Anna Nordqvist of Sweden has accepted an invitation to lead the European Solheim Cup in 2026.
Anna Nordqvist will captain the European Solheim Cup team in the Netherlands next year, and hopes to avenge the loss her side took at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club this past fall.
The U.S. won 15.5 to 12.5, winning the competition for the first time since 2017. That week, Nordqvist served as a playing vice-captain and posted a 2-2 record. With 18.5 career points, she is the fifth-winningest player in European Solheim Cup history, trailing only Laura Davies, Annika Sorenstam, Catriona Matthew, and Suzann Pettersen.
Pettersen, who hails from Norway, tabbed her good friend Nordqvist to serve as a playing vice-captain at the 2023 Solheim Cup as well. Nordqvist won only one match that week, though, yet it was an important one: she defeated Jennifer Kupcho in Sunday Singles 2 & 1. The Europeans and the Americans subsequently tied 14 apiece, but because Europe won in 2021, they retained the cup in Finca Cortesin.
“Whether we were winning or losing, the Solheim Cup has played such a huge part in my career ever since I made my debut in 2009 in Chicago,” Nordqvist said.
“The friendships I have made and the memories created during the nine matches I’ve played make it so incredibly special to be given the opportunity to be European captain at my 10th Solheim Cup.”
The 37-year-old Swede, who has won three majors, has had a tough few years leading up to this opportunity.
In an interview with the Swedish news agency TT, Nordquist opened up about her high-stress levels and how she produces abnormally high levels of cortisol.
“It has knocked out my entire system on the golf course; at times, I could feel rather unconscious,” Nordqvist said.
“There are several tournaments I don’t even remember having played. The Solheim Cup in Spain is one of them. I remember a few holes here and there.”
She has also experienced tremendous loss in her personal life.
In an interview with Golfweek, Nordqvist opened up about how she and her husband, Kevin McAlpine, an LPGA caddie, were going through a divorce. Then, McAlpine suddenly unexpectedly passed away at the age of 39 — Nordqvist described it as watching her life ‘shatter into a thousand pieces.’
“I think to be able to deal with it, to handle it, to get over it and like all the practical stuff that she’s had to deal with in the aftermath. I think you do change by nature, how you look at life, how you look at relationships, how you look at, I don’t know, the game of golf means nothing, right?” Pettersen said of Nordqvist.
“What’s the importance of another shot or another tournament or another, I don’t know, an another victory? I really just think it puts life in perspective when you go through a kind of severeness like that, and I really hope I don’t need to see any other friends have to go through what she’s been through because I know it’s been tough as hell to be honest, literally. I don’t think there’s another word for it.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
