Now that the details have been finalized for the 2028 Solheim Cup, which will be contested at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, it’s fair to gaze ahead to 2030, when the event heads back to Europe.
Here’s a thought: The Solheim Cup, played every other year and featuring women professionals from Europe vs. their American counterparts, has been played in Ireland (Killeen Castle in 2011), Wales (1996 at St. Pierre Country Club) and Scotland (three times, most recently in 2019 at Gleneagles). However, England, the second-largest golf market in the world, a country with more golfers than Wales, Ireland, and Scotland combined, has never hosted this magnificent celebration of women’s golf.
So why not England in 2030?
There is a movement afoot to make this a reality.
The effort is being spearheaded by England Golf, the country’s governing body for the game, led by Jeremy Tomlinson, a longtime golf industry executive and an elite player in his own right. Both Sky Sports and the BBC reported on this effort last week, and Tomlinson said the reaction to these reports “was overwhelmingly positive.”
England has its share of prominent women professionals. The list starts with Dame Laura Davies, England’s most accomplished female golfer of the modern era who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. Others include eight-time Solheim Cup player Trish Johnson, 2018 Women’s British Open champion Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, a recent amateur champion who turned professional this year and won in her maiden outing.
“We believe at this moment, it’s right and proper that the Solheim Cup should come to England.”
Jeremy Tomlinson
Importantly, England has provided more Solheim Cup players than any other European nation since the competition began in 1990. And, as was pointed out in a letter signed by Hull, Johnson, Davies and others that was included in the bid document, none of them have ever had the opportunity to play for the Solheim Cup in their home nation.
Tomlinson believes that he has financial commitments totaling £10 million, but the estimated cost to host it, likely at The Grove in Hertfordshire, is £30 million. He is looking to the government to close that gap by providing the remaining £20 million.
The Grove has previously hosted the British Masters, as well as the 2006 American Express Championship, which Tiger Woods won by eight shots for the 12th of his 18 World Golf Championship titles.
“We believe at this moment, it’s right and proper that the Solheim Cup should come to England,” Tomlinson told the BBC.
Conversations with the government have been ongoing since the spring. IMG, the rights holder for the 2030 match, is pressing for an answer in the not-too-distant future, although it’s not clear that there is another interested party at the moment.
To Tomlinson, the benefits are many and compelling and “represent huge value for England,” he told me last week. “They are both tangible and intangible. There is a very positive return on investment here. We’ve just seen from the Ryder Cup the type of effect that huge golf events can have with regards to not just local economies, but to a nation. We have seen what the Ryder Cup does for men. The Solheim Cup can do the same for women, at a fraction of the cost.”
Tomlinson further believes that hosting the Solheim Cup is consistent with a government commitment to hosting international events, inspiring the next generation of talent and promoting a healthier lifestyle. This agenda includes hosting cricket’s 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup and soccer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035. Including the Solheim Cup appears to be a logical extension of this support of important women’s competitions.
England Golf reports that there are close to eight million “golf participants” in the country, including England Golf members as well as casual golfers who might play a par-3 course or visit a driving range. It seems to me that, for a golf nation this size, hosting the Solheim Cup is long overdue.
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Top: The Grove has experience hosting big tournaments, like the 2019 British Masters.
Andrew Redington, Getty images