The Solheim Cup teams are all set with the finalization of the American team Monday. Over the next two weeks leading into the competition, we will rank all 24 players in the Solheim Cup for both teams, continuing today with Esther Henseleit
Outside of Hye Jin Choi, there’s a strong argument that today’s player, Esther Henseleit, might be the best player without an LPGA Tour win. She almost changed that just a few weeks ago, with the highlight of the season in golf, a monster putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the final major of the season, the AIG Women’s Open.
Alas, she fell in the second playoff hole, but came about as close to being a major champion as you can be.
Outside of that, the 27-year-old from Germany has had a solid season. She comes in with strong form, having had top 25 finishes in fouor of her last five starts. It hasn’t all been perfect, she missed four cuts in a row in April and May and has just really been in contention to win once. She, like almost everyone in this event, has had a solid season, not a great one.
Henseleit, a silver medalist from the Paris Olympics, has been mostly the picture of consistency throughout her career. She makes a high percentage of cuts and usually finishes in the top 10 two to four times throughout the year. That helped her make her Solheim Cup debut back in 2024.
During that first Solheim Cup, Henseleit went an even 1-1-1. After a nervy start, where she lost her first match and didn’t look all that comfortable, Henseleit recovered well, getting a foursomes win with Charley Hull and tying her singles match against Andrea Lee. It was a good, not great, week.
There’s a reason Henseleit ranks right around the middle here. I think with some more confidence, and a home crowd, she will have a better overall showing here, but there isn’t a lot of variance. She will probably finish somewhere around 1.5-2.5 points and I don’t think her upside or downside is far off. She’s a good player to have on the team, and the foursomes format makes a lot of sense for her. She’s an excellent iron player and great all around ball striker with a streaky putter.
Henseleit feels like a player who is not playing in her final Solheim Cup, she will be a stable contributor for Europe for years, and maybe that is exactly who this team needs.
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