GOLF
Who are the oldest and youngest players to play in a Solheim Cup?
Age record-breaking golfers in the 34-year-old short history of the most important international teams female golf competition in the world.
The Solheim Cup is a prestigious biennial women’s golf tournament featuring teams from Europe and the United States. Established in 1990, it has become one of women’s golf’s most anticipated events. The competition showcases top female golfers from both continents competing in a series of matches, generating excitement among the fans just as big as their male counterparts’ competition over at the Ryder Cup.
We will review the oldest and youngest players who participated in this prestigious golf tournament among the 135 European and United States Solheim Cup golfers who competed since 1990.
Who were the youngest players at the Solheim Cup?
Team Europe
Both teams had record-breaking-age competitors at the 2013 Solheim Cup at the Colorado Golf Club in Parker. Still, Charley Hull, the English professional golfer who has achieved a lot of success on the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour, also winning honors as Rookie of the Year, became the youngest competitor to participate in the international Solheim Cup matches.
Hull was just 17 years, 149 days old, when she played her first match at the 13th edition of the Solheim Cup in Parker, Colorado, southeast of Denver.
Team USA
In the same competition, which the European team won (10-18), participation took Lexi Thompson—the American professional golfer who still plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12 in 2007, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women’s Open, since broken by Lucy Li, who was 11 in 2014. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 15, Thompson also set a then new record as the youngest-ever winner of an LPGA tournament at age 16 years, seven months, and eight days, when she won the Navistar LPGA Classic.
At the Colorado Golf Club competition, Lexi Thompson was just 18 years, 187 days old, still standing record on the Team USA list.
Who were the oldest players at the Solheim Cup?
Team USA
At the 12th edition of the prestigious competition, at Killeen Castle in County Meath, northwest of Dublin. we could witness the action of still the oldest player in the tournament’s history.
Juli Inkster, the American professional golfer with a career spanning 29 years on the LPGA Tour, has 31 wins, over $14 million in career earnings, and holds the record for the most wins in Solheim Cup matches among American players. She was also the oldest player who competed for Team USA, at 51 years and 91 days old. Unfortunately, the experienced American couldn’t help her team in their loss (15-13) atIrleand’s Killeen Castle.
Inkster is the only golfer in LPGA Tour history to win two majors in a decade for three consecutive decades.
Team Europe
The 2017 Solheim Cup was the 15th edition of the Solheim Cup matches, held August 18–20 at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa.
That edition also saw teeing up Catriona Matthew, the legendary Scottish player, the winner of the 2009 British Open, who was 47 years, 358 days old on the first day of the Iowa tournament.
The Edinburg-born player turned professional in 1995. During her career, she has won four times on the LPGA tour and six times on the Ladies European Tour. Her best ranking came in the 2013 Women’s World Golf Rankings when she held the 11th spot.