home soil in 2024, while Europe will be looking to reclaim the trophy in front of a home crowd. It will also be a landmark edition of the competition, with the Netherlands hosting the Solheim Cup for the first time.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2026 Solheim Cup.

What is the Solheim Cup?

The Solheim Cup is the premier team competition in women’s golf, bringing together 12 players from Europe and 12 from the United States.

First played in 1990, the biennial event is the women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup and uses a match-play format rather than traditional stroke play.

There are 28 matches and 28 points available across the three days. Friday and Saturday each feature four foursomes matches and four four-ball matches, before all 24 players take part in 12 head-to-head singles matches on Sunday.

In foursomes, two-player teams alternate shots using the same ball, while in four-balls all four golfers play their own ball, with each pair’s lowest score counting on each hole.

Each match is worth one point, with a tied match worth half a point to each team.

Europe need 14½ points to win the Solheim Cup. As defending champions, the United States need 14 points to retain the trophy if the contest finishes tied at 14–14.

Where is it being played?

For the first time in the competition’s history, the Solheim Cup is heading to the Netherlands, with Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt hosting the 20th edition.

Designed by renowned American golf-course architect Kyle Phillips, Bernardus opened in 2018 and has quickly established itself as one of the Netherlands’ leading courses.

It has already staged top-level professional golf, hosting the Dutch Open in 2021 and 2022 and the KLM Open in 2023.

The course combines wide fairways and large greens with strategically placed bunkers and water hazards, creating plenty of opportunities for attacking golf while still punishing mistakes, ingredients that should make it an intriguing test for match play.

Who is playing?

Three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist captains Team Europe, having represented Europe in the Solheim Cup 10 times as a player.

Her 12-player team contains a blend of experience and exciting new talent. Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit qualified through the LET Solheim Cup Points List, while Lottie Woad, Maja Stark, Céline Boutier, Carlota Ciganda, Linn Grant and Nanna Koerstz Madsen qualified through the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Nordqvist completed her team with four captain’s picks: Leona Maguire, Julia López Ramírez, Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes.

That means Europe will have four Solheim Cup rookies in Woad, López Ramírez, Nadaud and Rhodes.

Team USA is captained by six-time Solheim Cup player Angela Stanford and arrives in the Netherlands as the defending champion.

World star Nelly Korda leads a strong American line-up alongside Angel Yin, Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh, Auston Kim, Lauren Coughlin and Allisen Corpuz, who qualified through the U.S. Solheim Cup points standings.

Andrea Lee and Alison Lee qualified through the world rankings, while Stanford selected Lindy Duncan, Megan Khang and Rose Zhang as her three captain’s picks.

The Americans have just two Solheim Cup rookies, Auston Kim and Duncan, and plenty of experience from their victory two years ago.

What happened last time?

The United States reclaimed the Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia in September 2024, defeating Europe 15½–12½.

It was the Americans’ first victory in the competition since 2017, following European wins in 2019 and 2021 and a dramatic 14–14 tie in Spain in 2023, which allowed Europe to retain the trophy.

The United States now lead the overall series 11–7, with one tie.

A victory in the Netherlands would give the USA consecutive Solheim Cup wins for the first time since their victories in 2015 and 2017.

What to watch

Home advantage could prove significant for Europe, with a passionate crowd expected at Bernardus as the continent attempts to regain the trophy.

But the Americans arrive with confidence and a team containing several players who produced outstanding performances in 2024. Rose Zhang went a perfect 4–0–0 in Virginia, while Megan Khang was also unbeaten.

Europe, meanwhile, will hope its experienced core can combine with a new generation of players. The likes of Hull, Ciganda, Boutier and Maguire know exactly what the Solheim Cup demands, while four European rookies will experience the competition for the first time.

And rankings and individual form only tell part of the story.

The Solheim Cup is about partnerships, momentum, course management and performing under enormous pressure. A match can turn with one birdie, one mistake or one crucial putt, and after 27 matches, the destination of the trophy can still come down to the final holes on Sunday afternoon.

Twenty-four players. Two teams. Twenty-eight matches. One trophy.

The Solheim Cup is back.