Solheim Cup: Dates, schedule, history and odds

The Solheim Cup is the most prestigious team event in women's golf, with the best players from Europe taking on their counterparts from the USA every two years.

The three-day competition, featuring fourball, foursome and singles matches, is being held in the USA this year where the hosts are 8/11 favourites to take the crown, while Europe are 11/8 to get their hands on the prize.

Solheim Cup dates

The 2024 Solheim Cup starts on Friday 13th September and finishes on Sunday 15th September.

Solheim Cup teams

Teams of 12 players have been selected to represent Europe and the USA, with captain's picks now locked in.

Team USA

Team USA boast the number one and two players in the world in Nelly Korda, who won five consecutive tournaments this season, including the Chevron Championship before finishing T2 in the British Open, and Lilia Vu, who's had a remarkable ascent up the women's game. In 2023, Vu won her first major at the Chevron Championship in just her sixth major start as a pro, winning the British Open later that year.

Vu missed the first two majors of 2024, but recorded T2 finishes at the PGA Championship and British Open, coming into the Solheim Cup in superb form.

Lexi Thompson, who announced she'd retire at the end of the 2024 LPGA season, will make her seventh and final Solheim Cup appearance, with Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel the two rookies.

Team USA: Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Ally Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang, Alison Lee, Sarah Schmelzel, Jennifer Kupcho, Lexi Thompson.

Team Europe

Team Europe don't have any of this year's major winners, but they do have 10 of the team that retained the cup in 2023. with Albane Valenzuela and Esther Henseleit stepping in to make their debuts.

Europe also boast 2023 Evian Championship winner Celine Boutier, as well as Swedish pair Linn Grant and Maja Stark, who went a combined 5-3-1 in Spain last year.

Team Europe: Celine Boutier, Charley Hull, Maja Stark, Linn Grant, Esther Hensleit, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, Madelene Sagstrom, Georgia Hall, Albane Valenzuela, Anna Nordqvist, Emily Kristine Pedersen.

Solheim Cup format

Like the Ryder Cup, in which male golfers representing Europe and the USA compete, the Solheim Cup is a three-day matchplay event.

The first day features two sessions of play with four foursome (alternate-shot) matches in the morning, followed by four fourball (better ball) matches in the afternoon.

On day two there are four foursome matches in the morning session and four fourball matches in the afternoon.

The Solheim Cup concludes on the third day with 12 singles matches, in which every player from the two teams is involved.

Solheim Cup captains

Both teams will retain the services of the captains who took them into the competition in 2023, with Stacy Lewis set to lead the USA and Suzann Pettersen taking charge of Europe.

Lewis, who won the 2011 Chevron Championship and the 2013 British Open, will be assisted by Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome.

Norway’s Pettersen, who has played in nine Solheim Cups, will be assisted by Anna Norqvist, Dame Laura Davies, Caroline Martens and Mel Reid.

Solheim Cup venue

The biennial Solheim Cup match alternates between venues in Europe and the United States and will be played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia in 2024. 

The venue played host to the first Presidents Cup in 1994, a men’s matchplay tournament between the USA and the International team, and has staged three further editions. All four have been won by the American team .

Solheim Cup how to watch

You can follow the Solheim Cup on bet365's Live Golf Tracker, while Sky Sports Golf will also be providing coverage for fans in the UK.

Coverage will start at 11:30 BST on Friday and Saturday with coverage starting at 13:00 BST on Sunday.

How many times has the Solheim Cup taken place?

The Solheim Cup first took place in 1990 and it is being held for the 19th time in 2024.

The USA won the inaugural event under the captaincy of Kathy Whitworth, but Europe are the defending champions after they won 15-13 in 2021 and then claimed a 14-14 tie at Finca Cortesin in Spain in 2023.

Who has won the Solheim Cup on the most occasions?

The USA have won 10 of the first 18 editions of the Solheim Cup, with Europe triumphing on seven occasions and one tie.

The Americans dominated the early years of the competition, winning eight of the first 11 stagings, but Europe have emerged victorious in four of the last seven, banking wins in 2019 and 2021 and then retaining the trophy in 2023 when the contest ended in a tie.

Solheim Cup scoring system

A matchplay format is used throughout the three days of the Solheim Cup competition with each hole worth one point.

If a team or player builds up a lead that cannot be overhauled - for example, they are '5up' with four holes left - then the match is over.

Each of the 28 matches is worth one point to the winner and the teams receive half a point each if a match is tied.

The first team to reach 14.5 points wins the Solheim Cup. A 14-14 tie is possible, as we saw during the 2023 edition.