Solheim Cup Predictions: Four Tips For The Clash Between Europe And USA
The Solheim Cup returns this week just 12 months after Europe retained the trophy in dramatic fashion with a 14-14 draw against the USA in Spain.
Carlota Ciganda’s 2&1 victory over Nelly Korda got Suzann Pettersen’s side to the 14-point threshold, although they were denied outright victory when Lexi Thompson defeated Emily Pedersen in the final singles match.
Europe have now held the trophy for three successive renewals, but are the 2/1 outsiders with betting sites to beat the Americans, who are the 4/6 favourites to win at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Virginia.
Solheim Cup Betting Tips: USA To Avenge Spanish Heartache
United States captain Stacy Lewis has two of the world’s best players in Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu in her team which is likely to be cheered on remorselessly by a partisan crowd this week.
Lexi Thompson is also making her seventh and likely final Solheim Cup appearance for a team comprising five of the world’s top 20, unlike the Europeans who have just two in Celine Boutier (10th )and Charley Hull (12th).
Rankings often count for nothing in the bear pit of team events, but Lewis believes her side have “a few more ball-strikers than they do in Team Europe”.
The Panel are leaning towards the hosts, too, and believe they will overcome the -1 handicap at 5/6 as the first of their Solheim Cup predictions.
The Panel's Solheim Cup Prediction 1: USA -1 To Beat Europe - 5/6 With Bet365
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Solheim Cup Predictions:
- USA -1 To Beat Europe - 5/6 With Bet365
- USA To Win By 1-3 Points - 7/2 With Bet365
- Nelly Korda Top US Points Scorer - 9/2 With Ladbrokes
- Charley Hull Top European Points Scorer - 6/1 With Betway
Solheim Cup Tips: Tight Margin For Hosts
Europe have won just twice in nine previous Solheim Cup visits to the United States, although encouragingly both victories have come in the last 11 years.
In 2013, Liselotte Neumann’s team thrashed the Americans 18-10 in Colorado and just three years ago it was Catriona Matthew’s turn to lead Europe to a wire-to-wire 15-13 success in Ohio.
Then, the Americans were hot favourites to regain the trophy with five players in the world’s top 20 compared with Europe’s sole representative – Anna Nordqvist, who is this week a playing vice-captain.
In that sense, Europe are in a slightly better position than they were in 2021, and 19 of the 24 players on display at the Finca Cortesin are back for this renewal, so there are not too many unknowns to trouble Pettersen and co.
That said, rookie Lauren Coughlin has won twice in the last two months: the CPKC Open followed by the Scottish Open just four weeks ago, so even inexperienced players in this format are bang in form.
Lewis may decide to mix up some of the pairings for the foursomes and fourballs after last year’s failure, but the likes of Khang and Thompson are likely to couple up after winning both of their matches in Andalucia.
Thompson announced in May that 2024 will be her final year playing a full schedule on the LPGA Tour, so she will want to bow out in style if this is to be her Solheim Cup swansong.
Last year’s edition was the first ever tie between the teams and while a repeat looks unlikely at 12/1 with betting apps, it could be another close affair.
Lewis, though, has excellent ball-strikers on her side like Korda, Ally Ewing and Megan Khang, who is ranked second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green on the LPGA Tour.
The contest in Gainesville may turn out to be a lot closer than many expect and there will be drama aplenty on the downward par-3 11th which has water from Lake Manassas flanking three sides of this elevated green.
Ultimately, though, the Americans look stronger and a 1-3 points margin of victory at 7/2 is the next of The Panel’s Solheim Cup betting tips.
The Panel's Solheim Cup Prediction 2: USA To Win By 1-3 Points - 7/2 With Bet365
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Solheim Cup Odds: Time For Korda To Shine
Korda is understandably the 9/2 favourite with new betting sites to be the USA’s top points scorer this week, having won six times on the LPGA Tour this year, including five in a row from January to April.
The 26-year-old Floridian is the leading birdie-maker on the tour and the course seems to be an ideal fit for the world’s best player.
She also struck up an excellent playing relationship with Allisen Corpuz last year when they won both of their foursomes, so Lewis is unlikely to break a winning formula.
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Twelve months ago, no American played all five matches and it was Khang that came out on top with 3.5 points, closely followed by Thompson with three.
Korda won two and lost two, but she has been on a higher plane since then and has the joint-highest winning percentage of her team-mates at 62.5%.
With a vocal crowd behind her, Korda, who narrowly missed out on a third major title at the Women’s Open a few weeks ago, looks sure to go well and help USA regain the Solheim Cup.
The Panel's Solheim Cup Prediction 3: Nelly Korda Top US Points Scorer - 9/2 With Ladbrokes
Solheim Cup Preview: Hull To Hit Heights
Charley Hull is Europe’s second most experienced Solheim Cup player behind Nordqvist and has a highly respectable 61.36% winning percentage from seven appearances.
That puts her behind Leona Maguire, who burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2021 with a record-breaking 4.5 points which she followed with three more last year when she once again led the way alongside Linn Grant.
Although Maguire is the only Irishwoman to win on the LPGA Tour and the LET, her form has been disappointing this year and her odds of 15/2 with golf betting sites to be Europe’s leading scorer for a third successive time should probably be avoided.
Instead, Hull stands out at 6/1 to bring in the most European points just as she did in 2015 when the USA clawed back a 10-6 deficit on the final day to regain the trophy in Germany.
Hull, now in her 10th season on the LPGA Tour, is in decent form, posting five top-20s in her last six tournaments, including fifth place at the Dow Championship and the Scottish Open.
Her experience will be crucial to Europe’s chance of success and she is the player likely to keep her nerve when the crowd are starting to bay for blood.
The Panel's Solheim Cup Prediction 4: Charley Hull Top European Points Scorer - 6/1 With Betway
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