Europe-US golf battle for 2026 Solheim Cup in Netherlands

The Dutch Golf Federation has designated the Bernardus Golf Course in Cromvoort in Brabant as a golf course every four years. The course has also hosted the Dutch Open in recent years.

Since 1990, the United States has won the Solheim Cup ten times and Europe seven times. The last tournament was held in 2021 in the American city of Toledo (Ohio). Team Europe wins. The event was seen in 700 million living rooms in 239 different countries.

The tournament is held alternately in Europe and America every two years. In 2023, the tournament will be played in Andalusia (Spain). After that, the Solheim Cup will change for several years, and in 2024 the American Gainesville (Virginia) will be the host.

Two Dutch golfers participated in the Solheim Cup. In 2011, Christel Boljon was the head of the Irish Killeen Castle. With her win in the singles, she was instrumental in a 15-13 European final victory. In 2019, Anne Van Damme was part of the European team in Gleneagles, Scotland, which beat the USA 14.5-13.5.

“How wonderful and unique it is to come to the Netherlands with Ann Van Damme or Dewey Weber in a European team,” enthuses Jeroen Stevens, director of the NGF. With gender equality and sustainability of utmost importance.” The federation expects 100,000 visitors from more than thirty countries.

Winning the Solheim Cup fits into the NGF’s ambitions to attract more women to the game of golf. “About 32 percent of Dutch golfers are women and 30 percent of golfers are between the ages of 25 and 50. The goal is for both percentages to be 40 percent by 2030,” says Stevens. “By organizing the Solheim Cup, the NGF hopes to inspire better balance in diversity, age and male-female distribution in golf, and improve its image among non-golfers.”