Two days until the start of the AIG Women’s Open, the last Major of the year and which is also held at the legendary Old Course at Saint Andrews.
Beyond, of course, the importance per se of any Major, this year the Open closes the qualification period for the European and American teams for the Solheim Cup. There is a lot at stake this week and securing a spot at the Virginia event (13-15 September) will also be a significant factor to consider during the tournament.
A few days before the close of qualification, what is the situation at the moment for the European team? It is worth remembering that there are two direct qualification systems plus the four picks by captain Suzann Pettersen.
As of Tuesday 20 August, the players who have secured their place are as follows:
- Through the Ladies European Tour points list: Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit
- Through the world ranking: Celine Boutier, Maja Stark, Linn Grant, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda and Magdelene Sagstrom
Whatever happens in Scotland this week, it seems that these eight will definitely play in the Solheim. Seven of them were part of the core group of last year’s edition and the eighth, Esther Henseleit, has been performing at a very high level in recent weeks with her Olympic silver and runner-up finish at the Women’s Scottish Open. Moreover, with her second place at Dundonald Golf Links, the German has moved into the top 30 in the world, surpassing Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda and Magdelene Sagstrom. For the German to miss out, she would have to be overtaken by a player on the Solheim Cup points list and also be overtaken in the world ranking by the three golfers recently mentioned. Very difficult. If all this were to happen, Pettersen has her high on her preference list thanks to a spectacular last month.
In a butterfly effect, Henseleit’s entry has displaced Georgia Hall, who is currently not among the eight guaranteed spots. There is almost no doubt that Hall will be one of the four picks by Suzann Pettersen, as long as the Englishwoman does not do enough this week to sneak in. Georgia is one of those glue players that everyone wants to play with. She will be at the Solheim.
So we have three spots left. If we had to guess, it would be no risk to say that Anna Nordqvist is a shoo-in for the Solheim. Her experience backs her up, she is a great friend of the captain, vice-captain at Finca Cortesín and is the second reserve, behind Georgia Hall, in the qualification list through the world ranking. It would be a bombshell if the Swede was not on the team. Another thing is that at a certain point she would decline to go, but her level is still there and there seems to be no reason to indicate such a decision.
It seems that these ten spots are pretty much defined regardless of what happens at Saint Andrews. However, there is a long list of players who aspire and long to be one of the two to fill those remaining spots.
Through the Ladies European Tour points list: there are nine golfers who are not currently qualified by world ranking but who mathematically have a chance to overtake Esther Henseleit, the second in this classification and who sets the cut with 179.82 points. The victory in the Open grants 100 points in this classification, the second place 75 and the third place 50. The players who are within this mathematical range and who are not classified by the world ranking are:
- Alexandra Forsterling: fifth on the list with 132 points
- Manon de Roey: seventh with 105.79 points
- Ana Peláez: eighth with 103 points
- Bronte Law: tenth with 96 points
- Allice Hewson: eleventh with 95.38 points
- Johanna Gustavsson: twelfth with 95.00 points
- Gabriella Cowley: thirteenth with 93.42 points
- Chiara Tamburlini: fourteenth with 83.44 points
- Nicole Broche Estrup: fifteenth with 80.56
All these players have a chance to qualify directly through this route. However, they need a feat. Alexandra has it the most feasible as she must finish third alone to have any chance of overtaking Henseleit. Manon, for her part, could reach the German by finishing second. However, from Ana Peláez only a historic victory would give them any mathematical chance. However, these nine players will not only have to keep an eye on what Esther does, because Linn Grant (3rd), Maja Stark (4th), Carlota Ciganda (6th) and Celine Boutier (8th) also have a chance to overtake her. These nine golfers have it very difficult through this route, but in golf nothing is impossible.
Through the world ranking: among the first four players who are not currently classified are the aforementioned Georgia Hall (40) and Anna Nordqvist (66), the Swiss Albane Valenzuela (68) and the also mentioned Alexandra Forsterling (74). If the captain wanted to focus solely on the world ranking these could be her four picks. Forsterling has four wins on the LET in less than twelve months and on her trip to the LPGA, without having shone, she has not been out of place. She has a lot of chances. Valenzuela, on the other hand, has this year a second place in the Honda LPGA Thailand, another top ten on the circuit and seven top 30s. We’ll see if it’s enough.
A step behind in the world ranking we also find Perrine Delacour (80) or a Gemma Dryburgh (81) who will be looking for a good performance in the Open to return to the team she was part of a year ago.
In the same situation as Gemma, we find Caroline Hedwall and Emily Kristine Pedersen. Both were at Finca Cortesín and are looking to repeat. The Swede can never be ruled out. She is a value in that competition and Pettersen surely wants her on her team. She is 16th in the Solheim classification, but she is beyond the 180th place in the world ranking and is not qualified for the Open. It is getting complicated for her, but it is one of those cases that Pettersen will study until the last second. If she does not see a clear alternative, Hedwall is a safe bet.
For her part, the Danish Pedersen was a key element in last year’s team with key moments such as the hole in one that spurred the comeback of a Friday afternoon that had started very black for continental interests. She scored 2.5 points for the European team and her defeat in the last match was irrelevant as Europe had already retained the crown thanks to Carlota.
Emily’s year is not being the most reliable, but she is in the top 100 of the world ranking and in the 55th place of the Solheim points list. Don’t rule her out by any means.
So, to sum up, at the moment there are eight players practically qualified, another two that can almost be taken for granted and a real battle for the other two spots. The Open is shaping up to be an idyllic stage to play for all the marbles.
Regardless of the numbers and the calculations, any player who is not qualified and wins at Saint Andrews this week will be in the running. Will Azahara Muñoz, Nuria Iturrioz, María Hernández or Marta Martín be the ones to pull off the upset?
