Anna Nordqvist: A Solheim Cup Life Comes Full Circle

Photo: Anna Nordqvist with Solheim Cup trophy, photo courtesy of Tristan Jones LET

Words: Emma Ballard

As someone who has been an integral part of Team Europe at the Solheim Cup throughout her professional career, Anna Nordqvist has always seen it as more than just golf. She has competed in the last nine editions, serving as vice-captain twice, winning four times, and helping the team retain the trophy once. While nothing beats the joy of winning, having her family there as her loudest and proudest supporters has been just as important. “The Solheim Cup means a lot to my family and me,” she says. Now, in 2026, she steps into the role she describes simply as “the biggest honor you can get as a European golfer.”

Photo: Team Europe celebrating their 2023 win.

The timing of her captaincy matters. Nordqvist is still an active player, still inside the rhythms and ropes of tour life. “I always felt like, if I did get the honor of being the captain, I wanted to be able to do the best job I could,” she says. “I felt like I could do the best job right now, when I’m still out on tour, still so close to the players and close to the caddies and the whole team around.”

What she didn’t fully appreciate as a player was the scale of the build-up. “As a player, you show up that week. Now that I know how much work is behind it, it makes me appreciate the event even more, and what previous captains and teams have done. It really takes a village to make this happen!”

Shaped by the Solheim Cup, Ready to Lead it

Her attachment to the biennial event goes back decades. Nordqvist still remembers walking the ropes at the 2000 Solheim Cup as a junior. “I was like, how cool is this? That was my dream. How cool would it be to one day play in one of these?” Twenty-five years later, and nine Solheim Cups, it’s time to take on the captaincy. “It’s kind of full circle,” she says.

Her captaincy approach? Calm, competitive, and authentic.

Nordqvist is clear that she won’t try to mimic Catriona Matthew or Suzann Pettersen. “I’m obviously very different from Suzann and Catriona,” she says. Instead, her priority is authenticity. “All I can do is be myself,” she adds. “If I look back at my career, some of my best memories are from the Solheim Cup. I bring in a lot of passion, a lot of heart.”

Photo: Anna Nordqvist.

She points to two qualities that will define her leadership: attention to detail and a sense of calm. “My attention to detail, preparations, and organization is something that’s always been very important to me,” she says. She also feels more comfortable in her own skin now than at any other point in her career. “I probably wouldn’t have been ready to do this role a few years ago. But now I feel like you can trust me, and you’ll always have my support.”

“I’m excited for this new chapter. I may not have captained a team before, but I’m ready for the challenge and the growth that comes with it. I’ve always tried to be a supportive teammate, and I hope that’s how players felt in the past. My goal now is to create an environment where everyone feels valued, enjoys themselves, and can perform at their best.”

A New Chapter in the Netherlands

This year marks the first Solheim Cup to be hosted in the Netherlands, and the location is another reason Nordqvist felt the timing was right. When Bernardus was announced as host, she already knew the people behind the bid and believed in their vision. “We have a lot of similar values. Wanting to be a good fan experience, wanting to make it something a little bit out of the box,” she says. “That’s when I thought, well, if I ever get the chance, maybe that’s my time.”

Her hope is to make the week a genuine family affair. “I want to make it a little bit more kid-friendly, because that’s what this event is about for me,” she says. “If we can bring that same experience to someone else, make someone else dream big, that’s what’s really important to me.”

Photo: U.S. Team Captain, Angela Stanford, with Anna Nordqvist.

She expects the Dutch fans to bring a serious sense of occasion. “They have a big sporting culture. You see that with the likes of Formula One, the Dutch fans, the whole community get together. So I'm very, very excited to bring it to a new country,” she says. “It’s going to be really cool and very eye-opening for a lot of people who come.”

The Course: Dutch Character with a Solheim Stage Feel

Nordqvist has already played Bernardus multiple times. She describes it by saying, “if you have ever played golf in the Netherlands, it has an inland links-ish feel, with heather, bunkering and firm conditions. You want to keep it [the ball] straight. The course is also quite compact, so there’s going to be a lot of people in small areas,” she adds. “A lot of cool par threes, a lot of water… a quite spectacular place.”

Photo: Bernardus Golf Course

Players will also enjoy world-class facilities. “Bernardus has a short-game facility that’s massive and is where we're going to have our team rooms. The range is quite cool, it has a spectacular door you open and it feels like paradise,” she says. Even the clubhouse restaurant is Michelin-starred!

Keeping the Solheim Cup Rising

Nordqvist has watched the Solheim Cup evolve dramatically since she first saw it as a teenager. “The level of play in women’s golf is crazy good,” she says. “That week brings out the best in a lot of players.”

It remains the one week she believes every player wants to be part of. “I played nine, and I was sad, knowing in 2024 it was probably going to be my last. The feeling you have stepping out on the first day just can't be described.”

She’s also conscious that this is a pivotal moment for the Solheim Cup. Nordqvist is part of a generation that knows the responsibility to keep driving the event and women’s golf forward, and 2026 introduces a major milestone. The PING Junior Solheim Cup will be played on the same course for the first time. She sees it as a powerful catalyst for the next wave of European talent, made even more meaningful with Anne van Dam captaining the junior team on home soil.

“How cool is that, as a junior? To tee it up, then stay the whole week and follow in the footsteps of your idols,” she says. She recalls playing in the 2005 Junior Solheim Cup in the US, sharing the moment with, amongst others, one of her vice-captains, Mel Reid.

A Captain Shaped by the Event She Loves

Nordqvist is looking ahead to the 2026 Solheim Cup with experience few players in history can match, and with an emotional connection even fewer can claim. It is no surprise that she wants to win, but she also wants to create something meaningful.

“Come Solheim Cup Sunday, if you put your whole heart into it and you did everything you could, win or lose, I want it to be a memory everyone remembers,” she says.

For her, and for her family, the Solheim Cup has always been more than a week of golf. Now it’s her turn to shape it for the next generation.

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Photo: Team Europe Solheim Cup bag by Scott Taetsch GETTY

Anna Nordqvist Solheim Cup Facts

• Played in nine consecutive Solheim Cups (2009-2024)
• W-L-D Solheim match record 17-15-3
• Won or retained the cup 5 of her nine appearances (2011W, 2013W, 2019W, 2021W, 2023R)
• Vice Captain 2023 & 2024
• Played in the 2005 Junior Solheim Cup as part of the losing European side at The Bridgewater Club in Illinois.

Additional Facts

• Turned pro 2008, played first pro event in 2009
• Age 38 (June 10, 1987)
• 16 Professional wins (3 Majors – 2009 Women’s PGA, 2017 Amundi Evian Championship, 2021 AIG Women’s Open)

Editor’s Note: This is part 1 of our 2026 Solheim Cup event preview. Part 2, featuring an interview with the American team captain, Angela Stanford, will be the next issue! 

Photo: Solheim Cup trophy