development

The United States team won the PING Junior Solheim Cup, 14.5-9.5, for a fifth consecutive victory in the biennial event’s history.

“This is the future of women’s golf, and I could not be more thrilled,” said American captain Alice Miller during the closing ceremonies, where both captains reflected on the quality of play. “I knew this week would be a blast, no matter what the result.”

Modelled after the Solheim Cup, the PING Junior Solheim Cup features the 12 best female junior golfers (ages 12-18) from the United States against the 12 best junior girls from Europe for the ninth year. The team match play event includes foursomes, four-ball and singles matches played over two days and rotates between U.S. and European host sites coinciding with the Solheim Cup. The biennial PING Junior Solheim Cup was staged for the at Des Moines Golf and Country Club and for the first time domestically at the same host venue.

The United States now leads the all-time series 6-2-1 and has won the previous four contests, including 2015, which was the first time either team won on foreign soil.

The day started with a rain-delayed resumption of play for five foursomes matches, ending in an even 6-6 draw before singles matches began. The United States took a 4-3 lead after Tuesday, but four matches came down to the final hole.

The American triumvirate of Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina, Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, and Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, led the team in their final event of junior golf. Migliaccio (Wake Forest), Abdulghany (USC) and Papp (Texas) begin college in the next week but ended their careers on a high note.

Two-time PING Junior Solheim Cup alum Papp won first during singles, needing 13 holes for a dominating win, 6&5. Migliaccio won all three of her matches during the week, including both Wednesday, 1-up. Abdulghany took her match to 18 and narrowly missed a chip onto the green and was the last match to finish, giving the United States a final half-point on its victory.

Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, put an exclamation point on a big summer by going undefeated in her matches. Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California, also won all three matches and finished the summer 6-0-1 after PING Junior Solheim Cup and Wyndham Cup play.

For the Europeans, Esther Henseleit of Germany, and two-time PING Junior Solheim Cup player Emma Spitz of Austria, did not lose a match during the event, finishing with records of 2-0-1. In singles, both won their matches 3&1, and partnered up to halve in foursomes.

Henseleit, who finished sixth in the Allianz German Girls’ Open, never lost the lead in her singles match with five birdies. Spitz traded blows early, even down a hole through the front nine but built a lead over the final eight holes.

Since the first PING Junior Solheim Cup in 1992, 19 players have graduated to play in the Solheim Cup and 13 are competing this week. The PING Junior Solheim Cup teams will attend the Opening Ceremonies on August 17.

The 2019 PING Junior Solheim Cup will be hosted at Gleneagles Golf Club in Scotland, September 8-10.

WEDNESDAY SINGLES MATCHES RESULTS

Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, (USA) def. Maja Stark of Sweden, (Europe) 4&3.

Frida Kinhult of Sweden, (Europe) def. Jennifer Chang, of Cary, North Carolina, (USA) 2&1.

Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, (USA) def. Amanda Linnér of Sweden, (Europe) 4&3.

Rose Zhang of Irvine, California, (USA) def. Beatrice Wallin of Sweden, (Europe) 3&1.

Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina, (USA) def. Julia Engström of Sweden, (Europe) 1-up.

Esther Henseleit of Germany, (Europe) def. Youngin Chun of Gainesville, Florida, (USA) 3&1.

Yealimi Noh of Concord, California, (USA) def. Letizia Bagnoli of Italy, (Europe) 4&3.

Emma Spitz of Austria, (Europe) def. Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California, (USA) 3&1.

Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, (USA) vs. Alessandra Fanali of Italy, (Europe) halved

Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California, (USA) def. Linn Grant of Sweden, (Europe) 1-up.

Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, (USA) def. Mathilde Claisse, of France, (Europe) 6&5.

Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana, (USA) def. Alessia Nobilio of Italy, (Europe) 2&1.

TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY FOURSOMES MATCHES RESULTS

Yealimi Noh of Concord, California, and Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, (USA) vs. Beatrice Wallin of Sweden, and Frida Kinhult of Sweden (Europe) halved.

Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, and Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California, (USA) def. Maja Stark of Sweden, and Letizia Bagnoli of Italy, (Europe) 4&3.

Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina, and Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California, (USA) def. Alessia Nobilio of Italy, and Alessandra Fanali of Italy, (Europe) 1-up.

Rose Zhang of Irvine, California, and Youngin Chun, of Gainesville, Florida, vs. Emma Spitz of Austria, and Esther Henseleit of Germany (Europe), halved.

Mathilde Claisse of France, and Julia Engström, of Sweden, (Europe) def. Jennifer Chang of Cary, North Carolina, and Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana, 5&3.

Linn Grant of Sweden, and Amanda Linnér of Sweden, (Europe) def. Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, and Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, 1-up.

All tied in the PING Junior Solheim Cup

The matches are tied at 6-6 following the four ball and foursomes in the PING Junior Solheim Cup. The foursome matches had to be completed on Wednesday morning due to a rain delay on Tuesday. The 12 single matches started 30 minutes later than scheduled on Wednesday morning, with a two-tee start. Play was once again suspended at 11:45 local time on Wednesday and the teams are currently waiting in the clubhouse before continuing their matches.

Fourball matches:

EUROPE 3 – USA 3

2 up Team USA (Emilia Migliacco – Rachel Heck) vs Team EUROPE (Maja Stark – Letizia Bagnoli)

3 & 1 Team USA (Gina Kim – Jennifer Chang) vs Team EUROPE (Beatrice Wallin – Frida Kinhult)

5 & 4 Team Europe (Emma Spitz – Esther Henseleit) vs. Team USA (Yealimi Noh – Lucy Li)

2& 1 Team USA (Brooke Seay – Kaitlyn Papp) vs. Team EUROPE (Alessia Nobilio – Alessandra Fanali)

2 up Team EUROPE (Mathilde Claisse – Julia Engström) vs. Team USA (Rose Zhang – Youngin Chun)

2 up Team EUROPE (Linn Grant – Amanda Linnér) vs. Team USA (Erica Shepard – Alyaa Abdulghany)

Foursome matches:

EUROPE 3 – USA 3

All Square Team EUROPE (Beatrice Wallin – Frida Kinhult) vs. Team USA (Yealimi Noh – Gina Kim)

4 & 3 Team USA (Rachel Heck – Brooke Seay) vs Team EUROPE (Maja Stark – Letizia Bagnoli)

1 up (Emilia Migliaccio – Lucy Li) vs. Team EUROPE (Alessia Nobilio – Alessandra Fanali)

All Square Team EUROPE (Emma Spitz – Esther Henseleit) vs. Team USA (Rose Zhang – Youngin Chun)

5 & 4 Team EUROPE (Mathilde Claisse – Julia Engström) vs. Team USA (Jennifer Chang – Erica Shepard)

1 up Team EUROPE (Linn Grant – Amanda Linnér) vs. Team USA Alyaa Abdulghany – Kaitlyn Papp)

Overall standing following four ball and foursome matches:

EUROPE 6 - USA 6

Single matches (ongoing):

Team Europe (Maja Stark) vs Team USA (Gina Kim)

Team Europe (Frida Kinhult) vs Team USA (Jennifer Chang)

Team Europe (Amanda Linnér) vs Team USA (Rachel Heck)

Team Europe (Beatrice Wallin) vs Team USA (Rose Zhang)

Team Europe (Julia Engström) vs Team USA (Emilia Migliaccio)

Team Europe (Esther Henseleit) vs Team USA (Youngin Chun)

Team Europe (Letizia Bagnoli) vs Team USA (Yealimi Noh)

Team Europe (Emma Spitz) vs Team USA (Lucy Li)

Team Europe (Alessandra Fanali) vs Team USA (Alyaa Abdulghany)

Team Europe (Linn Grant) vs Team USA (Brooke Seay)

Team Europe (Mathilde Claisse) vs Team USA (Kaitlyn Papp)

Team Europe (Alessia Nobilio) vs Team USA (Erica Sheppard)

Photo Credit: Göran Söderqvist

With nine qualifying events completed, which have been played over the past 12 months, the team to represent Europe at the PING Junior Solheim Cup in August has been confirmed.

Sweden’s Amanda Linnér, Linn Grant, Frida Kinhult and Beatrice Wallin, along with France’s Mathilde Claisse and Italy’s Letizia Bagnoli, all gained automatic spots on the European team by finishing in the top-six of the PING Junior Solheim Cup European ranking table. They will be joined at Des Moines Golf and Country Club by Austria’s Emma Spitz, Sweden’s Julia Engström and Maja Stark, Germany’s Esther Henseleit and Italy’s Alessia Nobilio and Alessandra Fanali, who were all selected as Wildcard Picks by European Team Captain, Alison Nicholas, following the conclusion of the European Girls Team Championship at St Laurence GC, Finland.

“I am delighted to be the coach for this team,” said Nicholas, an 18-time tour winner, who has played on six European Solheim Cup teams and also captained the team at a further two Solheim Cups. “I really believe this is one of the strongest teams Europe has had for the PING Junior Solheim Cup and we look forward to travelling to Iowa together, with the primary aim of winning the trophy back from Team America. The team we have assembled has a great spirit, which I think will be an important factor that will will help us perform at our best.”

Speaking about the upcoming event, John A. Solheim, CEO of PING, said, “The Solheim family is very excited about this year’s PING Junior Solheim Cup event in Des Moines, Iowa. The competition for places in the European Team has been fierce and we know the matches will be hard-fought and played in fantastic spirit. We are delighted how this event has grown since it was first played in 2002 and how many of the past players are today playing the tours. My mother Louise was very proud.”

The 2017 event in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 15^th-16^th, marks the ninth time the European PING Junior Solheim Cup team will battle against the US Team, which currently lead the series with five wins, two losses and one tie.

For more information about the PING Junior Solheim Cup, please visit www.solheimcupeurope.com or contact [email protected]

Sweden’s Amanda Linnér shot a solid 71 on the final round of the ANNIKA Invitational Europe, at Halmstad GK, which took her into a play-off against emerging British star, Annabell Fuller. Amanda birdied the third play-off hole to claim victory, with the win taking her back to first position on the European PING Junior Solheim Cup ranking. Full leaderboard below.

Commenting on the victory, Linnér said: “I am so happy with this win, as it takes me one step closer to representing Team Europe at the PING Junior Solheim Cup. It was also great to meet both Annika Sorenstam and Alison Nicholas at the event and learn from their life and golf experiences. I took a huge amount from the information they shared about playing in team and matchplay events.”

With less than four weeks to go until the European team selection is finalised, national teams from across Europe are getting ready to represent their countries in the European Girls’ Team Champtionship, played in Finland on July 11^th – 15^th, or at the European Ladies’ Team Championship in Portugal, which is being played on the same date. When asked about Team Sweden, Linnér said: “We have a very strong team this year. We support each other in good and bad times and we have a lot of fun together. It is really inspiring to be part of this group and I hope we can do Sweden proud at the Team Championships.”

The Team Championship events are the final qualifying events to the PING Junior Solheim Cup. At the end of the qualifying process, the top-six junior girls will earn automatic places on the European team, with the other six players coming from Captain Nicholas’ wildcard picks.

To qualify for the European team, participants must be girls aged 12-18 years old (born 1999, or later), whom have not reached their 18^th birthdays prior to January 1^st 2017. Prospective team members must be amateurs and cannot be members of a competitive collegiate golf programme. In addition, they must also be European citizens.

For more information about the PING Junior Solheim Cup, please visit www.solheimcupeurope.com or contact [email protected].

Photo: Göran Söderqvist

Po.	Name	Country	Points
1	Amanda Linnér	Sweden	189.25
2	Linn Grant	Sweden	158.50
3	Frida Kinhult	Sweden	125.00
4	Beatrice Wallin	Sweden	111.33
5	Letizia Bagnoli	Italy	97.50
6	Julia Engström	Sweden	92.17
7	Annabel Fuller	England	79.67
8	Emma Spitz	Austria	71.00
9	Mathilde Claisse	France	63.33
10	Alessia Nobilio	Italy	59.25
11	Line Toft Hansen	Denmark	55.00
12	Shannon McWilliam	Scotland	50.00
13	Maja Stark	Sweden	48.17
14	Alessandra Fanali	Italy	47.50
15	Anna Backman	Finland	45.00
16	Sara Kouskova	Czech Republic	39.50
17	Carolina Caminoli	Italy	38.00
18	Alexandra Försterling	Germany	37.75
19	Esther Henseleit	Germany	32.50
20	Annabel Wilson	Ireland	27.75
21	Karoline Lund	Norway	26.67
22	Caterina Don	Italy	22.92
23	Samantha Fuller	England	19.25
24	Hollie Muse	England	17.25
25	Clarisse Louis	Belgium	16.50
26	Mairead Martin	Ireland	15.00
T27	Pauline Roussin-Bouchard	France	13.00
T27	Chiara Tamburlini	Switzerland	13.00
29	Aline Krauter	Germany	12.00
30	Sofia Seldermirova	Bulgaria	11.33
T31	Agathe Laisne	France	10.00
T31	Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen	Denmark	10.00
T31	Paula Neira Garcia	Spain	10.00
T34	Emilie Paltrinieri	Italy	9.67
T35	Anna Zanusso	Italy	8.00
T35	Dana-Helga Puyol Robert	Spain	8.00
T35	Elena Moosmann	Switzerland	8.00
38	Teresa Diez Moliner	Spain	7.50
T39	Janika Rüttimann	Austria	5.50
T39	Daniella Barrett	Finland	5.50
40	Isobel Wardle	England	5.00
T41	Clara Manzalini	Italy	3.00
T41	Elisabeth Codet	France	3.00
T41	Elena Arlas Quiros	Spain	3.00
44	Alizee Vidal	France	2.50
T45	Sarina Schmidt	Germany	1.67
T45	Leonie Karg	Germany	1.67
T45	Ingrid Lindblad	Sweden	1.67
48	Isabella Holpfer	Austria	1.25

Finland’s Anna Backman climbed onto the PING Junior Solheim Ranking, when she reached the semi-final in last week’s Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship, at Pyle & Kenfig GC, Wales. The performance gave her a chance to qualify for the European PING Junior Solheim Cup team for the match at Des Moines Golf & Country Club, Iowa, on August 15^th and 16^th.

The 18 year-old finished 12^th in the strokeplay qualifier and then won four matches, before she lost against 2009 and 2011 PING Junior Solheim Cup player Leona Maguire from Ireland, in the semi-final. After beating Spain’s Ainhoa Olarra, Leona, 1^st on the World Amateur Ranking, went on to win the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship but, as they are born in 1994 and 1995 respectively, neither are eligible to play in the PING Junior Solheim Cup.

At the end of the qualification process, the top six players on the European Ranking will all earn places in Alison Nicholas’ team, with six additional players receiving a wildcard pick. The ranking is topped by Linn Grant, Amanda Linnér, Frida Kinhult and Beatrice Wallin, all four from Sweden. Currently in fifth place is Letizia Bagnoli from Italy, followed by Emma Spitz of Austria. Full leaderboad below.

The next qualifying event is the ANNIKA Invitational Europe, at Halmstad GK, Sweden (June 20^th-22^nd), where the European Team Captain, Alison Nicholas, will attend to meet players and coaches and have a workshop with the participants, together with Solheim Cup Captain, Annika Sörenstam.

The qualifying season will come to a close with the European Girls’ Team Championship, at St Laurence GC, Finland (July 11^th-15^th), and the European Ladies’ Team Championship, back at Montado Golf Resort (July 11^th-15^th).

For more information about the PING Junior Solheim Cup, please visit www.solheimcupeurope.com or contact [email protected].

Photo: R&A

Po.	Name	Country	Points
1	Linn Grant	Sweden	158.50
2	Amanda Linnér	Sweden	119.25
T3	Frida Kinhult	Sweden	100.00
T3	Beatrice Wallin	Sweden	100.00
5	Letizia Bagnoli	Italy	97.50
6	Emma Spitz	Austria	71.00
7	Julia Engström	Sweden	67.17
8	Alessia Nobilio	Italy	59.25
9	Line Toft Hansen	Denmark	55.00
10	Mathilde Claisse	France	52.00
11	Shannon McWilliam	Scotland	50.00
12	Maja Stark	Sweden	46.50
13	Anna Backman	Finland	45.00
14	Alessandra Fanali	Italy	40.00
15	Sara Kouskova	Czech Republic	39.50
16	Carolina Caminoli	Italy	38.00
17	Alexandra Försterling	Germany	37.75
18	Esther Henseleit	Germany	32.50
19	Annabel Fuller	England	29.67
20	Annabel Wilson	Ireland	27.75
21	Karoline Lund	Norway	25.00
22	Caterina Don	Italy	22.92
23	Samantha Fuller	England	19.25
24	Hollie Muse	England	17.25
25	Mairead Martin	Ireland	15.00
T26	Pauline Roussin-Bouchard	France	13.00
T26	Chiara Tamburlini	Switzerland	13.00
28	Aline Krauter	Germany	12.00
T29	Agathe Laisne	France	10.00
T29	Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen	Denmark	10.00
T29	Paula Neira Garcia	Spain	10.00
32	Clarisse Louis	Belgium	9.00
T33	Anna Zanusso	Italy	8.00
T33	Dana-Helga Puyol Robert	Spain	8.00
T33	Emilie Paltrinieri	Italy	8.00
T33	Elena Moosmann	Switzerland	8.00
37	Teresa Diez Moliner	Spain	7.50
38	Isobel Wardle	England	5.00
T39	Clara Manzalini	Italy	3.00
T39	Elisabeth Codet	France	3.00
T39	Elena Arlas Quiros	Spain	3.00
42	Alizee Vidal	France	2.50
43	Isabella Holpfer	Austria	1.25

Sweden’s Linn Grant moved into first place in the PING Junior Solheim Cup ranking, after winning the Allianz German Boys & Girls Open, played at Golf Club St. Leon Rot, June 1^st-3^rd. It was Linn’s second consecutive win and it takes her within touching distance of representing team Europe in the PING Junior Solheim Cup, which will be played at Des Moines Golf & Country Club, Iowa, United Stated, August 15^th – 16^th.

With Linn storming to a clubhouse lead of 12 under par after two rounds, the third round commenced but, due to severe thunderstorms, players were unable to finish and the tournament organisers made the decision to cut the competition to 36 holes, instead of the intended 54 holes, which lead to Linn being declared the winner.

With only four more PING Junior Solheim Cup qualifying events remaining, Linn has shown she is in top form and would be a great asset for team Europe. See the full leader board below:

Po.	Name	Country	Points
1	Linn Grant	Sweden	143.50
2	Amanda Linnér	Sweden	114.25
3	Frida Kinhult	Sweden	100.00
4	Letizia Bagnoli	Italy	87.50
5	Beatrice Wallin	Sweden	85.00
6	Emma Spitz	Austria	71.00
7	Julia Engström	Sweden	62.17
8	Alessia Nobilio	Italy	54.25
T9	Line Toft Hansen	Denmark	40.00
T9	Shannon McWilliam	Scotland	40.00
11	Carolina Caminoli	Italy	38.00
12	Alexandra Försterling	Germany	37.75
13	Mathilde Claisse	France	37.00
14	Maja Stark	Sweden	36.50
15	Esther Henseleit	Germany	32.50
16	Annabel Fuller	England	29.67
17	Annabel Wilson	Ireland	27.75
18	Sara Kouskova	Czech Republic	24.50
19	Caterina Don	Italy	22.92
20	Karoline Lund	Norway	20.00
21	Samantha Fuller	England	19.25
22	Hollie Muse	England	17.25
23	Alessandra Fanali	Italy	15.00
T24	Pauline Roussin-Bouchard	France	13.00
T24	Chiara Tamburlini	Switzerland	13.00
T26	Agathe Laisne	France	10.00
T26	Mairead Martin	Ireland	10.00
28	Clarisse Louis	Belgium	9.00
T29	Anna Zanusso	Italy	8.00
T29	Dana-Helga Puyol Robert	Spain	8.00
T29	Emilie Paltrinieri	Italy	8.00
32	Teresa Diez Moliner	Spain	7.50
33	Aline Krauter	Germany	7.00
T34	Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen	Denmark	5.00
T34	Paula Neira Garcia	Spain	5.00
T36	Elena Moosmann	Switzerland	3.00
T36	Clara Manzalini	Italy	3.00
T36	Elisabeth Codet	France	3.00
T36	Elena Arlas Quiros	Spain	3.00
40	Alizee Vidal	France	2.50
41	Isabella Holpfer	Austria	1.25

The next qualifying event is the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship, at Pale & Kenfig CC, Wales (June 13^th-17^th), followed by the ANNIKA Invitational Europe, at Halmstad GK, Sweden (June 20^th-22^nd).

For more information about the PING Junior Solheim Cup, please visit www.solheimcupeurope.com or contact [email protected].