Lexi Thompson Named One Of Three US Solheim Cup Wildcards
The 29-year-old will play in the match for the seventh time at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in September
Lexi Thompson has been named as one of US captain Stacy Lewis’s wildcards for the Solheim Cup.
Following the AIG Women’s Open, nine players booked their places via automatic qualifying, including World No.1 Nelly Korda and two-time Major winner Lillia Vu.
That left three players for Lewis to choose as wildcards for the match against Suzann Pettersen’s Team Europe at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. There, the hosts will be hoping to grapple the trophy from the grasp of the Europeans after they retained the trophy with 14-14 tie at Finca Cortesin in 2023.
To assist her with that task, Lewis' highest-profile wildcard choice is undoubtedly Thompson. The 29-year-old announced she was retiring from the full-time professional game earlier in the year, but she will now have a seventh and potentially final Solheim Cup appearance to look back on. She was impressive in 2023, too, claiming a record of 3-1-1, while she has an overall record of 9-7-7.
Thompson said: “It was a tremendous honor last year to play under Stacy. She’s somebody I’ve looked up to on and off the golf course. It’s just a great honor being able to represent my country.”
Lewis has also opted for more experience with the inclusion of Jennifer Kupcho. The three-time LPGA Tour winner will be making her third Solheim Cup appearance. She heads into the 2024 match with an overall record of 2-3-2.
She said: “It’s special. I mean it’s the greatest honor to be able to play for your country, but I also think it’s going to be amazing to be back on US soil.”
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Lewis has also turned to Sarah Schmelzel, who will be making her first Solheim Cup appearance. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old has been in good form of late, including achieving T9 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and eighth at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.
The Solheim Cup will take place between 13 and 15 September.
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US Solheim Cup Team
- Nelly Korda (points list)
- Lilia Vu (points list)
- Lauren Coughlin (points list)
- Ally Ewing (points list)
- Allisen Corpuz (points list)
- Megan Khang (points list)
- Andrea Lee (points list)
- Rose Zhang (world ranking)
- Alison Lee (world ranking)
- Jennifer Kupcho (wildcard)
- Sarah Schmelzel (wilcard)
- Lexi Thompson (wildcard)
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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