Solheim Cup: Pairings revealed with surprising Rose Zhang omission


The primary spherical of the 2023 Solheim Cup begins on Friday, and the opening pairings have lastly been set. As the women get set to tackle the Finca Cortesin golf course in Andalucia, Spain, they revealed on Thursday their opening lineups through the opening ceremony.

There are some attention-grabbing notes of those pairings because the Individuals are going with expertise over younger expertise.

Two of the sports activities rising stars won’t play within the morning portion. No. 2 on the planet, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang are benched for the foursome portion Friday. Vu gained two main championships this season, whereas Zhang is extraordinarily sturdy in match play.

Nonetheless, they may nonetheless play within the four-ball afternoon portion within the afternoon. In Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup occasions, the format is cut up right into a morning and afternoon classes on the primary two days.

Foursomes power teammates to alternate photographs. Whereas, the four-ball format permits every participant to play and end every gap, just like a match play event, simply in pairs.

Solheim Cup Friday morning foursome pairings

The primary match of the day shall be Linn Grant and Maja Stark versus Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang. They tee off at 8:10 a.m. native time or 2:10 a.m. EDT.

Main the group with 5 earlier Solheim Cup appearances, Thompson holds a 3-2-1 Cup file in foursomes. Nonetheless, Khang has by no means gained in foursomes, posting a 0-2-1 file.

Grant and Stark are each rookies for the European group.

The second match options Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee for the Individuals. They are going to tackle Celine Boutier and Georgia Corridor for Workforce Europe. They tee off at 8:22 a.m. native time and a couple of:22 a.m. EDT.

Kang is a veteran Cup participant, and it will mark Lee’s first look. It gained’t be straightforward as Corridor and Boutier went 2-0-1 in foursomes and 1-0-0 in fourball beforehand.

The third group shall be Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz for the Individuals and Leona Maguire and Anna Nordqvist for Workforce Europe. They tee off at 7:34 a.m. native time and a couple of:34 a.m. EDT.

It seems that captain Stacy Lewis likes pairing rookies with veterans, as this marks the third straight group she did simply that.

Korda usually performs together with her sister Jessica, however the latter didn’t make the group. Corpuz captured her first main championship this 12 months on the U.S. Girls’s Open.

Maguire makes her second Solheim Cup look and is paired with vice captain Nordqvist.

The ultimate pairing for the morning portion is Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight for Workforce USA versus Charley Hull and Emily Pederson for Workforce Europe.

Hull and Pederson went 1-1-0 in 2021 through the foursomes. Ewing has performed with a number of companions in years previous, halved a match with Khang in 2021, however hasn’t gained one. She has a 0-2-1 on this a part of the Cup. Knight is making her debut.

Solheim Cup Foursome omissions

The gamers that won’t participate on this a part of the occasion are a little bit of a shock. Spain’s personal Carlota Ciganda will sit out regardless of being a crowd favourite. Rookie Gemma Dryburgh, Madelene Sagstrom and Carolina Hedwall, who’s 3-1-0 in foursomes, are additionally sitting out.

Zhang and Vu are, as we talked about, out for the Individuals. Becoming a member of them are Jennifer Kupcho, who’s 1-0-1 in foursomes, and Angel Yin.

The Individuals look to reclaim the Solheim Cup after falling brief to Europe the previous two occasions.

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Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. You may comply with her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for extra golf protection. You should definitely take a look at @_PlayingThrough too.