The rosters for the 2011 Solheim Cup are now final after Team Europe captain Alison Nicholas announced the European side - including her four captain's picks - Monday morning. Here are the teams side-by-side:
The European side is comprised of the Top 4 players from the LET Solheim Cup points list (Reid, Davis, Pettersen, Boeljon); then the highest-ranking Europeans in the world rankings (Hjorth, Nordqvist, Matthew, Gustafson); and then the four captain's picks (Gal, Hedwall, Munoz, Stupples).
How did Captain Nicholas do with picks? Fantastic. Hedwall is the least-known of the four, but only because she's a rookie; she's also the most talented of the four, a player who has already won on the LET and will, I believe, win quite a bit on both sides of the Atlantic.
There's no question that Nicholas' captains picks, compared to U.S. captain Rosie Jones' picks, were a) easier, and b) better. But that's because Nicholas had better possibilities from which to choose.
Team USA usually appears far stronger on paper than Team Europe. I'm not sure you can say that in 2011. The teams (based on how the players have actually been performing of late) appear much more balanced. Plus, the USA has quite a bit of weakness at the bottom of its roster. The US side isn't nearly as deep this year. Europe has a good chance this year to pick up a win, which they haven't done since 2003.
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Europe Melissa Reid Laura Davies Suzann Pettersen Christel Boeljon Maria Hjorth Anna Nordqvist Catriona Matthew Sophie Gustafson Sandra Gal Caroline Hedwall Azahara Munoz Karen Stupples |
USA Cristie Kerr Stacy Lewis Morgan Pressel Angela Stanford Paula Creamer Michelle Wie Brittany Lincicome Brittany Lang Juli Inkster Christina Kim Vicky Hurst Ryann O'Toole |
The European side is comprised of the Top 4 players from the LET Solheim Cup points list (Reid, Davis, Pettersen, Boeljon); then the highest-ranking Europeans in the world rankings (Hjorth, Nordqvist, Matthew, Gustafson); and then the four captain's picks (Gal, Hedwall, Munoz, Stupples).
How did Captain Nicholas do with picks? Fantastic. Hedwall is the least-known of the four, but only because she's a rookie; she's also the most talented of the four, a player who has already won on the LET and will, I believe, win quite a bit on both sides of the Atlantic.
There's no question that Nicholas' captains picks, compared to U.S. captain Rosie Jones' picks, were a) easier, and b) better. But that's because Nicholas had better possibilities from which to choose.
Team USA usually appears far stronger on paper than Team Europe. I'm not sure you can say that in 2011. The teams (based on how the players have actually been performing of late) appear much more balanced. Plus, the USA has quite a bit of weakness at the bottom of its roster. The US side isn't nearly as deep this year. Europe has a good chance this year to pick up a win, which they haven't done since 2003.
Comments
What’s the average age of each team? Europe seems a lot younger.