Solheim Cup: Suzann Pettersen gets Team Europe wildcard pick
Written by News on 12/08/2019
Catriona Matthew has handed Suzann Pettersen a surprise captain’s pick for Team Europe’s Solheim Cup side at Gleneagles next month.
The eight automatic qualifiers to face the Team USA were confirmed after the Ladies Scottish Open, with Matthew then naming her four wildcard picks live on Sky Sports on Monday.
Celine Boutier, Bronte Law and Jodi Ewart Shadoff were Matthew’s three other selections, with Mel Reid replacing Pettersen in her vice-captain role after missing out on featuring as a player.
Pettersen will make her ninth Solheim Cup appearance, having been limited to a vice-captaincy role two years’ ago through injury, where the 38-year-old will hope to help Europe avoid a third consecutive defeat in the biennial contest.
The Norwegian has only made two competitive starts since November 2017 after taking a break from the sport for the birth of her first child, missing the cut alongside Matthew at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and suffering an early exit in Scotland at the final qualifying event.
Law could not qualify automatically due to not playing enough events on the Ladies European Tour, although a breakthrough LPGA Tour victory in May helped the world No 25 claim a maiden Solheim Cup appearance.
The 24-year-old is one of two rookies in Matthew’s captain’s picks, with Boutier also securing a debut after narrowly failing to qualify automatically with a sixth-place finish at the AIG Women’s British Open, while Ewart Shadoff makes her third appearance for Team Europe after featuring in the 16.5-11.5 defeat in 2017.
Carlota Ciganda, Anne Van Dam and Carolina Hedwall were the three automatic qualifiers via the Ladies European Tour Solheim Cup points list, with Charley Hull, Georgia Hall, Azahara Munoz, Caroline Masson and Anna Nordqvist qualifying via their world ranking.
The United States, who have won 10 of the previous 15 Solheim Cups, will confirm their team after the conclusion of the CP Women’s Open in Canada later this month.
Watch the Solheim Cup live from September 13-15 on Sky Sports Golf!
(c) Sky Sports 2019: Solheim Cup: Suzann Pettersen gets Team Europe wildcard pick
