For the second consecutive year, United States Team Captain Stacy Lewis and her team of decorated Assistant Captains are using KPMG Performance Insights to help guide strategy at the Solheim Cup.

Since 2021, the unprecedented level of data provided by the KPMG Performance Insights program has provided players, broadcasters and fans with statistics never previously available in women’s professional golf. Captain Lewis and her team are helping leverage those insights to steer the U.S. Team’s plan this week in Virginia.

In-person scouting of Robert Trent Jones Golf Club began in May, when Lewis and KPMG Performance Insights personnel visited the host course. This visit, along with detailed analysis of player strengths and weaknesses and of past professional events held at the venue, helped guide the team as they narrowed down the list of candidates for captain’s picks.

KPMG Performance Insights helps uncover critical details about players’ games, providing Lewis and the analytics team with the data that can provide a strategic edge. In the foursomes format, there are sequences of shots that make it advantageous for a player to tee off on either the odd or even holes. Lewis and the team use KPMG Performance Insights to determine which sequence of play will most likely lead to a player’s success.

The depth of KPMG Performance Insights is key. Statistics like proximity to the hole from a specific yardage, strokes gained around the green and putt make percentage by distance paint a clearer picture of a player’s weaknesses and strengths. This gives Captain Lewis the empirically based clarity to put out the best lineup possible for the U.S. Team.

The KPMG Performance Insights team arrived on site on Monday, meeting with Lewis and the Assistant Captains to talk early-week strategy and maximizing value of practice groupings. Things like familiarity with using different players’ golf balls and personality meshing are important in the days leading up to competition. Perhaps even more crucial is having the team practice in groups in a way that will maximize win probability for possible pairings during the week.

A different KPMG Performance Insights analyst walks with each practice group, tracking every shot. While data from practice is always taken with a grain of salt – context is key when players are working on different things in their game – it can help confirm or negate any thoughts about a player’s form entering the week.

This was a critical component at Finca Cortesin last year, when Captain Lewis and the team saw underlying statistical trends that suggested Lexi Thompson was performing better than the traditional numbers indicated. Those figures were then confirmed through both Captain Lewis’ own eyes and the data collected during practice rounds in Spain. Thompson was sent out in the first pairing of the week and would win three of her four matches overall.

Certain players’ strengths can be highlighted more or less depending on which format is in play. A player’s potential for success can be optimized through using them in the best possible way, whether that be in alternate shot, where fewer birdies are made, or foursomes, where winning sides so significantly lower. KPMG Performance Insights help unlock the answers to those questions with more depth than has ever been previously available.

The results of the program revealed themselves immediately at Finca Cortesin. The Americans opened the competition by sweeping a foursomes session for the first time in team history. Their 6-2-0 record in foursomes for the week was their best single-week performance in that format in 25 years. While the Cup ended in a 14-14 tie, the work done by Captain Lewis, the Assistant Captains and the KPMG Performance Insights team was validated.

Armed with another year of experience, Captain Lewis and the KPMG Performance Insights team are determined to win the Solheim Cup back. The numbers will help shape that path.

KPMG Performance Insights Guiding U.S. Team at the Solheim Cup

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