American-born Albane Valenzuela will be making his Solheim Cup debut as part of Team Europe after being named as one of four players by coach Suzan Pettersen as captain for this year's tournament.
Lydia Ko's victory at the AIG Women's Open on Sunday confirmed eight automatic qualifiers, with two players – Charlie Hull and Esther Henseleit – earning spots from the LET's Solheim Cup points list.
Celine Boutier, Maya Stark, Lynn Grant, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda and Madeleine Sagstrom all gained places in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, all retaining their positions from last year's competition. Pettersen announced the captains' selections the following day, live on Sky Sports.
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Albane Valenzuela said he was “speechless” after being selected for Europe's Solheim Cup 2024 squad.
Solheim Cup veteran Anna Nordqvist will be making her ninth consecutive appearance, while Georgia Hall was selected after narrowly missing out on automatic qualification. Emily Pedersen and Valenzuela are the final two names to complete a strong Team Europe lineup.
The 2024 tournament will be held Sept. 13-15 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, but Valenzuela, along with Henseleit, will be the only two rookies on Team Europe's team, while Pettersen will retain 10 players from last year's squad that defended the trophy in a dramatic 14-14 tie with Team USA.
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The best action from day three of the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Spain, as Team Europe defended the trophy in dramatic fashion.
“I'm speechless, I can't believe I'm even playing!,” Valenzuela told Sky Sports. “I played in the Junior Solheim Cup a long time ago and it's been my dream ever since to make it to the big team.”
“I'm very proud, honoured and excited to be representing Europe. It's going to be an amazing experience. I was really surprised when Suzanne told me. It's a very emotional moment and I couldn't be happier.”
Pictured: Albane Valenzuela finished tied for 20th at the AIG Women's Open despite making it to the weekend with the cut mark.
Valenzuela was born in the United States to a Mexican father and French mother, but moved to Switzerland as a child and has since enjoyed a solid summer, being selected for the European team and finishing tied for 20th at St. Andrews and competing in the Olympics.
Hall has been an automatic qualifier on Europe's past four Solheim Cup teams and the former AIG Women's Open champion narrowly missed out on surpassing Sagstrom in the world rankings, necessitating the captain's selection.
Image: Georgia Hall made her Solheim Cup debut in 2017 and has competed for Team Europe every time since.
“It's always a great honour to represent Europe and hopefully we can win it again,” Hall told Sky Sports. “It's a different experience to be selected but I feel like I'm playing well and have had some good results over the last few months.”
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After it was announced that Georgia Hall would represent Team Europe at Solheim Cup 2024, team captain Suzann Pettersen said Hall was a “great competitor.”
Pedersen will be competing for his fourth time with Team Europe and will record four world top 10 finishes in 2024. Meanwhile, Nordqvist, who has already been named one of Pedersen's vice-captains, will continue his streak of appearing in every Solheim Cup since his debut in 2009.
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Emily Pedersen said representing Team Europe at Solheim was “the highlight of my career.”
“I am incredibly honored and proud to be competing in my ninth Solheim Cup,” said Nordqvist. “It's hard to put into words how I feel because this tournament means so much to me and my family. Making this team was a big goal of mine and I can't wait to tee it off in two weeks.”
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Team Europe celebrated their defence of the Solheim Cup last September by diving into the pool.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda has won six LPGA Tour events this season and leads the team points standings for the U.S. Solheim Cup. Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Allie Ewing, Alisen Copes, Megan Kang and Andrea Li also qualified automatically.
Rose Chang and Allison Lee will represent the U.S. as the two highest-ranked Americans in the world, and Stacy Lewis is expected to announce her three captain's selections this week ahead of the LPGA Tour's first-ever FM Championship.
Who will win the Solheim Cup in 2024? Watch Team Europe take on USA live on Sky Sports from September 13-15. Stream the LPGA Tour, Women's European Tour and more sports with NOW.
