While Europe’s Solheim Cup team has already been named, there’s still time left to impress U.S. captain Angela Stanford.
Team USA will be finalized after the CPKC Women’s Open, held Aug. 20-23.
Alison Lee, the player next in line to qualify off the Rolex Rankings, is teeing it up at this week’s PIF London Championship on the Ladies European Tour. Lee, who is sponsored by Golf Saudi, is currently No. 62 in the rankings, six spots behind Lindy Duncan, who occupies the second Rolex Rankings automatic qualifier.
A veteran of two previous Cups, Lee packed her schedule with events in an effort to make up ground coming back from maternity leave. She has a pair of top-15 finishes at the majors and a share of third at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Stanford’s team will be made up of the top 7 players on the Solheim Cup points list, along with the top two players in the Rolex Rankings not otherwise qualified and three captain’s picks.
So far, three players have mathematically clinched their spots: Nelly Korda, Angel Yin and Jennifer Kupcho.
The next four players on the Solheim Cup points list are:
- Auston Kim
- Yealimi Noh
- Allisen Corpuz
- Lauren Coughlin
Noh moved up to No. 5 in the points standings after finishing third at the AIG Women’s British Open.
The two players who are currently in from the Rolex Rankings are Andrea Lee (No. 37) and Lindy Duncan (No. 56). The next two are Lee (No. 62) and Jenny Bae (No. 64), a potential rookie.
Lucy Li, another possible rookie, moved up 19 spots in the Rolex Rankings after her T-16 finish at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. She’s now 102nd.
Veteran players currently on the outside looking in are Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson. All three are in the field next week for The Standard Portland Classic.
Thompson, who now competes on the tour part-time, pulled out of the Meijer LPGA Classic in June with hip pain and hasn’t played since, though she is back to practicing. The 31-year-old has been part of every U.S. Solheim Cup team dating back to 2013.
Khang, a hype player in the locker room who likes to go out early to set the tone, has missed the cut in five of her last six starts. Two-time Solheim Cupper Zhang missed a lot of events early in the year while finishing up her degree from Stanford. While she hasn’t missed a cut this summer, her best finish is a share of 25th.
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the LPGA and women’s golf.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: As Solheim nears, here are three big U.S. names who might need a pick
