When U.S. captain Angela Stanford first placed the call to Auston Kim, it went to voicemail. A surprised Stanford gave it another try and this time, Team USA's newest rookie got word that she'd clinched her spot for The Netherlands.
"I'm shaking," Kim told Stanford while out playing frisbee in the backyard with big sister August.
Kim, 26, will be the 70th American player to ever compete in the biennial event Sept. 11-13 at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, Netherlands.
She will be joined by 25-year-old Yealimi Noh, who also clinched her spot on the U.S. points list. Noh, who recently contended at the AIG Women's British Open, debuted in the event in 2021 as a captain's pick. She had a 2-1-0 record at Inverness.
That makes five U.S. players who have now secured their spots off the points list:
- Nelly Korda
- Angel Yin
- Jennifer Kupcho
- Auston Kim
- Yealimi Noh
Two more spots remain off the points list. The cutoff for qualifying is after next week's CPKC Women’s Open. The next players on the list:
- No. 6 Allisen Corpuz
- No. 7 Lauren Coughlin
- No. 8 Andrea Lee
- No. 9 Lindy Duncan
The next two highest-ranked players on the Rolex Rankings not otherwise qualified will automatically make the team, along with three captain's picks.
More: Three rookies among Europe's four captain's picks for 2026 Solheim
“Auston has demonstrated a strong work ethic throughout her young career and I’m super excited we’ll have her as a rookie this year,” Stanford said in a release. “Yealimi brings a calmness to Team USA and we’re happy to have her back on the team. These two young players are exactly what this team needs as we head to the Netherlands.”
Kim played collegiate golf at Vanderbilt and qualified for the tour in 2024 by finishing third on the Epson Tour money list. She has a dozen top-10 finishes on the LPGA including a pair of second-place showings: 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 2026 HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Noh, who won the 2025 Founders Cup, also represented the U.S. at the 2025 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown.
As for now, the two players who would qualify for the team off Rolex Rankings are Andrea Lee (No. 37) and Lindy Duncan (No. 59). Alison Lee (No. 61) and Jenny Bae (No. 65) are in hot pursuit.
Rose Zhang, who currently needs a pick, is T-9 this week at The Standard Portland Classic. Lexi Thompson, who announced earlier in the week that she's pregnant with her first child, missed the cut in Portland. Thompson has played on every U.S. Solheim team since 2013.
One of the biggest question marks for Stanford's team is Yin, who hasn't played on the LPGA since she withdrew from the KPMG Women's PGA in June. Yin, who could not be reached by Golfweek, is not entered in the field for next week's event in Canada.
Another potential twist for Stanford: American Sophia Schubert entered the final round tied for the lead in Portland. Ranked 295th in the world at the start of the week, the former U.S. Women's Amateur champion is seeking her first LPGA title at Columbia Edgewater. Her best finish so far this season is a T-15 at the Ford Championship back in March.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Auston Kim, Yealimi Noh clinch spots on U.S. Solheim Cup team