Latest news with #SolheimCups
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
U.S. Solheim Cup stalwart Paula Creamer selected as second Assistant Captain for 2026 team
U.S. Solheim Cup stalwart Paula Creamer selected as second Assistant Captain for 2026 team One of the most decorated United States Solheim Cup players of all-time is returning as an Assistant Captain for the 2026 competition. Angela Stanford announced Tuesday her second Assistant Captain for 2026, naming Paula Creamer to her stable. Creamer joins Kristy McPherson, who was announced two weeks ago as the first Assistant Captain. 'Paula's passion for her country and the Solheim Cup are infectious,' Stanford said in a release. 'I truly enjoyed being Paula's teammate when we played on Solheim Cups and when we worked as assistants together in Virginia last year. Paula is a winner and a leader and somebody I want in the room every time at every Solheim Cup.' Creamer is a 10-time LPGA winner, also claiming the title at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open. She played on her first Solheim Cup team as an LPGA rookie in 2005 at age 19, then the youngest player in U.S. Solheim Cup history. She also represented the United States in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. Creamer has seven foursomes victories and eight-and-a-half foursomes points are the most for any American player; 14 foursomes appearances and five singles victories are second only to Juli Inkster; 17 overall match victories and 19.5 overall points earned are second only to Cristie Kerr; and her 7-and-5 singles win over Laura Davies in 2005 is the third-largest margin of victory in Solheim Cup singles history 'I am honored to have been asked by Angela to be one of her assistant captains when she leads the U.S. Team next year in the 2026 Solheim Cup," Creamer said. "Wearing the red, white and blue has been an important part of my career. I have pledged to Angela to do whatever she needs me to do to help her and the U.S. team represent the United States well and ultimately retain the Cup for another two years,' said Creamer. 'Winning overseas isn't easy, but Angela will have the U.S. team ready and will get the job done. 2026 can't come fast enough.' Stanford and Creamer were Solheim Cup teammates in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, but were never paired together.
BBC News
21-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
The 2030 Solheim Cup needs a host - is it England's time?
Mel Reid's appointment as a Solheim Cup vice-captain for the third time serves as a timely reminder of English golf's contribution to the biennial as Reid prepares to assist Europe skipper Anna Nordqvist for next year's attempt to wrestle back the trophy from the United States, a wider campaign to bring the match to England for the first time will Derby golfer played in four Solheim Cups - winning two - before serving as a vice-captain in last year's defeat in Virginia. She was also alongside Catriona Matthew for the epic win at Gleneagles six years was the most recent occasion when the UK has held a match that has never been more popular with golf fans. It was also held in Scotland at Loch Lomond in 2000 and Dalmahoy in 1992 as well as St Pierre in Wales in despite a record 12 appearances for Europe by Dame Laura Davies, with a haul of 25 points (another record) and stalwart contributions from the likes of Reid and Trish Johnson (eight appearances) England has never hosted the Solheim coming weeks are thought to be crucial in determining where the 2030 contest will be held, with a concerted effort to bring the match to England. The Grove, in Hertfordshire is considered the most likely venue. 'I'm honoured to be a vice-captain' Any bid will require government funding and staging the Solheim Cup sits on the UK sports' major events hosting target list which also includes the Fifa Women's World Cup in last month the outgoing chair of UK Sport, Dame Katherine Grainger expressed frustration that Britain is not staging more major events over the coming decade."We don't want fallow years," she told BBC Sport. "After 2028, we don't really have anything named. That is quite a big gap."There are plenty of events that still are there for the taking. It's quite obvious why these mega-events are so important to the country, and yet maybe we haven't made the case clear."It will be at least a decade before the Ryder Cup could be staged in England - Bolton is staging an audacious bid to hold the 2035 match - so the time would appear ripe for Solheim Cup to come to England for the first immediately Reid - surely a compelling candidate for the 2030 captaincy - and Sweden's Caroline Hedwall have been announced as vice-captains to Nordqvist for the 2026 contest at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands."If the Solheim Cup is happening, I want to be there for Europe in whatever way I can contribute," said the 37-year-old Englishwoman, who is a seven-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA."Some of my fondest core memories have been during a Solheim Cup week and in that European team room. I am honoured that Anna asked me to be one of her vice-captains."I know she is going to be an amazing captain, and I am so happy that I will be there to support her and the team and to help in any way to make Anna and the team successful."Golfing attention this week is firmly on the women's game with the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship, being held at The Club at Carlton Woods in the Woodlands near Houston in Hull spearheads the British challenge. The 29-year-old Englishwoman has banked three top-11 finishes already this 10 in the world, the Kettering star is chasing her first major title in an event where world number one Nelly Korda will begin her title defence on Thursday.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Angela Stanford, who won a major at 40, selected to captain 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup team
When the LPGA communications team asked Angela Stanford whether she could meet with the media on March 19 to discuss her Solheim Cup captaincy, she politely asked to reschedule. The day had already been reserved for good friend and fellow touring pro Kim Kaufman, who was undergoing her final round of chemotherapy back home in Texas. Stanford has been on a mission to help 33-year-old Kaufman keep her hair by helping with an ice cap regimen that restricts blood flow and chemo treatment to the hair follicle cells. They'd get dry ice in the morning and then put the first cap on an hour before chemo, changing the cap every 25 minutes throughout the session and then for four additional hours afterward. The caps are kept anywhere from minus 32 degrees to minus 40 degrees. Advertisement Stanford wasn't going to miss cap duty. For those wondering what kind of captain Stanford will be, that anecdote paints an accurate picture. 'I'm a protector by nature,' said Stanford, who steps into the role after serving as an assistant caption in the past three Solheim Cups, first to Pat Hurst and then Stacy Lewis. Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho of The United States team (standing) ride with Angela Stanford down the 18th fairway in the singles matches on the final day of the 2024 Solheim Cup at The Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 15, 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia. In those experiences, Stanford learned that she needed to be 'all in' as Solheim Cup captain, and, in recent years, Stanford hasn't been in a position to do that. Her beloved mother Nan died of cancer three years ago, and it took some time to get back to a good place both emotionally and physically. Advertisement Last year, she retired from full-time golf on the LPGA after 23 seasons. The 47-year-old won seven times on tour, including the Evian Championship at age 40, and competed in 98 consecutive major championships from 2002 to 2024, a streak that's second only to Jack Nicklaus in major championship golf. A six-time Solheim Cup player, the proud Texan earned the winning point for Team USA in 2015 when she defeated Suzann Pettersen, who was embroiled in controversy, 2-and-1 in Sunday singles. Lewis praised Stanford's never-give-up mentality as a player, and said she was most helpful in her role as assistant when it came time to make the captain's picks. 'She was there to help me as a sounding board,' said Lewis, 'and push me in the right way.' Advertisement While Stanford served as a stats guru for Lewis, she won't be quite as tied to the numbers as she leads a team of 12 Americans Sept. 11-13, 2026, at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. 'I grew up in an era that stats weren't really that important,' said Stanford, 'so my gut and my instincts, you know, those things matter to me. If I have a gut feeling about something, that number better be pretty good to talk me out of it.' Growing up, Stanford loved to play basketball in away gyms, and she relishes the idea of winning overseas, having been part of two of the three American teams that have done it in the past. The Americans hadn't won overseas since 1996 when Stanford played for Betsy King in 2007, and she appreciated the methodical, serious approach King took to the role. That being said, Stanford hopes her team gets to see her fun side. Angela Stanford a vice captain of The United States team walks with United States team members Cheyenne Knight (C) and Ally Ewing (R) prior to the The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 21, 2023 in Casares, Spain. For the Europeans, 37-year-old Swede Anna Nordqvist will lead the home team in the Netherlands, and it isn't lost on Stanford what the two captains have in common. Advertisement As Stanford grieved the loss of her mother, Nordqvist grieved the loss first of her marriage, followed by the sudden death of her ex-husband, Kevin McAlpine, at age 39. 'I find that kind of fascinating that you have two people that are captains that have walked a path of grief that they didn't want, they didn't ask for, some of the hardest stuff they've ever had to go through,' said Stanford. 'And so I think it at some point, for me, it's going to be pretty special to get to stand beside her and know that, you know, she's done everything she can as a human being just to put one foot in front of the other. She's done the work, and I've done the work, and now we get to be a part of spearheading an event that will hopefully help women's golf grow.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Angela Stanford selected to captain 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup team
Reuters
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Stanford named US captain for 2026 Solheim Cup
March 20 (Reuters) - Seven-times LPGA Tour winner Angela Stanford has been named U.S. captain for the 2026 Solheim Cup in the Netherlands, the LPGA said on Thursday. Stanford is no stranger to the biennial women's team event versus Europe having competed in six Solheim Cups and served as an assistant three times, most recently in 2024 under captain Stacy Lewis. "I've always believed that I represent more than myself on the LPGA Tour, and there is no greater honor than representing your country," Stanford, 47, said in a press release. "I consider this the pinnacle of my career, and I'm looking forward to leading our players to the Netherlands in 2026." Stanford was on the last U.S. team to win a Solheim Cup on foreign soil, in 2015 when she earned the winning point with a 2&1 victory over Suzann Pettersen. Stanford retired in 2024 after a 23-year LPGA Tour career during which she won a major at the 2018 Amundi Evian Championship in her 18th season on Tour. "Angela has always been a spark on and off the course, a true leader and a dedicated partner to her teammates," said interim LPGA Commissioner Liz Moore. "It's now her time to take the helm of the U.S. Team, and I have no doubt that she will lead her squad to a successful week in the Netherlands." The United States reclaimed the Solheim Cup in 2024 in Gainesville, Virginia, which marked their first win in the biennial matchplay competition since 2017. The next Solheim Cup will be held from September 11-13, 2026 at Bernardus Golf where three-times major winner Anna Nordqvist will captain the European team.
New York Times
20-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Angela Stanford named U.S. captain for 2026 Solheim Cup as Americans aim for back-to-back wins
Angela Stanford had been thinking about it since she left the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club property in late September following the United States' win in the Solheim Cup, anxious for an answer — desperate to know if it was her time. So when she got a call in January from former captain Stacy Lewis and LPGA interim commissioner Liz Moore joined the line, all she could do was let it out. Advertisement The seven-time LPGA tour winner was asked to be the next U.S. Solheim Cup captain. 'I'm like uncontrollably crying, and Liz is like, 'I think that's a yes?'' Stanford said in a video call with The Athletic. 'It was just all the emotion.' Stanford, 47, is a six-time Solheim Cup team member and two-time assistant captain. After a 15 1/2-12 1/2 victory over the Europeans in Virginia last year, the Americans will look to retain the cup when the biennial competition returns at Bernadus Golf in the Netherlands. In the Solheim Cup on European soil, the U.S. and Europe tied, which meant Europe retained the cup from its prior victory. The Americans have only won three overseas Solheim Cups in nine attempts. Stanford played on two of those three victorious teams, sinking the winning putt in Germany in 2015. 'I've always said I wanted to be a captain overseas,' Stanford said. 'Growing up playing team sports, I loved playing in other people's gyms. I love going to other people's fields. It's this mentality of us versus everybody.' The U.S. team room in 2024 felt especially unified from the beginning. Looking to defeat the Europeans for the first time since 2017, the Americans, with Lewis as captain, were committed to operating as a unit. And frankly, Stanford shared, they were tired of losing. Stanford hopes to build on that momentum, but she doesn't want the team to be comfortable where they are. 'They came together. No one had to force them to come together,' Stanford said of the 2024 team. 'We are going to take bits and pieces and move forward with that, but you also have to realize that every cup's different. I don't think it's genuine to say we're going to be exactly like we were in Virginia. Then you're not paying attention to the fact that it's a different challenge.' Stanford's appointment comes in the wake of her retirement from competitive golf in November. Stanford had set out to join Jack Nicklaus as the only professional golfer to make more than 100 consecutive major starts (Nicklaus has 146). Her streak ended at the 2024 U.S. Women's Open, after 98 consecutive majors over 24 years. Advertisement Her Solheim Cup team won't be revealed until late summer in 2026, but it would come as no surprise to see world No. 1 Nelly Korda teeing it up for the Americans again, in addition to Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and Lauren Coughlin, who became the squad's standout rookie in 2024 at age 31.
