The Solheim Cup is rapidly approaching, we have taken a look at the stats of three, Team USA, players that will bring the noise in Spain.
This year the Europeans have the home course advantage as we head to Finca Cortesin, Spain – a course known for having some of the best greens in the area. With spectacular scenery of the Estepona Mountains and Mediterranean in the background, it is a fitting setting for the spectacle that is the Solheim.
Team USA will be looking to reclaim the trophy at the end of the week and in their arsenal of players we have looked more closely at three: Nelly Korda, Megan Khang, and Rose Zhang.
Nelly Korda, a dominant figure on the LPGA Tour.
Korda is currently ranked 2nd in the Rolex Rankings behind teammate, and recent AIG Women’s Open Champion, Lillia Vu.
With seven Top 10s this season, Korda has been a constant presence throughout the season and will likely be a key component of the USA side.
Ranked 16th in driving distance is not the longest player on Tour, but she is definitely up there! Hitting 73% of fairways and averaging nearly 270yds off the tee, this will be an asset in her matches.
This length, and accuracy, translates well into Korda’s approach play; she ranks 19th in GIR%, hitting 71% of greens. As many of us will know, hitting greens is crucial if we want to post a low score.
We can see the positive impact this has on Korda’s scoring. Ranked fourth in scoring average and with 20 rounds in the 60s, she will be a thorn in the side of the European Team.
Contributing to this impressive scoring is Nelly’s putting, averaging 29.6 putts per round. To emphasise the high standards on Tour, this places Korda 35th in the ranking.
Megan Khang makes the trip over the pond.
Megan Khang, currently placed 27th in the Rolex Rankings will be looking to add points to her Solheim Cup record, which currently reads W1-D3-L2. This will be Khang’s third appearance at the Solheim, perhaps as the saying goes, third time’s a charm.
With 33 career Top 10s since her Tour debut in 2016, Khang is more than capable of competing down the stretch with the best in the world. Ranked 10th in driving accuracy, hitting an incredible 81% of fairways, finding the short stuff is not an issue.
This translates well into Khang’s approach play, where she is currently ranked 12th on Tour. An area that appears to prevent Megan from making her maiden victory on Tour is with the putter where she ranks 110th.
Looking at scoring average, Khang is ranked 24th with an average score of 70.96 which emphasises how good the rest of Megan’s game has been this season. If the putter can heat up, then she could be a serious issue for the European Team.
Lastly, we look to Rose Zhang, currently ranked 31st in the Rolex Rankings.
Making her debut on Tour this year and winning her first LPGA Tour event, Zhang has taken the golfing world by storm. Currently ranked 31st in the Rolex Rankings, of her first six tournaments, she has won one and placed in the Top 10 3 times – an impressive start to her Rookie year!
Whilst not officially ranked in the stats due to her number of rounds played, from the data available, Rose is up there with the best.
Off the tee, she seems to be a bit short, averaging 256yds. However, she does hit a lot of fairways. Of the six rounds played, Rose hit nearly 77% of fairways in regulation. Similar to the putting stats of Khang, shots appear to be dropped on the greens.
Khang ranked 110th in putting average at 30.37 and Rose has averaged 30.67 so we can imagine she will be considerably down in this area. This could be why her scoring average is slightly higher at 71.22.
As previously mentioned, these stats are based on six rounds and so they could change significantly on a week to week basis until Rose has more recorded rounds. However, we are confident she will be one to watch at the Solheim, and in years to come.
Who will win the Solheim in Spain?
As a Scottish company, we will be pulling for Team Europe and will look into their stats in a separate blog post. Both sides are looking strong and one thing is for sure, we cannot wait!
Once the excitement ends at Finca Cortesin, we head to Rome where Team USA takes on Team Europe for the Ryder Cup.
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