It’s getting to be a “now or never” situation for players who are dreaming and hoping of being part of the 14th Solheim Cup in September.
Only six LPGA events remain where players can earn points for the United States and European Team standings, so time is of the essence for anyone in the mix. Two of the next six events are major championships, where points will be doubled, so there is still a good chance a player could get on a hot streak and make a big move up the standings.
On the U.S. side, two-time and reigning Rolex Player of the Year Stacy Lewis has a massive points lead with 925.5 points, with Lexi Thompson in second with 600.5. Michelle Wie (430.5 points), Cristie Kerr (429) and Brittany Lincicome (418) round out the top five and are in good shape heading into next week’s U.S. Women’s Open in Lancaster, Pa.
Morgan Pressel (329.5), Angela Stanford (305.5), Gerina Piller (288.5), Paula Creamer (277.5) and Jessica Korda (259) would be on the team if the current standings were the final deciding factor, with Lizette Salas (237.5), Brittany Lang (204), Austin Ernst (175) and Mo Martin (173) among the players who would be in the running to be one of Captain Juli Inkster’s two picks. Christina Kim (132), Kim Kaufman (88.5), Jennifer Johnson (88), Alison Lee (79.5), Danielle Kang (76) and Alison Walshe (73.5) are part of a large group of players who need to make some things happen before the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open concludes on Aug. 23.
Considering how many points are available for top-20 finishers, plenty of drama is left to unfold, and anything can happen in the coming weeks.
The same goes for the European side, where France’s Gwladys Nocera leads the points standings with 178.50 points. Suzann Pettersen of Norway is second with 173, England’s Charley Hull is third with 153.5 and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda stands fourth with 112.67. The next four team members are based on the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings, with Anna Nordqvist (SWE), Azahara Munoz (ESP), Sandra Gal (GER) and Catriona Matthew (SCO) filling out the current automatic qualifiers.
Melissa Reid of England was sixth in the European Solheim Cup standings through June 21, Valentine Derrey (FRA) eighth, Kylie Walker (SCO) ninth and Laura Davies (ENG) 10th, so they need to make a move soon to climb into the top four if they want to tee it up in Germany Sept. 18-20. France’s Karine Icher and Germany’s Caroline Masson are eighth and 10th, respectively in the world rankings among Europeans, so they have some work to do as well.
All “bubble” players are in the running for Captain Carin Koch’s five captain’s picks, so if they continue their strong play, they could be in the spotlight in St. Leon-Rot. One player who has not been mentioned yet, but who is a good bet to be one of Koch’s selections is Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall.
Even though Hedwall has struggled this year and is 86th on the LPGA Tour money list, her 5-0 mark at the 2013 Solheim Cup for the victorious European squad and 7-1-1 overall record make her a must-have for the Europeans.
Regardless of how the final tallies play out, the three-day event is going to be another epic battle for the ages. Watching players fight for spots on the respective teams is nearly as much fun and should provide plenty of entertainment and excitement as well.
Welcome to crunch time.
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