ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – One more day remains before 17 players – nine Americans and eight Europeans – qualify for the Solheim Cup.
With the way the leaderboard has shook out through 54 holes of the AIG Women’s Open, there will likely be little movement in terms of players moving in and out of automatic positions. The most likely is Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom yielding her automatic berth via the Rolex Rankings to Georgia Hall, though both players would surely still receive a captain’s pick should they not finish among the top six. Same goes for American Andrea Lee, who is holding onto the seventh and final points position. Veterans Lexi Thompson and Jennifer Kupcho are probably locks to be picked as well.
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis will announce her three picks on Monday while European captain Suzann Pettersen will reveal her four on Tuesday. Both captains will be at the Old Course on Sunday for some final scouting.
“We’ll be informing players on Sunday night as soon as results are final,” Lewis said. “As quick as we can make decisions, we’ll be informing people, and then they have to keep it quiet until Tuesday. … Mathematically, I can tell you there are a lot of players that are still in the mix.”
Here are six players with the most to gain Sunday at St. Andrews:
Angel Yin
She began the year in a walking boot and didn’t return to action until the T-Mobile Match Play in April. She made the quarters there, but has mostly struggled since. She complied two MCs, a WD and solo 72nd in the first four majors, though a T-2 in Portland has given life to her chances of making the American team. She fired a 69 Saturday to move into the top 30. A backdoor top-10 finish may be what she needs as there aren’t a ton of great options outside of Thompson and Kupcho.
Sarah Schmelzel
She rattled off four straight top-10s earlier this year but has just two since. At T-43 through three rounds at the Old Course, she hasn’t made it easy on Lewis. A round in the mid-60s on Sunday may entice the captain.
Alexa Pano
She’s a longshot, but again, with a lot of question marks among her competitors, the 20-year-old Pano would be an investment for the U.S. team. She was runner-up at the season opener in Orlando but hasn’t done much since. “I think at the beginning of this year, it was on my mind a little too much,” Pano said of the Solheim Cup. “I may be tried to push myself really hard for that and now I’m pushing myself for myself.” Some may think she needs a win Sunday, but at T-6, if she can record a top-3, that could be enough.
Albane Valenzuela
At No. 68 in the Rolex Rankings, it’s unlikely that Valenzuela could automatically qualify, even after a 6-under 66 Saturday to climb to T-10. But a strong finish on Sunday could push her past Anna Nordqvist (MC) and leave the Swiss standout as the second highest-ranked player among Pettersen’s pick options.
Alexandra Forsterling
She’s likely the last player on the team at the moment, so she’d love a nice Sunday to leave little doubt. She’ll begin the final round at T-43, a shot back of fellow Sun Devil Strom.
Linnea Strom
The only European to win on the LPGA this season, Strom hasn’t played well otherwise, is ranked No. 107 in the world and hasn’t heard from the European captain. However, she’s having a strong showing. Maybe she can get on Pettersen’s radar at the 11th hour.
Current Solheim Cup picture
USA
SOLHEIM POINTS
Nelly Korda (1)
Lilia Vu (2)
Lauren Coughlin (3)
Ally Ewing (4)
Allisen Corpuz (5)
Megan Khang (6)
Andrea Lee (7)
Rose Zhang (8)
Alison Lee (9)
Sarah Schmelzel (10)
Jennifer Kupcho (11)
Angel Yin (12)
ROLEX RANKINGS
Nelly Korda (1)
Lilia Vu (2)
Rose Zhang (9)
Lauren Coughlin (14)
Ally Ewing (16)
Megan Khang (21)
Alison Lee (25)
Allisen Corpuz (27)
Angel Yin (34)
Lexi Thompson (43)
Andrea Lee (44)
LIKELY CAPTAIN’S PICKS
Thompson
Kupcho
OTHER POTENTIAL PICKS
Yin
Schmelzel
Alexa Pano
EUROPE
SOLHEIM POINTS
Charley Hull (1)
Esther Henseleit (2)
Linn Grant (3)
Maja Stark (4)
Alexandra Forsterling (5)
Carlota Ciganda (6)
ROLEX RANKINGS
Celine Boutier (8)
Charley Hull (10)
Maja Stark (24)
Linn Grant (26)
Esther Henseleit (29)
Leona Maguire (32)
Carlota Ciganda (33)
Madelene Sagstrom (35)
Georgia Hall (40)
Anna Nordqvist (66)
Albane Valenzuela (68)
Alexandra Forsterling (74)
LIKELY CAPTAIN’S PICKS
Hall
OTHER POTENTIAL PICKS
Nordqvist
Valenzuela
Forsterling
Bronte Law
Linnea Strom
Bold-in position to qualify automatically
Italics-would qualify elsewhere
