2015 Solheim Cup

The 2015 Solheim Cup was the 14th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held 18–20 September at the St. Leon course of Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, St. Leon-Rot, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Solheim Cup is a biennial team competition between the top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States. It is a three-day match play event between teams of twelve players with a similar format to the Ryder Cup.

The United States won by a score of 141⁄2 to 131⁄2; the closest score in the history of the Cup.

Format
The Solheim Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The format is as follows:
 * Day 1 (Friday): Four foursome (alternate shot) matches in a morning session and four fourball (better ball) matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
 * Day 2 (Saturday): Four foursome matches in a morning session and four fourball matches in an afternoon session. A total of eight players from each team participate in each session.
 * Day 3 (Sunday): 12 singles matches. All 12 players from each team participate.

With a total of 28 points, 141⁄2 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes. If the score is even after 18 holes, each team earns one-half point.

Eligibility criteria
The European and United States teams had different eligibility criteria:

Team Europe

Members of the European team must: Either:
 * 1) be current members of the Ladies European Tour in any category or membership;
 * 2) have played in six Ranking Events during the Qualifying Period as a member of the LET, unless selected as a Captain's pick (provided she is otherwise eligible);
 * 3) must be a "European national", defined by Solheim Cup rules as someone:

(i) born in a European country; and

(ii) holding a current passport of that European country;

Or:

(i) having been naturalised as a citizen of a European country;

(ii) having held a current passport of that European country for the immediately preceding four consecutive years;

(iii) having resided in that European country for the immediately preceding four consecutive years.

A European country is a nation situated in the continent of Europe and is recognised as an independent state by the United Nations.

Any player who holds dual nationality (of which one shall be the nationality of a European country) shall elect on joining the LET in each of 2013 and 2014 whether she wishes to be eligible for selection for the 2015 European Solheim Cup Team.

Team USA

Members of the United States team must be current members of the LPGA Tour and meet one of these three citizenship criteria:
 * U.S. citizens by birth, regardless of their birthplace.
 * Those who were naturalized as U.S. citizens before age 18.
 * Those who became U.S. citizens by adoption before age 13.

Team selection
The European and United States teams were selected by different methods.

Team Europe

Team Europe consists of the top four players from the LET Solheim Cup standings, followed by the top four LET members on the Women's World Golf Rankings as of 24 August who were not already qualified via the Solheim Cup standings, and four captain's selections. Qualifying points for Team Europe were awarded weekly to the top-10 finishers at official LET events.

Team USA

Team USA qualifies by earning points for wins and for top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour over a two-year period. Points were earned beginning with the 2013 CN Canadian Women's Open (25 August) and concluding with the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women's Open (23 August). Points were increased in 2015 and doubled in the five major championships. The eight players with the highest points are automatically selected for Team USA. Two additional players will qualify based on their position in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings and two were selected as wildcards by the team captain from among all eligible players.

Teams
Age at the start of the 2015 Solheim Cup matches on 18 September 2015. Reid had her 28th birthday on the second day.

Rolex rankings as of the date of team selection on 25 August 2015.

Maria McBride played in the Solheim Cup as Maria Hjorth.

Age at the start of the 2015 Solheim Cup matches on 18 September 2015. Lincicome turned 30 on 19 September. Rolex rankings as of the date of team selection on 25 August 2015.

Day one
Friday, 18 September – Saturday, 19 September, 2015

Morning foursomes
The opening match was all square after six holes. The USA team of Pressel and Creamer then won four of the next seven holes and went on to win the match 3 & 2. The second match alternated between all-square and 1-up for the European team of Hull and Reid through 16 holes. A birdie on the 17th sealed Europe's 2 & 1 win. The USA team of Kerr and Thompson led the third match throughout, extending the lead to 4-up by the sixth hole. Three birdies in a row on holes 13-15 by the European team of Icher and Muñoz closed the gap to 1-up before the USA team birdied the 17th hole to secure a 2 & 1 win. In the fourth match, the USA team of Lewis and Salas got off to a 1-up lead after two holes but the European team of Gal and Matthew pulled ahead, winning six of the next 14 holes to the USA team's two to win the match 3 & 2.

Afternoon four-ball
Europe's Nordqvist and Hedwall led the first match from the second hole on the way to a 4 & 3 victory; The USA team of Pressel and Creamer won only one hole in the match. Europe's Hull and Nocera were never behind in their match. A run of four birdies in five holes saw them take a 4-hole lead on the 12th. They closed out the match by a 3 & 2 margin on the 16th hole having been dormie three. Play had been suspended at about 4:30 pm CET because of a thunderstorm and, although play resumed an hour later at 5:30 pm, there was not enough daylight to complete the final two matches. Play was suspended 7:47 pm and resumed the following day at 7:45 am. After resuming Melissa Reid and Lexi Thompson both had birdies on the 18th to ensure that the third match was halved. In the anchor match Gerina Piller and Brittany Lang fought from a one-hole deficit back to secure a half a point.

Day two
Saturday, 19 – Sunday, 20 September 2015

Morning foursomes
Because of the delay the previous day, the foursomes did not start until 9:15 am. Reid and Ciganda were never behind in their match and closed it out 4 & 3 on the 15th hole. In the second match Hull and Pettersen were 4 down to Creamer and Pressel before a run of birdies from the 12th hole saw the European team make the match all-square on the 17th hole. Pettersen holed the putt for the win on the 18th. Gal and Matthew always had a lead in the third match but it became a very tight affair and Stanford and Lincicome brought them to the 18th hole with Europe 1-up. The teams halved the 18th with fours to give Europe the win. In the anchor match, the American pairing of Lewis and Piller regained a one-hole lead at the 7th hole and eventually defeated the all-Swedish duo of Nordqvist and Hedwall by a 5 & 4 margin on the 14th hole.

Afternoon four-ball
Match 4 (Lewis/Piller v. Masson/Hedwall) started before Matches 2 and 3. The table below reflects the official order. Play was suspended at 7:40 pm because of darkness and resumed on Sunday.

The match between Pettersen/Hull and Lee/Lincicome generated some controversy. On the 17th green, with the match all square, Lee missed a putt to win the hole. Taking for granted that the next 18-inch putt was conceded, she picked up her ball. However, Pettersen pointed out that it was not conceded, and the Europeans won the hole. The European team captain Carin Koch and vice captain Annika Sörenstam tried to convince Pettersen to change her mind and concede the putt, but as it was a fact that Lee had picked up her ball without the putt being given to her, it wasn't a possibility within the rules of golf, to agree on another outcome of the hole and change the sequence of events afterwards. Pettersen/Hull eventually won the match and Europe took a 10–6 lead going into singles. Pettersen, criticized as unsportsmanlike by USA captain Inkster and European golfer Laura Davies, among others, initially refused to back down from her decision. The following day, Pettersen posted an apology for her actions on Instagram, saying "I've never felt more gutted and truly sad about what went down Sunday on the 17th at the Solheim Cup."

Day three
Sunday, 20 September 2015

Singles
The start of the singles matches was delayed until 10:40 am.

Going into singles, the United States trailed 10–6 and needed 81⁄2 more points to win back the Cup. The Americans did just that, with Creamer winning the final match to give the USA a one-point victory. It was the biggest comeback in the history of the Solheim Cup.

Individual player records
Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.