How does the Solheim Cup work? Foursomes and fourballs explained

Everything you need to know on the difference between the playing formats

The Solheim Cup gets underway in the 39th edition of the tournament in Virginia (Getty Images)

The Solheim Cup returns to the United States as the home team will try and prevent Team Europe from winning an unprecedented fourth title in a row in the 39th edition of the tournament at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.

Last year, Suzann Pettersen’s Team Europe retained the trophy following a thrilling 14-14 draw in Spain, and she is set to remain captain, with the United States also sticking with theirs, Stacy Lewis.

The Solheim Cup is being played two years in a row, but will return to even years only from 2024, the competition had been played in 2021 and 2023 previously because the 2020 edition was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The competition starts on Friday September 13 until September 15.

How does it work?

The teams themselves are made up of 12 players, each with one captain and three assistant captains, who will compete across the three events.

The first two days of the competition include the foursomes in the mornings and the fourballs in the afternoon, while the final day will be the singles matches.

What is a foursome?

In the foursome stage, two golfers from the same team are strategically put together to compete against two golfers from the opposing team.

What makes it unique is there is just one ball between the pair and they play alternate shots until the end of the hole.

What is a fourball?

Fourball is when the same golfers who have been partnered together for the foursome plays their own ball. So instead of two balls, there will be four balls in contention for each hole, and the lowest score from each team is the one that is counted.

Singles explained

The final day of singles is more familiar to golf fans, one player from Team Europe will compete against one player from Team USA, each will have their own ball. All 12 players will compete against each other on the final day of the competition.

How can I watch it?

In the UK Sky Sports will be showing every session on the Sky Sports Golf channel. Coverage begins at 11:30am BST on Friday and Saturday until the close of play at 11pm. On Sunday, coverage begins at 1pm until the close of play at 8:30pm.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

What are the teams?

Team Europe

Captain: Suzann Pettersen

Céline Boutier (France, World ranking 9)

Charley Hull (England, World ranking: 11)

Maja Stark (Sweden, World ranking: 26)

Lina Grant (Sweden, World ranking: 27)

Esther Henseleit (Germany, World ranking: 30) - rookie

Leona Maguire (Ireland, World ranking: 33)

Carlota Ciganda (Spain, World ranking: 34)

Magdalene Sagstrom (Sweden, World ranking: 39)

Georgia Hall (England, World ranking: 41) - captain’s pick

Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland, World ranking 62) - rookie, captain’s pick

Anna Nordqvist (Sweden, World ranking: 71) - captain’s pick

Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark, World ranking: 103) - captain’s pick

Team USA

Captain: Stacy Lewis

Nelly Korda (World ranking: 1)

Lilia Va (World ranking: 2)

Rose Zhang (World ranking: 10)

Lauren Coughlin (World ranking: 14) - rookie

Ally Ewing (World ranking: 17)

Megan Khang (World ranking: 21)

Alison Lee (World ranking: 25)

Allisen Corpuz (World ranking: 28)

Andrea Lee (World ranking: 43)

Lexi Thompson (World ranking: 46) - captain’s pick

Jennifer Kupcho (World ranking: 53) - captain’s pick

Sarah Schmelzel (World ranking: 61) - rookie, captain’s pick