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Team USA & Team Europe finalize players for Solheim Cup, led by World No. 1 Nelly Korda

Nelly Korda Women's Open
Posted at 12:13 PM, Aug 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-23 12:13:45-04

(WXYZ) — The teams are set for the 2021 Solheim Cup, taking place at Inverness Club in Toledo on Labor Day weekend.

Team USA Pat Hurst made her three captain's picks on Monday, adding Brittany Altomare, Mina Harigae and Yealimi Noh to the team.

Noh and Harigae are making their Solheim Cup debuts, while Altomare is making her second appearance after a 2-1-1 performance at Gleaneagles in 2019.

Related: Gold Medal winner Nelly Korda among world's best golfers coming to Toledo for Solheim Cup

“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I’m very happy to have Brittany, Mina and Yealimi as my picks for Team USA,” Hurst said in a release. “Brittany proved that she’s the ultimate team player in 2019 and really came through for us at Gleneagles. Mina and Yealimi have played so well over the last two years, and just because they’re Solheim Cup rookies on paper doesn’t mean they’re rookies inside the ropes. I have no doubt they’ll be great competitors at Inverness.”

Nine other players qualified for Team USA after the AIG Women's Open.

They are led by World No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Ally Ewing, Austin Ernst, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda and Megan Khang, who qualified off USA Solheim Cup standings, and Lizette Salas and Jennifer Kupcho who qualified on the Rolex Women's World Golf rankings.

Hurst also announced that Stacy Lewis will be the third assistant captain for Team USA. She's a 13-time LPGA Tour winner who played on Team USA four times.

“I am really honored that Pat asked me to be part of Team USA as an assistant captain,” said Lewis. “The opportunity to learn from Pat and the other captains in 2019 was fascinating and while I know that I can still keep up with the players, I will always welcome any chance to wear the Red, White and Blue at the Solheim Cup. I can’t thank Pat enough for trusting me and having me join her team.”

For Team Europe, Captain Catriona Matthew picked three rookies – Ireland's Leona Maguire, Finland's Matilda Castren and Denmark's Nanna Koertz Madsen. Maguire is the first Irish player to represent Team Europe.

Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom will also make her second appearance for Team Europe after finishing tied for second at the AIG Women's Open Championship over the weekend. She'll be joined by Celine Boutier and Mel Reid who are also captain's picks.

The six other women who qualified the team are Denmark's Emily Kirstine Pederson, England's Georgia Hall, Sweden's Ann Nordqvist, Germany's Sophia Popov, England's Charley Hull and Spain's Carlota Ciganda.

Team USA leads Team Europe 10-6 in all-time competition at the Solheim Cup. Team Europe won 14.5-13.5 in 2019 in Scotland, but the Americans are looking to win on home soil.

The competition takes place Sept. 4-6 at Inverness Club in Toledo, with other events throughout the week. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.solheimcupusa.com