Praise From the Skipper! $1.5M Event’s Defending Champ Gets Hailed for Her Perseverance by Solheim Cup’s Captain America

Golf fans have been on their toes this week, with two major announcements. The official list of players who made it to the Ryder Cup team and the Solheim Cup team, to play in Italy and Spain, respectively. While the Ryder Cup picks are hoarding attention with some controversial choices, the Solheim Cup team has not been getting enough attention as it appears.

Meanwhile, Stacy Lewis, the captain of the Solheim Cup team, has spoken about the team recently. She specifically mentioned Andrea Lee’s entry into the team and sounded highly appreciative of Lee. Notably, Andrea Lee won the Portland Classic Cup in 2022 and is about to play in the current year’s edition as the defending champion. Ahead of the tournament, Lewis had some high praise about Lee.

“The way Andrea played…”: Captain Stacy Lewis has nothing but praise for Andrea Lee

To give some context, Andrea Lee entered the CPKC Women’s Open 2023, with pressure to perform well and finish in the top 13 at least. This was to finish at least in the seventh position of the Solheim Cup rankings. With a 2-under score, Lee pushed forward hard and finished the tournament, sharing the 13th position with three others, including Brooke Henderson. 

With her seventh position in the Solheim Cup rankings, Lee has now secured her position in the team, without having to rely on the Captain to pick her. Stacy Lee, the captain of the US Solheim Cup team, said this about Lee in an interview.

“The way Andrea played last month, she was very far out of the picture and to two top tens, to having to finish 13th and finishing 13th. I mean it’s insane.”

Lewis explained the kind of pressure Lee must have been under. She spoke about how it feels to see the position moving up and down the leaderboard as a tournament progresses. “You sit there and you play like, oh I’m in the 11th. Oh, I’m in the 5th. Now, I’m back to 12th.”

She expressed her opinion that Andrea Lee was not discussed enough. “For me, the biggest thing that happened was the way Andrea played to make the team. I don’t think it was talked about enough.” She added how the conversations around the picks might have taken all the space.

Read more: 2023 Portland Classic: Prize Money Breakdown and Winner’s Payout

Speaking of picks, let’s look at the official team of the Solheim Cup, and how they earned their spot in the team. 

The final twelve of the Solheim Cup US team

The Solheim Cup, much like the Ryder Cup, has a mix of direct entries and Captain’s picks. However, the Solheim Cup has a twist. Of the twelve players, seven would be direct entries from the top seven positions of the Solheim Cup rankings list. Two would be selected based on World Rankings, and the rest of three would be captain’s picks.

The current Solheim Cup team includes the following seven as direct entries: Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang, and Andrea Lee. The top two from the World rankings list are Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang. Finally, the Captain’s picks are Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight, and Angel Yin.

Are you happy about the picks, and the whole team? Let us know in the comments!

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