American Nelly Korda, Europe’s Anna Nordqvist among Solheim Cup qualifiers

Automatic qualifiers for the U.S. and European Solheim Cup teams were finalized on Sunday upon completion of the AIG Women’s Open.

U.S. captain Pat Hurst’s team, which will try to win back the Cup next month at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, now includes the top seven in U.S. points and the next two highest-ranked Americans in the Rolex Rankings. The team will be led by world No. 1 Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang and Ally Ewing. The trio earned enough points to secure their position on the team before the qualifying period was completed.

The remaining qualifiers are Austin Ernst, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda, Megan Khang and the two players who earned positions on the U.S. team via the Rolex Rankings, Lizette Salas and Jennifer Kupcho.

Among the automatic qualifiers, Kupcho is the only rookie on the American side.

“The last two years have been so long and I’m so happy to finally know who be on Team USA in Toledo,” said Hurst. “This is an incredibly talented group of players, with so much crucial experience to lean on as we work to win back the Cup. I’m excited for the opportunity to lead this team and can’t wait to finally get to Inverness.”

Europe captain Catriona Matthew returns for her second stint as captain. The European team is currently composed of the top two players via the Ladies European Tour point standings. The next four qualifiers were determined via the Rolex Rankings. Emily Kristine Pedersen and Georgia Hall secured their positions via points. Anna Nordqvist leaped into one of the four automatic positions via the world rankings with her victory at the AIG Women’s Open. She’s joined by Sophia Popov, Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda.

“I’m really happy with my team right now for the 2021 Solheim Cup. Congratulations to Anna on her AIG Women’s Open win and securing a qualified spot in the team,” said Matthew. “There is plenty of experience there and it is great to have Sophia representing Europe for the first time.”

Captain’s picks for both teams, three on the U.S. side and six for the Europeans, will be announced on Monday.

The Solheim Cup gets underway Sept. 4 at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio.