Carlota Ciganda will once again be part of the team that will defend the European flag in the edition of the Solheim Cup to be held from September 4 to 6 at the Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, after qualifying on merit thanks to her position in the world ranking. The Navarrese golfer will once again have the opportunity to display the mixture of character and talent that has made her a stronghold of the continental team since her debut and will become the first Spanish golfer to play in five editions of this competition, which is played every two years between the women’s teams of Europe and the United States.
Ciganda was already decisive in her debut in 2013 at the Colorado Golf Club, where she won all three matches she played in a stellar performance that helped Europe achieve its first victory on U.S. soil beating the record to the widest margin achieved in the Solheim Cup (18-10). That competition was also historic for Spanish golf, as for the first time there were three Spaniards on the team (Carlota Ciganda, Azahara Muñoz and Beatriz Recari) who won seven of the ten points they played.
Since then, the Pamplona native has not missed any edition and of the seven Spaniards who have played the Solheim Cup (Raquel Carriedo, Paula Martí, Ana Belén Sánchez, Tania Elósegui, Azahara Muñoz, Beatriz Recari and Carlota Ciganda herself) she has accumulated the most points (8).
Joining Carlota Ciganda are Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen, winner of the first edition of the Race to Costa del Sol and the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España in a historic double achieved last year at Real Club de Golf Guadalmina, who finished first on the LET points list for the Solheim Cup, and England’s Georgia Hall, winner of the 2018 Women’s Open, second on this ladder.
Through the Rolex women’s world ranking, the team includes Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, recent winner of the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie; Germany’s Sophia Popov, champion of the same tournament last year and who will make her debut in the Solheim Cup in Ohio accompanied by Carlos López, Spanish caddie; and England’s Charley Hull, who will also play her fifth Solheim Cup this year.
Catriona Matthew, European captain, has completed the team with a balanced mix of youth and experience in her six personal choices. Ireland’s Leona Maguire, Finland’s Matilda Castren and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen, all of them brilliant this season, will be making their debut in the Solheim Cup. They will be joined by England’s Mel Reid, who will add her fourth participation in the contest between Europe and the United States, France’s Celine Boutier, who dazzled with her four victories in 2019, and Sweden’s Madelene Sangstrom, a debutant in 2017.
The Solheim Cup 2023, an event of exceptional public interest whose official venue is Finca Cortesín, is sponsored by PING, Costa del Sol and Rolex as global partners; and by Andalucía, Acosol, Marbella Town Hall and Benahavís Town Hall as official partners, and Reale Seguros as official sponsor. Solán de Cabras, Eversheds Sutherland and Casares Town Hall are official suppliers. Marca and Radio Marca are official media. LET, LPGA, RFEG, CSD, RFGA and Deporte & Business collaborate in its organization.
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