Solheim Cup: Should-win for Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Workforce USA?

The Solheim Cup returns to the USA this week, and the house workforce faces an incredible quantity of strain.

Not solely will this mark Lexi Thompson’s remaining look on this historic occasion, however the U.S. workforce has not gained a Solheim Cup since 2017. The Individuals have misplaced three in a row to Workforce Europe, who gained by the slimmest of margins a 12 months in the past at Finca Cortesín in Andalucía, Spain.

Workforce USA additionally has three gamers ranked inside the high 10 of the Rolex Rankings, whereas Europe solely boasts one in Celine Boutier, the Frenchwoman who’s presently Tenth on the planet. Having extra high gamers means you may have a much bigger goal in your again, one thing the U.S. at all times appears to have regardless of the outcomes exhibiting in any other case.

Nonetheless, it is a event the USA can not lose.

They’ve the perfect participant on the planet in Nelly Korda, who, earlier this 12 months, gained 5 straight tournaments and added a sixth victory at Liberty Nationwide in Might. Korda got here near grabbing one other win at St. Andrews throughout the AIG Ladies’s Open a number of weeks in the past, however some errors down the stretch value her a shot at a 3rd profession main title.

Photograph by John Walton/PA Photos through Getty Photos

American Lilia Vu, the second-ranked participant on the planet, additionally had an opportunity to nab the {hardware} on the Previous Course, however she fell two pictures wanting champion Lydia Ko. Nonetheless, Vu has had a formidable season given her illnesses. Again issues troubled her all through the spring, forcing her to overlook almost three months. She even withdrew from the U.S. Ladies’s Open in late Might, which she hoped to play in. However in her first occasion after her absence in mid-June, Vu gained the Meijer Traditional, defeating Thompson and Grace Kim in an exciting playoff. She additionally posted a T-2 end on the KPMG Ladies’s PGA Championship the next week, proving that her sport can as soon as once more compete in opposition to anybody.

The U.S. should depend on Korda and Vu this week at Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership, which can host the Solheim Cup for the primary time. Positioned 30 miles west of Washington, DC, this membership hosted the primary Presidents Cup competitors in 1994 and held three extra in 1996, 2000, and 2005. The Individuals went 4-0 in these occasions, and the ladies hope to make it 5-0 in workforce competitions throughout the board this week.

They need to achieve this, on condition that, along with Korda and Vu, additionally they have younger phenom Rose Zhang, presently the Tenth-ranked participant within the Rolex Rankings.

Nevertheless, this American workforce has a poor document within the Solheim Cup, whereas the Europeans don’t. Workforce USA has mixed to play in 22 earlier Solheim Cups, posting a poor 20-36-17 document. They’ve earned 37.5 complete factors. Europe, in the meantime, has way more expertise and success.

This 12 months’s European workforce has mixed to play in 37 cups whereas profitable an unimaginable 79 factors—greater than twice as a lot because the Individuals. The Euros have performed that whereas going through a big deficit in ability, too, making that every one the extra spectacular. That pattern continues this 12 months: the common Rolex Rating of this 12 months’s American squad is 26.75, whereas the common for the Europeans is 40.5.

So, with all of this in thoughts, is that this a must-win?

I say so.

However tell us what you assume within the feedback under.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. Make sure you try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.