CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — The 20th edition of the Solheim Cup is being hosted in the Netherlands for the first time in the tournament’s history.
It will begin at a very loud first tee on Friday morning at Bernardus Golf, a 20-minute drive from ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the nearest city to the course, which is about an hour’s drive south of Amsterdam.
The United States is seeking to defend the title won on home soil two years ago and add to a tally of 11 wins since the tournament was established in 1990.
Dutchwoman Anne van Dam, who is one of Anna Nordqvist’s vice-captains, is hoping her home tournament, which has been four years in the making, will be a winning one for Europe, who have won eight in total, including retaining it once. Van Dam is also hoping it can mark the beginning of a boom for women’s golf in a country not immediately synonymous with the sport.
“I hope it does a lot because we need it,” Van Dam, who has twice represented her country at the Olympics and has five wins on the Ladies European Tour, told reporters.
“We don’t have many new rising stars, which is unfortunate … as a young kid you need an event like this to motivate you or to pick up the sport. I just hope that a lot of kids pick up the sport, or parents that see this are like, ‘Wow, this is cool’. I can only hope it inspires them a lot.”
Van Dam, who resides in her home city of Arnhem, was only the second Dutch woman to compete at a Solheim Cup when she made her debut in 2019. The first was Christel Boeljon, who represented Europe in 2011 when they won at Killeen Castle in the Republic of Ireland.
As heavy rain showers flickered on and off throughout the day Wednesday, all 12 players from team Europe and the U.S. faced the media.
Englishwoman Charley Hull, a tournament veteran about to tee it off in her eighth Solheim Cup, also hopes this weekend can be an uplifting week for Dutch golf.
“It gives an opportunity to younger kids to start playing golf. And they’re going to come to Solheim — and it’s a really, really fun event to watch as well — and think golf’s super fun. Rather than a typical stereotype, old-man sport. When they come here, it’s more of an event and I just think this can’t not be good for golf. It’s really good for golf.
“Hopefully in 20 years, there will be some junior who was walking around here watching us play and they’re hopefully on the team.”
Team USA for the Solheim Cup
Team USAAgeRolex World Ranking
Nelly Korda
28
1
Lauren Coughlin
33
18
Auston Kim
26
22
Angel Yin
27
25
Jennifer Kupcho
29
31
Yealimi Noh
25
39
Andrea Lee
28
40
Allisen Corpuz
28
45
Alison Lee
31
55
Lindy Duncan
35
63
Rose Zhang
23
66
Megan Khang
28
85
Team Europe for the Solheim Cup
Team EuropeAgeRolex World Ranking
Lottie Woad
22
6
Charley Hull
30
7
Esther Henseleit
27
19
Maja Stark
26
27
Céline Boutier
32
32
Carlota Ciganda
36
56
Linn Grant
27
58
Nanna Koerstz Madsen
31
69
Leona Maguire
31
82
Nastasia Nadaud
21
89
Julia López Ramirez
23
91
Mimi Rhodes
24
98
Outside of the annual Dutch Ladies Open and the men’s Dutch Open, this is the first time a major golfing event has taken place in the Netherlands. And both teams are naturally enjoying a friendly welcome.
U.S. team captain Angela Stanford is on her third trip to the Netherlands since first visiting to scope out the course and surroundings a year ago. Stanford and her three vice-captains took the team sightseeing in Amsterdam last weekend for team bonding.
“It’s a beautiful country. The first time we were here in September last year, we visited Amsterdam. I was kind of blown away; it’s gorgeous. It’s a fun city to walk around,” she said.
“We did do the tandem bike; that is a lifelong memory. And then the golf course, I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, again, this is the first time we’re going to host the largest women’s golf tournament in the world in a new place, so just some uncertainty there because we had never been here.
“And it’s been great. It’s a beautiful host. I think the more I see it, the more I’m catching different parts of it and different aspects of the golf course. So I love the par-3s. The par-3s are awesome. The par-5s are going to be a ton of fun to watch for spectators. It’s going to be a great host this week, Bernardus.”
Megan Khang, one of Stanford’s captain’s picks, was impressed that the Junior Solheim Cup was hosted at the same venue. Van Dam captained the European team, which lost 13-11, although she did almost inspire her team to an unbelievable comeback as they picked up 8.5 points in the singles Tuesday afternoon.
Megan Khang during the pre-tournament press conference. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
“They did a great job having the Junior Solheim Cup play on the same golf course as us,” Khang, who has appeared four times at the Solheim Cup previously, said. “I feel like as soon as you’ve been here, there have been so many people, even in Amsterdam, who were so excited for the Solheim Cup.
“The Netherlands has done a fantastic job of promoting this event and really embracing this as a competition. And for us it’s been nothing but a great experience. Hopefully the weather stays a little away from us, but if it comes, we’re ready for it. But I think the fans will show out and it’s a beautiful golf course.”
On Thursday, both captains’ pairings for Friday morning foursomes and afternoon four-ball matches will be announced. And then, on Friday morning, will come the chanting from the grandstands as those in orange jerseys gather around the first tee.
The hope for Dutch golf is that the noise can echo into the future.