Benahavis, Spain - The 12th edition of the PING Junior Solheim Cup will be hosted at La Zagaleta Golf Club - The Old Course, September 17-19, 2023.
Modeled after the Solheim Cup, the PING Junior Solheim Cup biennially features the 12 best female junior golfers (ages 12-18) from the United States against the 12 best junior girls from Europe.
Event Format
The team event includes foursomes, four-ball and singles matches played over two days and rotates between U.S. and European host sites coinciding with the Solheim Cup. The PING Junior Solheim Cup will be hosted immediately prior to the 18th edition of the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Malaga, Spain, September 18th through 24th.
The 12th edition of the junior event officially begins on Monday, September 18th, with morning foursome matches teeing off from 8:15 - 9:05 a.m. Play continues with four-ball matches in the afternoon from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Foursomes match pairings will be updated after Opening Ceremonies on Sunday, September 17.
On Tuesday, September 19, the event concludes with singles matches and Closing Ceremonies.
Returning Players
Of the 24 players selected to compete, nine have prior PING Junior Solheim Cup experience.
On the United States side Anna Davis of Spring Valley, California, and Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nevada, return to the team. Wilson went 2-1 in her three 2021 matches, while Davis lead the team winning all three of her matches going undefeated. The 2021 United States Team fell 13-11 against the Europeans.
On the European side Nora Sundberg of Sweden, Meja Ortengren of Sweden, Helen Briem of Germany, Andrea Revuelta of Spain, Savannah De Bock of Belgium, Denisa Vodickova of Czech Republic, and Francesca Fiorellini of Italy, return to defend their 2021 title.
Briem, Fiorellini, Ortengren, Sundberg, and Vodickova led the European team going 2-1 in their PING Junior Solheim Cup debuts. Each of them also won decisive singles match points which pushed Team Europe ahead of Team USA to claim the title in the final stretch.
PING Junior Solheim Cup History
Since 2002, the PING Junior Solheim Cup has brought together the next generation of women's golfers in a Team USA vs. Team Europe match play tournament.
In addition to featuring some of the world's best female junior golfers, the PING Junior Solheim Cup is known for its iconic host venues including Gleneagles - Kings Course in Scotland, The Inverness Hotel & Golf Club in Englewood, Colorado, and Bastad Golf Club in Sweden.
The United States leads the all-time PING Junior Solheim Cup series 7-3-1 and had won six consecutive matches until Europe won for the first time on foreign soil in 2021. Team Europe, lead by LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam, took the cup home at Sylvania Country Club in Ohio with a final score of 13-11.
The 2015 United States Team was the first team to win on foreign soil, 13-11, at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in St. Leon-Rot, Germany, setting the stage for the 2019 United States’ team’s 13-11 win at Gleneagles.
AJGA alumnae who have graduated from the PING Junior Solheim Cup to the Solheim Cup on Team USA include: Rose Zhang, Andrea Lee, Paula Creamer, Jessica Korda, Nelly Korda, Brittany Lang, Alison Lee, Yealimi Noh, Angel Yin, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel, Megan Khang and Lexi Thompson.
Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee will make their Solheim Cup debuts as rookies this year. Lee competed on the Junior Solheim Cup team in 2013 and 2015, while Zhang competed on the US team in 2017 and 2019. Each earned Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors in their junior careers (Zhang - 2020,2019/ Lee - 2014).
About La Zagaleta
La Zagaleta, is one of the most exclusive clubs in Europe, located in the Malaga town of Benahavís. The Old Course at La Zagaleta was designed by Brad Benz in 1991 and later redesigned by Marc Westenborg in 2016.
With fairways and green dotted with bunkers and water hazards, to conquer the Old Course it will be more important to develop a technical and precise game than to exhibit a great punch.
Live scoring can be found at the link here . Play begins Monday at 2:15 am ET with the foursomes session.
Social
Follow along on social with #JrSolheimCup
or check us out on Twitter
, Instagram
and Facebook
.
About the PING Junior Solheim Cup
The PING Junior Solheim Cup is owned and hosted by PING and will be operated by the American Junior Golf Association with assistance from the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the Ladies European Tour.
Founded by Karsten and Louise Solheim, the Karsten Manufacturing Corporation is a long-time sponsor of the LPGA and AJGA. As the makers of PING golf equipment, the Solheim family continues to ensure the same superior workmanship today that they built into their original clubs more than 46 years ago. Now under the direction of John Solheim, Karsten and Louise’s youngest son, the company continues in its efforts to manufacture the highest quality golf equipment. The PING name is known world over. Besides its presence in the United States, PING markets custom-fit and custom-built equipment to more than 70 countries.
About PING
The tournament owner and title partner, PING, designs, manufactures, and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, putters, and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 by the late Karsten Solheim. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's youngest son, John A. Solheim. PING game-improvement products can be found in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit ping.com
.