Suzann Pettersen Names Team Europe Solheim Cup Wildcards
The Team Europe captain has named her four wildcards for the biennial match at Finca Cortesin
Team Europe Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen has revealed her four captain’s picks to complete her 12-player team for the biennial match against the USA at Finca Cortesin in Spain.
Eight players had already qualified via the LET points list and Rolex World Ranking. Joining them will be Madelene Sagstrom, Gemma Dryburgh, Caroline Hedwall and Emily Kristine Pedersen.
Swede Sagstrom’s selection is not unexpected as she holds the highest position of any eligible player in the world rankings who hadn’t already qualified, at 42nd.
She has had a mixed bag of results in 2023, but there have been some significant high points, notably finishing T10 in the Cognizant Founder Cup, third in the Scandinavian Mixed and T9 in the Freed Women’s Scottish Open.
Sagstrom also has significant experience in the Solheim Cup having competed in the match in both 2017 and 2021 with a 2-4-0 overall record.
Six places beneath Sagstrom in the world rankings is Scot Dryburgh, who will make her Solheim Cup debut.
The 30-year-old has five professional wins, including the 2022 Toto Japan Classic on the LPGA Tour, while she impressed in the fourth Major of 2023, the Amundi Evian Championship, finishing eighth, suggesting she has the appetite for the big occasion.
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Swede Hedwall brings vast experience to the team. The 34-year-old has amassed 16 professional wins, including seven on the LET, most recently in the Spanish Women’s Open in 2022, which Pettersen will hope stands her in good stead in the same country for this year’s match.
Hedwall also replaced compatriot Grant on the Swedish team for May’s match play Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown due to Grant’s vaccination status at that time. She has four previous appearances in the Solheim Cup, with an overall record of 8-6-1.
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Dane Pedersen has not had the best of years with her only top-10 finish coming in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
However, she expressed her desire to make the team during the AIG Women’s Open, saying: “It’s no secret that I want to be there.” Pedersen eventually finished T30 and that, coupled with her Solheim Cup record of 3-4-0 from her two appearances, is enough to get the nod from Pettersen.
Below is the confirmed European team for the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin, taking place between 22 and 24 September.
Confirmed European Solheim Cup Team
- Celine Boutier
- Maja Stark
- Charley Hull
- Leona Maguire
- Georgia Hall
- Linn Grant
- Carlota Ciganda
- Anna Nordqvist
- Madelene Sagstrom
- Gemma Dryburgh
- Caroline Hedwall
- Emily Kristine Pedersen
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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