Team Europe’s Anna Nordqvist selected rookies with three of her four captain’s picks for next month’s Solheim Cup competition.
Announcing her choices Monday on Sky Sports, Nordqvist named first-timers Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain, France’s Nastasia Nadaud and England’s Mimi Rhodes along with veteran Leona Maguire of Ireland.
The four picks completed the Europeans’ 12-player lineup for the Sept. 11-13 clash against the United States being held at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
They will be joined by England’s Charley Hull and Germany’s Esther Henseleit, who qualified through LET Solheim Cup Points, as well as England’s Lottie Woad, Swedish duo Maja Stark and Linn Grant, France’s Celine Boutier, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen.
The United States won the biennial team competition on home soil in 2024, posting a 15 1/2 to 12 1/2 victory at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va.
It will be a fourth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance for Maguire, 31, who has a strong Solheim Cup record with 8.5 points from her 12 matches.
“I’m really excited to be part of Team Europe again in September and I’m happy that Anna has picked me to be on the team,” Maguire said. “I love the Solheim Cup, it brings the best out of my game and I love being part of the team. I can’t wait to represent Europe for the fourth time and to be back on European soil.”
Lopez Ramirez, 23, is in her second season on the LPGA Tour.
“It’s so cool. I have a lot of respect for Anna and trust her decisions,” she said. “I’m living the dream right now. This is what you dream of when you’re a kid to be on the team and be able to experience it and all the big crowds. I’m on cloud nine. I wanted to get there and the fact I’ve achieved this dream super quick is amazing. I’m so excited.”
Nadaud, 21, has made the cut at every major championship she has played in 2026.
“It’s unbelievable. If you’d have told me six months ago, I’d be on the European Solheim Cup team, I wouldn’t have believed you,” she said. “It’s a dream come true to be able to represent Europe and in a home Solheim Cup on European soil. I’m so excited and proud to be part of Team Europe in September.”
Rhodes, 24, had a breakout season in 2025 with three Ladies European Tour victories and the Rookie of the Year title.
“It’s always been a dream and goal of mine to play in the Solheim Cup,” she said. “Being part of the PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2019 showed me what this team means, and to now be selected for the 2026 Solheim Cup is beyond anything I imagined. I’m so proud to represent Team Europe so early in my professional career, and I can’t wait until September.”
Europe has not lost the Solheim Cup on home soil since falling to the U.S. in 2015 by a slim margin of 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 in Germany.
–Field Level Media
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