America vs. Europe! Stacy Lewis vs. Suzann Pettersen! Yes, the Solheim Cup is right around the corner, and the two teams will once again find themselves battling against each other. This time, however, they will be duking it out at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia instead of a course in Europe, as they did last year. But not to worry, for they will be doing so while following the match-play format, where each hole has a value of one.

The 19th edition of the Solheim Cup, as per the official rules of the biennial tournament, will feature two teams made up of 12 players, a skipper, and three assistant captains each. These squads will battle against each other for a total of three days, after which the winner of the prestigious event will be decided.

The first two days of play will consist of the teams competing in a morning session of foursome matches. After the foursomes, the two squads will tee off against each other in a session of four-ball matches. The final day, however, will only consist of singles matches.

The ‘Foursome’ play, also known as alternate shot, will comprise two golfers from each team pairing up against a similar duo from the rival squad. Each of the duo starts off using just one ball as they tee off, with the golfers alternating to finish the hole. Not every athlete will take part in this session of the Solheim Cup, as only eight from each team will compete to find the lowest score between the two groups.

The Fourballs are different in that each professional in the two-player team gets to tee off their own ball. But there’s a twist: only the lowest score from either of the two athletes will be considered for the round. The duo boasting the lowest figures wins the hole in the Solheim Cup.

The final day’s play at the Solheim Cup

Up until now, only eight golfers from the American and European teams have teed off during each session. However, things will be a bit different on the final day with the singles matches, where all 12 professionals from each team will tee off against the 12 golfers from the opposing team without forming any groups.

Dubbed ‘the grand finale of the Solheim Cup,’ the singles matches may very well decide the result of the biennial tournament. However, there are cases where the result may be decided earlier during the first two days. Even so, the singles matches will be played out until the winners of the individual matches are finalized.

In 2023, both teams scored 14 points each, with Europe retaining the cup due to their victory in the previous edition. The Americans, in 2024, will be looking to reclaim the title of champions and hope to dominate the European team while doing so at the Solheim Cup! Who will win in the end? The fans can only wait and watch!