STORY BY AKSH GUPTA

 

 

Team USA celebrates reclaiming the Solheim Cup in 2024. Now, they arrive in the Netherlands as defending champions.

 

Golf is usually an individual sport. The Solheim Cup changes that.

For three days, 24 of the best women golfers in the world stop playing for themselves and compete for something bigger: their team, their continent and one of the most coveted trophies in women's golf.

 

The 20th Solheim Cup arrives at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands from September 11 to 13, with Team USA defending the Cup it reclaimed in 2024. Team Europe, meanwhile, will have something the Americans cannot manufacture: home advantage.

And that could make 2026 very interesting.

 

So, how does the Solheim Cup work?

 

Think of it as the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, but with a match-play format that can turn a golf match upside down in minutes.

Over Friday and Saturday, players compete in foursomes and four-ball matches.

 

In foursomes, two teammates share one ball and alternate shots. In four-ball, both players play their own ball and the better score counts. Then comes Sunday: 12 singles matches.

In total, there are 28 points available.

 

A team needs 14 points to win. But because the defending champion retains the Cup in a 14-14 tie, the challenger needs 14.5 points to take it away.

Fourteen to keep it. Fourteen and a half to steal it. That is the Solheim Cup.

 

USA has the Cup. Europe wants it back.

 

The United States won the 2024 edition 15.5-12.5, with Lilia Vu's birdie on the 18th helping seal the victory.

It ended Europe's run of three consecutive editions in which it either won or retained the Cup, including the extraordinary 14-14 tie in 2023.

 

 

USA and Europe have produced some of the most fiercely contested moments in women's team golf.

 

Now the Americans arrive as defending champions.

Nelly Korda is back. So is Rose Zhang, who went a perfect 4-0-0 in 2024. Megan Khang is preparing for her fifth consecutive Solheim Cup, while rookie Lindy Duncan brings a fresh face to the American team.

 

But Europe has plenty of firepower of its own.

Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda are set for their eighth appearances, while Celine Boutier, Maja Stark, Linn Grant and Lottie Woad add a fascinating mix of experience and youth.

And then there is the home crowd.

 

Welcome to Bernardus

 

This will be the first Solheim Cup ever played in the Netherlands.

Bernardus Golf is a relatively young venue, having opened in 2018, but it has already established itself on the international golf calendar through the Dutch Open.

 

 

Bernardus Golf will host its first Solheim Cup, bringing the biggest stage in women's team golf to the Netherlands.

 

Now it gets its biggest stage yet. And the atmosphere could become a weapon.

Match play is emotional. A birdie can change the momentum of an entire match. A missed putt can swing the crowd. A player who is two down can suddenly be one up.

When thousands of European fans are behind a player, Bernardus could feel very different from a regular LPGA tournament.

 

Could history be made?

 

The Solheim Cup record book is filled with names such as Laura Davies, who remains the competition's career points leader with 25.

But 2026 brings a new generation looking to write their own chapters. Rose Zhang already has a perfect Solheim Cup record to defend.

 

Nelly Korda is building one of the most significant American careers of her generation. Megan Khang is entering her fifth consecutive appearance.

And with several rookies on both sides, there is also the possibility of a new star announcing herself on the biggest team stage in women's golf.

 

The question is not simply who will win. It is who will leave Bernardus having become part of Solheim Cup history.

 

And before the main event, the future gets its turn

 

There is one more reason this year's event is special. The Junior Solheim Cup will be played at Bernardus on September 7 and 8, just days before the main competition.

 

The future of women's golf will take the same stage before the world's best arrive.

Some of those young players could one day return to Bernardus as Solheim Cup stars themselves.

 

So, who has the edge?

 

The United States has the trophy, recent momentum and plenty of Solheim Cup experience.

Europe has home advantage, a passionate crowd and a history of making this competition extremely uncomfortable for the Americans on European soil.

 

The Americans are chasing another victory. Europe is chasing revenge.

And somewhere between the first tee shot on Friday and the final singles match on Sunday, the Solheim Cup will once again remind us why team golf is so different.

 

Because when it comes down to the 18th hole, the world rankings disappear.

The statistics disappear. There is just one match, one hole and one point.

 

USA has the Cup. Europe has home advantage. 

On September 11, we find out which one matters more.