Wie, Piller added to Solheim Cup team
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Morgan Pressel played her way onto another Solheim Cup team at the Women’s British Open. Michelle Wie is returning as a captain’s pick.
The American team was completed Sunday at St. Andrews when Pressel tied for fourth and bumped Jennifer Johnson from the last of two spots through the world ranking. Meg Mallon took Wie and Solheim Cup rookie Gerina Piller as her captain’s picks.
Wie was a captain’s pick for the second time in the last three Solheim Cups.
European captain Liselotte Neumann used one of her four picks on 17-year-old Charley Hull of England, making her the youngest player in Solheim Cup history. The other picks went to Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England, Caroline Hedwall of Sweden and Giulia Sergas of Italy.
It marks the first time Laura Davies will not play in the Solheim Cup since the matches began in 1990.
The Solheim Cup is Aug. 16-18 at Colorado Golf Club.
Stacy Lewis, an hour after winning the Women’s British Open with a birdie-birdie finish, led the U.S. standings and will play on her second straight team. The other seven Americans who qualified through points were Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Lang. Lizette Salas made her first team as one of two players from the world ranking.
Mallon took Wie over Johnson, who won this year but has no Solheim Cup experience. Wie has a 4-3-1 record in the last two cups.
Europe, which won two years ago in Ireland, has twice as many captain’s picks. The four players who earned a spot through Ladies European Tour points were Suzann Pettersen of Sweden, Carlota Ciganda of Spain, Catriona Matthew of Scotland and Caroline Masson of Germany. The other four from the world ranking were Karine Icher of France, Azahara Munoz of Spain, Beatriz Recari of Spain and Anna Nordqvist of Sweden.
The Americans have an 8-4 lead in the competition. Europe has never won in consecutive years, and it will be trying to win for the first time on U.S. soil.