In September 2011, the US and Europe’s top ladies professional golfers will be making their way to the outstanding beauty of Ireland’s County Meath and the tranquil grandeur of Killeen Castle for the 2011 Solheim Cup. The cup will be held over three days of matchplay competition, the first two days will feature two-member teams and the final day will consist of 12 singles matches.
The eyes of the golfing world will be on Ireland to watch the top players from the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the US Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) battle it out on Meath’s emerald greens for this prestigious title. With the US team currently the holders of the Cup having won the last match 16-12 , Europe will be looking to take back the Solheim Cup this year.
Currently leading in the European rankings (as at 3rd April 2011) are England’s Laura Davies and Melissa Reid, Virginia Lagoutte-Clemente ““ the French girl who gave Trish Johnson a close finish in last year’s Tenerife Ladies Open, The Danish golfer Iben Tinning and Norway’s Suzann Petterson. The five top current US contenders are Christie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie, Angela Stanford and Paula Creamer.
But all that could change in the run up to the 29th August finalisation of European Captain Alison Nicholas” team list, with a busy schedule of competitions lined up throughout the summer in the Ladies European Tour. By the time it gets to June, thoughts will be turning to the Solheim Cup matchplay format and that’s when the Tenerife Ladies Matchplay 2011 will come into its own.
This brand new format for a Ladies European Tour Event will be played at the Golf Las Américas course in Tenerife and will be a chance for players to participate in the matchplay format ahead of their arrival at Killeen Castle, and for those who are hovering around the periphery of qualification, perhaps a chance to demonstrate their skills at the matchplay format with the prize of a captain’s invitation place at stake.
