Angela Stanford is one week away from naming her Solheim Cup captain’s picks, which means the time to impress is now. Automatic qualifying ends at the conclusion of this week’s CPKC Women’s Open, and there could be a few last-minute changes.
For starters, Rose Zhang tweaked her back last week playing in Portland and has withdrawn from this week’s event in Canada. Zhang will likely need a captain’s pick to make a third team. Zhang, playing through the pain, posted her first top-10 finish since late March at The Stanford Portland Classic.
“I had a phone conversation with Rose on Saturday,” said Stanford, when asked about her condition. “I’m fully aware of her situation, and I’m not worried about Rose.”
Angel Yin is team's biggest concern
Zhang’s health isn’t even the biggest question mark on Stanford’s team. That would be Angel Yin, who qualified for the team several weeks ago as the No. 2 player on the U.S. points list.
In late June, Yin withdrew from the third round of the KPMG Women's PGA at Hazeltine National with an illness and hasn’t been seen on tour since, missing the last two major championships of the season.
U.S. captain Angela Stanford, when reached by Golfweek, wouldn’t reveal the health concerns Yin faces but said it’s not an injury.
“Angel and I have been texting. She’s still evaluating her situation, and I am very confident in giving Angel all the runway that she needs,” said Stanford. “We want Angel on the team; we want her to be there; but we have to prepare in a way that maybe she won’t be there.”
Yin, who is No. 2 on the U.S. points list, could not be reached by Golfweek.
Who is already in for Solheim?
Five players have clinched spots on Stanford’s 12-person team off the U.S. points list:
- Nelly Korda
- Angel Yin
- Jennifer Kupcho
- Auston Kim
- Yealimi Noh
The top 7 players on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list automatically qualify. The next two players on the list, Lauren Coughlin and Allisen Corpuz, have a solid hold on the last two spots.
Andrea Lee, No. 8, would have to win to overtake Corpuz, who would then get in off her Rolex Ranking, essentially swapping with Lee, who, as it stands now, would get one of two spots off the rankings.
The other Rolex Rankings spot now belongs to Alison Lee (No. 59), who as of Monday has overtaken Lindy Duncan (No. 61). Duncan, a former Duke star who at age 35 has never played on a Solheim Cup team, has been in the mix all season.
Further down the Rolex list with a chance sits potential rookie Jenny Bae at No. 65. The small but powerful Bae has seven top-25 finishes this season.
Who might be Stanford's captain's picks?
Other potential players in the mix for one of Stanford’s three picks include the dynamic Megan Khang, who brings great energy to the team room and likes to go out early and set the tone. Former prodigy Lucy Li contended at the last major of the season and was on a recent scouting trip to the Netherlands. She’s currently 109th in the Rolex Rankings.
Lee, who right now doesn’t require a pick, has played some of the best golf among the American players in recent months after returning from maternity leave. She led early at the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera and ultimately took a share of 14th, then finished T-5 at the KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine several weeks later. She also had a T-3 at the Mizuho Americas Open and a top 15 at the JM Eagle LA Championship.
At the Dow Championship, Lee partnered with two-time major winner Lilia Vu, who has struggled mightily for two seasons, for a share of third. Vu was also on that trip to Bernardus back in July.
A veteran of two Solheim Cups, Lee was part of the dramatic comeback on German soil in 2015, giving her valuable away experience.
What about Lexi Thompson for the Solheim Cup?
Lexi Thompson, now a part-time player who has battled a hip injury and recently announced she’s pregnant, missed the cut last week in Portland and is in the field this week in Canada. Thompson has been part of every Solheim Cup since 2013.
Could she get a pick?
“I think for Lexi, I’m so excited for her,” said Stanford. “She got married this year, she’s going to have a baby. There are so many things, great things going on for Lexi.
“If you take Dow out of the equation, she has 14 rounds that she’s played this year … right now we just haven’t seen enough of Lexi to make a decision on Lexi.”
In addition to her three picks, which will be announced next Monday, Stanford must also put two alternate names in an envelope, which remain a secret until needed. With Yin’s health in question, there’s now a heavier emphasis than usual on that decision.
As of now, Yin plans to compete in next week’s FM Championship in Boston. If Yin should decide before the team is announced on Monday that she can’t play, then the next person on the points list would qualify for the team.
But if Yin tees it up in Boston and decides that she can’t go or comes to the same conclusion in a few weeks at Bernardus, then the first alternate would step up.
Paula Creamer has been valuable
Stanford noted that assistant captain Paula Creamer’s input has been particularly valuable given that she has been both a captain’s pick and an alternate.
“Paula has been really good about helping me think through this in my mind, and now what I believe is that the alternate is a complete wild card,” said Stanford, adding that, “If we’re going to be missing our second-best player – if you go off points – if Angel, can’t play … I have to be creative in finding ways to boost this team. You can’t fill that with one person. You have to kind of fill that with a combination and equation of other things.”
European captain Anna Nordqvist finalized her team several weeks ago after the conclusion of the AIG Women's British Open. The 20th Solheim Cup will be held Sept. 11-13 at Bernardus Golf just outside Amsterdam. The U.S. won the last edition two years ago in Virginia at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Beth Ann Nichols is a Golfweek senior writer who covers the LPGA and women's golf.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: U.S. Solheim Cup primer: Who's in, who's on the bubble, what the captain says