Golf betting tips: Preview and best bets for the Solheim Cup
Matt Cooper profiles every player at the Solheim Cup, where Nelly Korda can star as the USA look to win back the trophy on home soil.
Golf betting tips: Solheim Cup
2pts Nelly Korda to be top American scorer at 9/2 (Sky Bet, William Hill)
1pt Nelly Korda to be top overall scorer at 7/1 (Sky Bet)
2pts Anna Nordqvist to be top European scorer at 7/1 (General)
- When: Friday to Monday
- Where: Inverness Club, Ohio
- TV: Sky Sports Golf
Format: Foursomes (x4 matches) then fourballs (x4) on Friday, repeated on Saturday, followed by 12 Sunday singles, meaning the USA will need 14.5 points to win the trophy and Europe 14 to retain it
There was a curiosity about the last Solheim Cup that only I seemed to find remotely interesting and I suspect it remains that way – the peculiar fact that the balance of power in the contest is held within the confines of just one family.
I write, of course, about the remarkable Kordas – Jessica and Nelly – who are without any question American and very proud of it. But, nonetheless, they have Czech parents and, were they to compete for that nation, this contest would instantly be turned on its head. It’s a frivolity rather than anything that might have happened, but one which reminds us of what fine margins there are in this match.
Marina Alex, who doesn’t play this week, would also understand that because two years ago she was so close to becoming the visiting team’s heroine. Had her singles opponent Suzann Pettersen’s final putt missed the hole their match would have been halved and with it the Solheim Cup retained. Alex would have been undefeated in four games and the glory all hers. But sport is brutal and (almost) everyone has forgotten her. Pettersen was engulfed and then retired in one of the great full stops in sport.
Two years on from that sensational final day of singles at Gleneagles, the teams cross the Atlantic to Inverness. It sounds like an appalling failure by the satnav, but we’re talking of Inverness in Toledo, Ohio, not the Highlands, and Europe are chasing just a second victory on American soil.
Those few words, in a nutshell, sum up their task, one made trickier by the double bind of big crowds (150,000 are expected) but smaller support (due to international travel restrictions). Before we discuss the match and the markets in detail, however, let’s take a look at the teams:
Team USA
Nelly Korda (3-0-1, 87.5%) - The world number one and full deserving of it. She has three wins in her last five starts and even the two exceptions are worthy of credit: a first top 20 at Evian and her T13th in the Women’s Open was a linksland career-best. Unbeaten on debut two years ago.
Jessica Korda (4-2-2, 62.5%) - Been defeated just twice in eight matches and a formidable combination with sister Nelly in the foursomes at Gleneagles. In fact, their wins were not even close affairs – they thrashed the opposition 6&4 and 6&5. Gone eight starts without a top 10 however.
Brittany Altomare (2-1-1, 62.5%) - Impressed on debut two years ago, not least with her ability to hole putts that both clinched and saved holes. Her form is so-so, but selection was prompted by memories of those flat stick skills.
Austin Ernst (2-2-0, 50%) - Won two of her three foursomes and fourball matches on debut in 2017, and was also unbeaten in those formats at the 2012 Curtis Cup, but lost both singles. Has won twice in the last 12 months.
Lizette Salas (6-6-2, 50%) - The two-time runner-up in this summer’s majors has struggled when partnered and, without going 2-for-3 with Danielle Kang, her record would be awful. Unbeaten in the singles, however, halving with Pettersen in 2013, winning her next three.
Danielle Kang (4-4-0, 50.0%) - Enjoyed a superb debut on home soil in 2017 – ending the week 3-1 – but that record was completely reversed at Gleneagles. Her last four rounds have been a little rum. A third round 74 at the Olympics, 76-75 at the Women’s Open, a 65 in the middle.
Lexi Thompson (5-4-6, 46.7%) - Something of a mystery given that she’s an intimidating prospect whose only winning record is in the foursomes (2-1-1). And get this: she claimed five points in six alongside Cristie Kerr. Take those out and her Cup record is a dismal: 1-4-4.
Megan Khang (0-2-1, 33.3%) - Not tried in the 2019 fourballs and lost both her foursomes, but earned a half against Charley Hull which is not to be sniffed at.
Ally Ewing (1-3-0, 25%) - Struggled on debut two years ago – with the honourable exception of a 7&5 fourball win with Angel Yin – but was a very impressive winner of the Bank of Hope Match Play in May.
Yealimi Noh (rookie) - An elegant 20-year-old who flirted with victory at both the Evian Championship and Women’s Open.
Jennifer Kupcho (rookie) - A feisty addition who, in 2018, starred in both the Curtis and Palmer Cups.
Mina Harigae (rookie) - Surprise captain’s pick with just five LPGA top fives to her name in 11 years on the circuit.
Team Europe
Celine Boutier (4-0-0, 100%) - A revelation on debut at Gleneagles, winning three points with Hall and adding a singles win. Very slow, but very steady and a short game that will have her opponents tearing their hair out.
Charley Hull (9-3-3, 70%) - A colossus in this match ever since she debuted as an unfazed 17-year-old. Moreover, it’s not only her overall record that is strong: she has a winning record in each of the three formats and is unbeaten (four wins, one half) in the foursomes.
Georgia Hall (6-3-0, 66.7%) - Runner-up in the Women’s Open and may well have won it with a bit of wind. Loves Match Play and is a superb foursomes partner. She went 2-for-2 with Nordqvist in 2017 and repeated that with Boutier in 2019 (they were 3-for-3 in all).
Anna Nordqvist (12-9-2, 56.6%) - Her single contest against Lexi Thompson was one for the ages – their better-ball score was 60. Has played 11 foursomes (winning six) but actually better in the fourball (four wins from six). Loves the event and flying high after Women’s Open glory.
Carlota Ciganda (6-6-4, 50%) - The Spaniard was superb on debut in 2013 (played three, won three), since when the captains have struggled to find her a good partner. She remains unbeaten in the singles, with three wins and a half.
Mel Reid (4-6-2, 41.7%) - Won’t be happy with her overall record but proved what she’s capable of in 2015, when winning three matches and halving her fourth.
Madelene Sagstrom (1-2-0, 33.3%) - Finished second in the Women’s Open to clinch a second start, four years after the first.
Emily Pedersen (0-3-0, 0%) - Endured a rough debut in 2017 which knocked her confidence and it says much about her that’s she’s bounced back to qualify in top spot.
Sophia Popov (rookie) - Chattering about this event on German TV in 2015, caddying for Anne Van Dam 14 months ago, a major champion last year, a debutant this week. A wonderful tale and she laid down a match play marker by finishing second in the Bank of Hope in May.
Leona Maguire (rookie) - Logged 10 top 20s this year, including two second places, and she is statistically the European team’s best putter. Scored four points in her final Curtis Cup in 2016.
Matilda Castren (rookie) - This time last year the Finn hadn’t made a top 15 anywhere whereupon she won on the Symetra Tour, added a win on the LPGA in June and (vitally for her selection) added another victory on the LET in July. Second this year for Greens in Regulation. No fluke.
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (rookie) - A debut was her consolation following her 72nd hole capitulation at the Women’s Open.
USA too short, but can Europe pull off the upset?
In recent times both teams have been stronger and yet both will consider they have every chance of tasting success this week, as much because they will both feel confident of their top end, as much as a belief that the opposition has a weak underbelly.
When it comes to the outright market, however, I will fudge the issue. I would not want to back this American team at such a short price, but nor do I have confidence in the depth of the European challenge or the effect of those lop-sided galleries.
What I would say is this: for a team that is routinely priced 2/1 and bigger, Europe equally routinely finds a way of leading at some stage early in the contest. In fact, in 13 of the 16 contests Europe has led at some stage prior to the singles (and in one of the exceptions they were leading deep into the singles prior to a late turnaround). I think the price is off (I'd go 6/4) and I think Europe can win, but it's also easy to foresee it going wrong in a fevered atmosphere.
Keep it simple with Korda
So we come to the leading scorer markets and the layout of the teams (above) was no accident because past record in the event strikes me as a good starting point from where we can adjust according to opinion.
For the home side, I’m willing to give Thompson a little grace and yet that point about her going Kerr-plunk when Cristie isn’t around is very off-putting. I can see Kang, Salas and Noh being used as a core, but whichever way I look at it, NELLY KORDA stands out.
- CLICK HERE to back Korda to be top overall scorer with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Korda to be top USA scorer with Sky Bet
She has the form and the class to score heavily, she has the potential to intimidate the opposition through that quality, the capacity to inspire whoever plays alongside with her, and you would suspect (after those two maulings she and Jessica delivered in 2019) that the sisters will be reunited in the foursomes (I’d sling them together all week). I thought she’d be shorter to be the American top-scorer.
For the Europeans, Boutier was superb in 2019 and it would be quite something if she backed it up. I suspect much will be asked of Hull, Hall and ANNA NORDQVIST, but they are all up to the task. Castren and Maguire might get an early run-out and if they perform well could ride the wave. But that trio of match veterans are most likely to get the action we need to land the bet and the deciding factor for me is the records away from home.
Hall went 2-3-0 on debut away from home, then 4-0-0 at Gleneagles. Hull is 3-2-1 in America, 6-1-2 in Europe. Neither are bad records because even Hall’s debut was a solid one with narrow defeats, but Nordqvist’s record is the other way around: 5-6-0 in Europe and 7-3-2 in the States. That’s the clincher.
Posted at 1400 BST on 31/08/21
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