Photo by Andrew Redington/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis has her complete team as she made her three picks and incredibly Zhang didn’t need to be one of them.
The United States Solheim Cup team is complete.
The nine qualifiers were announced, and Captain Stacy Lewis made her three captain’s picks. The team is set to take on the European ladies Sept. 22-24 at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain.
Among the nine qualifiers was Rose Zhang, the rookie phenom who became the first woman since 1954 to win her first LPGA event.
Despite joining the season after she won back-to-back NCAA individual titles, her incredible efforts put her on the team.
The top seven women in the U.S. Solheim Cup Team Standings automatically qualified, including Lila Vu, Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee.
Zhang and Lexi Thompson, by being the two highest Americans in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings not among the seven, also qualified.
“It’s an honor to be on this team, for me to be with the best players in the world as well as be an athlete that represents her country,” Zhang said in the LPGA press release. “I can’t wait to go to Spain and tee it up with these amazing girls, and at the same time represent the Red, White and Blue.”
Lewis then chose Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin to join the team.
Five of the 12 ladies on the American team are rookies. Zhang, Corpuz, Knight, Lee and Vu are the youngsters.
Thompson will make her sixth Solheim Cup appearance, and it will be Kang’s fourth.
The Americans are looking to take back the Solheim Cup after falling to Team Europe in 2019 14.5-13.5 at Gleneagles in Scotland. Team U.S. does lead the overall series though, 10-6 in Solheim Cup competitions.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
