The Dutch connection

Holland may well be missing a Dutch player in the Solheim Cup this year, but many Dutch golf fans will still be taking a keen interest in the competition in Germany. No fewer than three past Dutch Open Champions feature in the 12-player European Solheim Cup Team. Indeed, each of these players has seen her professional career take off since victory in the Netherlands.

 

The Solheim Cup trio with the Dutch connection are: Gwladys Nocera (France) – the only player ever to have back-to-back wins in the Dutch Ladies Open (2007, 2008). After a 5-year drought, the 40-year old had two new victories in 2013 and has held her form since to get back into the 2015 Solheim Cup team ; England’s Melissa Reid (aged 28 yesterday … Happy Birthday, Melissa!) – after winning the ABN AMRO Dutch Ladies Open in 2011, she went on to lead the European Solheim Cup points list in 2011 and make her debut in the European Team in the same year; and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (aged 25) – after winning the Deloitte Ladies Open in 2012, she became Rookie of the Year on the Ladies European Tour and Player of the Year, all in 2012. Her Solheim Cup debut followed in 2013.

 

It was in 2011, after two consistent seasons on tour, that Holland’s Christel Boeljon made history as the first European Solheim Cup team member from the Netherlands. She played a key role in her debut, earning a vital point towards Europe’s historic victory at Killeen Castle in Ireland. Alas, despite victory in her own country during this year’s Deloitte Ladies Open, it was not enough to secure her a place in the 2015 Solheim Cup team.

 

 

 

Don’t miss the thrill of the Solheim Cup Sunday Singles today!

 

Wendy Hoad

 

Pictured: Melissa Reid teeing-off in the Deloitte Ladies Open at The International, Amsterdam.  © Photography by Golfing Inspirations.