The 2026 Solheim Cup is in the books with Europe winning 15-13 over the United States. Here are the grades for every player in the blue and yellow this week:
(All photos by Max Bechtoldt/WGDN)
Linn Grant – A+
Linn Grant moved on from her horrific showing in 2024 where she went 0-4-0, and completely flipped that around with a 4-0-0 performance here in 2026. Her pairing with Maja Stark worked out brilliantly and it looked like the talent potential with Grant was really being unlocked. By the time Sunday came around, Linn Grant had full confidence of everyone watching and though she had the easiest Sunday singles matchup against Angel Yin, she still took care of business with a comfortable win.
Nastasia Nadaud – A+
Even Linn Grant had believers coming into this week, but I don’t think anyone believed that Nastasia Nadaud would provide three full points and really establish herself as a core member of this team’s future. Nadaud did have one loss, in Saturday fourball alongside Leona Maguire, but whenever she was on course with Mimi Rhodes, she looked unstoppable. Relative to expectations, nobody performed better than Nadaud, and it allowed Europe to stay in the match despite poor results from its best players. She also brought exceptional energy, acting like a player who will only get one shot at this opportunity. Good news for her, she’ll be on future teams for sure.
Carlota Ciganda – A
Nelly Korda coined Carlota Ciganda as Mrs. Solheim Cup at the end of the event, and it really couldn’t be more true. Though she is inconsistent in the event, nobody lives for the big, high-pressure moments more than the 36-year-old Spaniard. Ciganda didn’t win a full point until Sunday, but had an incredible par on 18 on Friday to galvanize her entire team, and suffered her only loss thanks to two of the greatest putts ever from Jennifer Kupcho. Ciganda got her revenge on Kupcho Sunday though, grabbing a huge lead early and never looking back. Her 1-1-1 record couldn’t be more misleading. Every time Ciganda stepped up to a putt, it had to be assumed she was making it. That says more than any record could.
Maja Stark – A
There were a lot of times where Maja Stark looked like the best player on this European team. Her 3-0-0 partnership with Linn Grant carried Europe through the first two days, and oftentimes, she was the main driving force behind that pairing. Her eagle on the first hole in Saturday fourball was one of the most electric moments of the event. It kind of came crashing down on Sunday in her singles match against Lindy Duncan, where she fell into a big hole. For her sake, it was important that the Solheim Cup was already decided before it came down to that match. Stark pulled off some of the shots of the week and was one of the most fun players to watch out there.
Mimi Rhodes – A
Like Nadaud, Rhodes didn’t just exceed expectations, she sailed past them. Rhodes and Nadaud were an excellent pair, going 2-0 together as an all-rookie team. It was a stroke of genius from Nordqvist and probably locks Rhodes onto this team for future years. Rhodes always looked comfortable standing over big pressure putts and showed that the moment was never too big for her. While she lost her Sunday singles match to Nelly Korda, that was a big ask for the rookie, and she still performed well.
Leona Maguire – B+
Though she only went 2-2-0 this week, it was a nice return to form for Leona Maguire in the Solheim Cup, who was back out there for four of the five sessions after largely being kept on the bench in 2024. This team needs Maguire out there, who brings that old school style grit and toughness to the team. She carried herself and Esther Henseleit to two wins in foursomes and actually mounted a decent comeback in singles against arguably the best player on Team USA, Lauren Coughlin.
Julia López Ramirez – B
López Ramirez wasn’t called on a lot this week, she was the only player on Team Europe to play just two matches, but she really answered when her time came up on Sunday. She was facing off against the player in the best pure form on the United States, Yealimi Noh, and got through some major mid-round struggles and nerves to pull away and grab a full point with a 3&2 victory. She is one of just two players on Team Europe to not record a loss, but she only played two rounds, so it is tough to grade.
Lottie Woad – B-
It was a weird week for Lottie Woad. At times, her form looked really solid, but she was matched up with the toughest the United States had for a lot of the week, and thus recorded a 1-3-1 record in her Solheim Cup debut. This isn’t anything to worry about for the future, and it was a massive boost that she hit the clinching putt to win the whole thing in her match against Auston Kim, where she was on the brink of collapse before steadying the ship on the last few holes. Nobody is going to act like this was a great week for Woad, but it wasn’t as bad as some of the narratives may say.
Charley Hull – C+
Hull wasn’t awful this week, but when a player is expected to be the best performer on the team, a 1-3-1 record has to be held against them a bit. Hull and Woad just didn’t work out for whatever reason as a team, but when she got into singles, she shined, steadily controlling a match against Megan Khang that she didn’t even play great in. If you would’ve said coming into the week that Hull would only provide 1.5 points, nobody would’ve thought Europe would win. She is fortunate her team pulled off a great all-around week.
Nanna Koerstz Madsen – C+
Nanna Koerstz Madsen looked awful on Friday. All of the concerns about her game, mainly her tendency to get a bit wild off the tee and get visibly frustrated, came to fruition as her and Celine Boutier lost both of their matches. Nordqvist sat her all day Saturday, which seemed to be the correct decision. Koerstz Madsen came back looking confident and fresh and defeated one of the United States’ strongest players, Allisen Corpuz, in singles. It was a huge win too that kept Europe in control, even when some of the later matches got too close for comfort.
Esther Henseleit – C
An already pretty mediocre week for Henseleit hit disaster on Sunday. She walked off the six green with a dominant, 4UP lead to Alison Lee, before being on the wrong end of the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup singles history. Before that, she did get a couple wins alongside Leona Maguire in foursomes, but still showed some struggles, particularly on the putting green. The 2-1-0 record looks a lot better on paper than it was in practice, I think people were looking for her to take more of a step in year two on this team.
Celine Boutier – C-
Boutier was the only player not to provide a point for the Europeans, as she went 0-4-0 and now drops to 7-10-1 in her Solheim Cup career. Like many players on this team, that deserves more context. She was a part of the incredible Kupcho heroics that sunk her and Ciganda, which was really out of their control. She also was in the final match on Sunday, which she lost to Rose Zhang. The result of the Solheim Cup was well in hand at that point. Boutier was certainly off this week though and contributed to the trend of all the bigger stars on Europe performing less than expected.
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