Solheim Cup 2019 Preview - Venue, Captains & Meet the Teams

This week women's golf takes centre stage as the Solheim Cup takes place in Scotland at Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course.

The biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers is, of course, contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. In the fifteen competitions up to 2017 Team USA leads the series 10 - 5 and they are going for a third win in succession.

To help whet your appetite for events this weekend here's our very own Solheim Cup preview below...

The Format

The Solheim Cup format mirrors that of the Ryder Cup, with 28 matches taking place including eight fourballs and eight foursomes over Friday and Saturday, and 12 nerve-jangling singles on Sunday.

With a total of 28 points on offer, this means 14.5 points are required to guarantee a win, while 14 points would be enough for Team USA to retain.

The Venue

Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course, Par: 72, Yardage: 7,296

The vast majority of golf fans will remember Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course for the 2014 Ryder Cup when Paul McGinley's European side dispatched Tom Watson's Americans by a score of 16.5-11.5.

It's a par-72 layout and was designed by the great Jack Nicklaus and through its staging this week it will become the first European golf course to host both the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup.

Meet the Captains

Team Europe: Catroina Matthew

Catriona Matthew has the chance this year to captain the Europe for the first time and in her home country of Scotland.

In the video below Catriona discusses her Solheim experience so far and looks forward to going head-to-head with the Americans.

Team USA: Juli Inkster

Despite having six rookies in her team, Team USA captain Juli Inkster is very confident her side can put up a strong defence this year.

She has represented USA in the Solheim Cup on nine separate occasions and is the oldest competitor in the tournament's history.

Here Juli discusses her strategy with her three assistants.

Meet the Teams

Here are the 24 golfers getting ready to do battle this week...

Team Europe

Carlota Ciganda (Spain) – 3 appearances, Georgia Hall (England) – 1 appearance, Charley Hull (England) – 3 appearances, Caroline Hedwall (Sweden) – 3 appearances, Caroline Masson (Germany) – 3 appearances, Azahara Munoz (Spain) – 3 appearances, Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) – 5 appearances, Anne Van Dam (Holland) - rookie, Celine Boutier (France) - rookie, Suzann Pettersen (Sweden) – 8 appearances, Bronte Law (England) – rookie, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (England) – 2 appearances

Team USA

Marina Alex - rookie, Brittany Altomare – rookie, Danielle Kang – 1 appearance, Megan Khan – rookie, Jessica Korda – 1 appearance, Nelly Korda – rookie, Annie Park – rookie, Lizette Salas – 3 appearances, Lexi Thompson – 3 appearances, Angel Yin – 1 appearance, Morgan Pressel – 5 appearances, Ally McDonald – rookie.

Who wins it?

Far be it for us to take sides but experience in these sort of events is often key and, for that reason, the six rookies in the USA team has us expecting to see the European's reclaim the Solheim Cup.

No matter what, it'll be a great spectacle.

Let us know who you're rooting for in the comments below.

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