The Solheim Cup is back, this time in the Netherlands, and Team USA still owns the head-to-head since it all started in 1990: 11 wins, 7 losses, one tie in 19 tries. That tie came in 2023, the last time the two teams met on European soil, and it was the first deadlock in the event’s history. Now the two sides head back across the Atlantic to settle the score again.
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The 20th edition of the event will see 12 players from the United States go head-to-head with 12 of their European counterparts at Bernardus Golf from September 11–13. While both sides boast plenty of star power and familiar names ready to tee it up when the action begins, several notable players will be watching from home. With the stage set in the Netherlands, here are the five biggest names missing from this year’s Solheim Cup.
Lexi Thompson
Since 2013, Lexi Thompson has been a fixture on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, representing the Americans every time the biennial event has been contested. That run, however, comes to an end in 2026. Thompson finished 16th in the Solheim Cup standings, leaving her outside the automatic qualifying spots.
Her only route to Bernardus Golf was through a captain’s pick from U.S. captain Angela Stanford. Stanford ultimately opted to leave the 11-time LPGA Tour winner off the roster.
“We agreed that we just didn’t see enough of her,” Stanford said of her conversation with Thompson.
There was understandable reasoning behind the decision. The 31-year-old has significantly scaled back her schedule since stepping away from full-time professional golf a couple of years ago, and her results this season have been underwhelming, with Thompson missing five cuts in seven starts.
Add in the fact that she is expecting her first child, and sitting out this year’s Solheim Cup appears to be a sensible decision for both Thompson and the U.S. team.
Ally Ewing
Ally Ewing’s not coming back at all. She played four straight Solheim Cups, then walked away from the game entirely, retiring in 2024 at 31 after a three-win LPGA career.
She broke the news in a social media video in 2024, and didn’t hide how much the event meant to her. Representing the United States, she said, was “the highest honor of my career.”
Danielle Kang
Danielle Kang has been here before. After five straight Solheim Cup appearances, the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner got left off the 2024 team, and now she’s missing out again in 2026, this time with her form working against her.
Kang entered the captain’s pick conversation with a 7-9-0 record in Solheim Cup play, needing a strong run of results to strengthen her case for a place on Stanford’s team. Instead, she has struggled to find consistency, missing four cuts this season, including in her most recent start at the CPKC Women’s Open.
With Stanford ultimately opting not to select her, Kang will once again have to watch the Solheim Cup from the sidelines.
Lilia Vu
Lilia Vu was once an automatic choice for the U.S. Solheim Cup team. Just three years ago, she enjoyed a breakout season, claiming four titles, including two major championships. That remarkable run sent her racing up the world rankings and earned her a spot on the 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup team.
This year has told a much different story. After dealing with a back injury, Vu has struggled to rediscover the form that once made her one of the best players in the world. The results have been particularly difficult, with the 28-year-old missing nine consecutive cuts, including at the CPKC Women’s Open.
That slump left Vu outside the automatic spots. Not much of a case left for a captain’s pick either. What makes it worse: Vu’s never missed a Solheim Cup. Debuted in 2023. In 2024 she made the putt on 18 at Robert Trent Jones that won it for Team USA.
Sarah Schmelzel
Sarah Schmelzel played on the winning 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup team as a captain’s pick. Two years later, the 32-year-old finished outside the automatic spots, leaving a captain’s pick as her only path back onto the team. Stanford opted against choosing her.
That decision came with good reason. Schmelzel failed to produce any notable results, and that, combined with three missed cuts this season, factored into Stanford’s decision to leave her off the roster.
Schmelzel is in the same boat as Vu here. Her only Solheim Cup appearance was as a 30-year-old rookie in 2024, when she went 2-2-0 and helped the Americans reclaim the Cup for the first time since 2017. Two years later, she’s watching from home.
Star power won’t be in short supply at Bernardus Golf, though. Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz and Megan Khang will lead the Americans against a European side fronted by Charley Hull, Lottie Woad and Carlota Ciganda.