Carlota Ciganda, made history in the first Solheim Cup in Spain

At a top setting – and exhausting for anyone who wants to keep track of the games – as usual Finca Cortesinin the Andalusian town of Casaresand in front of the most important women’s golf event in the world, the Solheim Cup, Carlota Cigandathe only Spanish representative in the European team, faces a supreme challenge: winning all the important amateur and professional tournaments held in Spain.

Carlota participated for the first time in a Solheim Cup in 2013, when Colorado (USA), where they experienced a historic edition, as it was the first time a European team won on American soil. Since then, the Navarrese golfer has not missed any edition, five in total before this one, with a balance of three wins, mentioned in 2013 and those in 2019 and 2021.

Ciganda played 19 matches in the Solheim Cup, divided into 10 Fourball couples duels, with a balance of three wins, five losses and two draws; four Foursomes, with one win, two losses and one draw; and five individuals, with three winners, one loser and one tie.

In these numbers, the golfer Ulzama33 years old, has been presented as one of the great assets of the European team, but also for his sporting merits, for his experience in the different modalities of this competition.

The challenge of contributing to the success of Europe For Carlota Ciganda, this represents an extraordinary reward that goes beyond the limits of her personal sporting history, which is closely linked to the history of Spanish women’s golf. Not in vain, not the same story has run parallel for the past 23 years, it is the history of Spanish women’s golf that has been written in a very important part in the handwriting of the Navarrese golfer.

Carlota’s debut will have to wait. The captain Suzanne Pettersen put together the duos that will face the Americans in the foursomes first thing on Friday: Maja Stark and Linn Grant against Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang; Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall vs. Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee; Leona Maguire and Anna Nordvist against Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz; and Emily Pedersen and Charley Hull against Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight.

The Swedes, at the English level

Sweden, with rookies Linn Grant and Maja Stark, as well as Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom and Caroline Hedwall, is the country with the most players on the European team. This fact also caused the Nordic country to catch up with England in the history of players who have competed in Solheim, with 14. In addition to the aforementioned golfers, the historic Swedish group is completed by Helen Alfredsson, Sophie Gustafson and Annika Sorenstam (8 participants). , Liselotte Neumann (6), Maria Hjorth McBride and Catrin Nilsmark (5), Carin Koch (4) and Charlotta Sorenstam and Linda Wessberg (1). As for the English players who competed in the Solheim Cup, in addition to Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, who will play in this edition and have six and four appearances, they are Laura Davies (12 appearances), Trish Johnson (8), Alison Nicholas (6), Mel Reid (4), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (3), Lisa Hall Hackney and Karen Stupples (2), and Bronte Law, Joanne Morley, Florentyna Parker, Kitrina Douglas and Lora Fairclough (1).