{"id":801784,"date":"2026-08-03T22:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/801784\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T22:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:14:08","slug":"maguire-survives-missed-cuts-and-controversy-to-headline-solheim-cup-wildcard-picks-solheim-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/801784\/","title":{"rendered":"Maguire survives missed cuts and controversy to headline Solheim Cup wildcard picks | Solheim Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leona Maguire has retained her place in Europe\u2019s Solheim Cup<\/a> team despite a disappointing 2026, with the Irish golfer one of four wildcard picks named on Monday by Anna Nordqvist.<\/p>\n

Maguire joins three rookies \u2013 Julia L\u00f3pez Ramirez, Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes \u2013 in completing the Europe side who will attempt to reclaim the trophy in the Netherlands next month.<\/p>\n

A missed cut for Maguire in the Women\u2019s British Open last week meant the 31-year-old had failed to play in the closing 36 holes of four from a possible five majors in 2026. In the one where she made the cut, the Women\u2019s PGA Championship, Maguire tied 53rd. She started this week ranked 83rd in the world.<\/p>\n

These numbers are striking for a player who was tipped for greatness at a young age. There is also the matter of the controversy that surrounded Maguire at the 2024 Solheim Cup when she admitted her limited play under the captain Suzann Pettersen proved a \u201cbitter pill to swallow\u201d<\/a>. Maguire has enjoyed positive experiences in this arena in the past, however, having starred for Europe in the Solheim Cups of 2021 and 2023. The Irish golfer has also claimed eight and a half points from a dozen Solheim Cup matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would rather play alongside her than against her,\u201d Nordqvist said of Maguire. \u201cShe is such a fierce competitor and will do anything for you on the team. I had the honour of playing with her in Spain [at the 2021 Solheim Cup]. Her matchplay record, as an amateur too, definitely helps. I\u2019m excited to see what she can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maguire\u2019s experience was clearly key to Nordqvist\u2019s decision. Another blunt reality is that European options were not especially strong. \u201cI love the Solheim Cup,\u201d Maguire said. \u201cIt brings the best out of my game and I love being part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramirez said she is \u201cliving the dream\u201d after her maiden call-up. The 23-year-old from M\u00e1laga is yet to win a professional event. Nadaud did taste victory, at the Ladies European Tour event in Andalusia late last year. England\u2019s Rhodes was the LET\u2019s rookie of the year in 2025, when she won three times. Nordqvist hailed Rhodes as a \u201cfierce competitor\u201d.<\/p>\n

Esther Henseleit will bring form into the event after losing in a playoff at the Women\u2019s Open. Photograph: Peter Byrne\/PA<\/p>\n

Charley Hull, Esther Henseleit, Lottie Wood, Maja Stark, Linn Grant, C\u00e9line Boutier, Carlota Ciganda and Nanna Koerstz Madsen sealed Europe\u2019s automatic berths. Albeit more than a month has to pass until the Solheim Cup gets under way at Bernardus Golf, Nordqvist will have high hopes for Henseleit. The German was beaten to the Women\u2019s Open title in a playoff on Sunday<\/a> by Shiho Kuwaki. In the second and defining extra hole at Royal Lytham and St Annes, Henseleit\u2019s drive rebounded from the leg of a marshal and to the bottom of a gorse bush. Henseleit had no idea what had transpired when watching from the tee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was further left to be honest,\u201d Henseleit said. \u201cIt must have gotten some kind of bad bounce. At least I still had a shot and could kind of get a good angle going into the green. I didn\u2019t have to take an unplayable or something. But, probably a bit unlucky there. That\u2019s just links golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel Yin and Jennifer Kupcho secured spots in the US Solheim Cup team at the Women\u2019s Open conclusion. Nelly Korda had already done likewise. Angela Stanford, the US captain, will name three captain\u2019s picks after their qualification period ends in late August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leona Maguire has retained her place in Europe\u2019s Solheim Cup team despite a disappointing 2026, with the Irish…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-801784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}