By: Max Bechtoldt
The 2024 Solheim Cup rosters are locked in, so now it is time to speculate about what we will see at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club near Washington D.C. Here, I’ll make up six pairings I expect captain Stacy Lewis send out during the first two days:
Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing
Lewis was very clear in saying that a big reason she took Kupcho as a captain’s pick was to pair her with Ally Ewing. This is with good reason, as they paired up at the Dow Championship and finished runner-up. The two had three rounds at -6, including in the difficult foursomes format. Both of these players are fantastic ball strikers, and have energies that should work well together.
Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz
Korda and Corpuz were awesome together in the foursomes format at the 2023 Solheim Cup, going 2-0-0 as a partnership. That included a particularly dominant 5&3 win over Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall. I would expect to see Lewis take advantage of that pairing again, and maybe even try them out for four ball.
Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu
I expect Thompson to play with a couple different players, she paired terrifically with Megan Khang in 2023, going 2-0-0 in a pairing that seemingly really brought the best out of her. But, I still want to see her and Vu give it another shot together. Thompson traditionally pairs well with good putters, Brittany Altomare and Cristie Kerr in particular, so let’s send her back out there with the best putter in the world.
Megan Khang and Alison Lee
Chemistry and knowledge of games matter a lot in the Solheim Cup. It is so much of why Europe has dominated this event despite being weaker on paper every year. Khang and Lee, along with Korda, play many of their practice rounds together and are openly close friends. These two also played together at the Dow Championship in 2023 and while they struggled in foursomes, they played well in four ball. This works out well since Khang and Thompson played well in foursomes, so you can still send that group out.
Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel
I really love the idea of pairing the rookies together. Two players with no prior baggage in this event taking it all in together for the first time. Schmelzel should get fired up by Coughlin’s hometown crowd and I think they could feed off each other well. These two have similar 2024 stories, and I think could make some noise. They have both earned their way on this team because of their breakout play, and I think it could be a recipe for success.
Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee
I expect to see the two Stanford players on this team to play together once again in 2024. Zhang’s most successful round in 2023 was alongside Megan Khang, but that could be said for everyone who played with Khang. Zhang and Lee did play once together, where they ran into a bit of a buzzsaw with Emily Pedersen, and lost 2&1. I think these two fit well together though and now with some experience, I could see an improvement on their records this season.
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