Why is the Solheim Cup being played two years in a row? USA vs Europe in 2023 and 2024

It goes without saying that the ladies of the U.S.A. will be looking to break European dominance this year, having lost for the third consecutive time in last year’s tournament. Of course, with such little time to prepare because of the altered schedule, the question is, ‘Can they do so?’

Why is the Solheim Cup being played in back-to-back years?

For just the second time in the history of the event, the Solheim Cup will be played in back-to-back years. Indeed, the tournament was played at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain back in September and will be played this year between September 13th and 15th at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. The reason for this is understandably due to the covid-19 pandemic.

If you didn’t know, the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup are usually contested in separate years so that each can bask in its own glory. Sadly, the pandemic led to the 2020 Ryder Cup being pushed back to 2021, the same year that the Solheim Cup was due to be held. With the tournament already scheduled for ‘21 and ‘23, the dates were maintained. Conversely, the decision was taken to move up a year in order to return the women’s tournament to even numbers. To that end, the matches are scheduled through 2026, with Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands taking up hosting responsibilities.

Given that we said this is only the second time this has happened, you may be wondering about the first. As a tournament that has only been held in even years since 1990, the only other time it was pushed to odd years was following the 9/11 terrorist attacks which resulted in the Ryder Cup being played in 2002 as opposed to 2001. The result was that the Solheim Cup was played in both ‘02 and ‘03, something that has continued right up until now. As things stand, U.S. captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen will retain their positions for the 2024 edition of the tournament.