There's a huge subplot to the AIG Women's Open for European players this week as the final chance to secure Solheim Cup places.
European captain Anna Nordqvist will know her final eight automatic qualifiers after the conclusion of the final women's Major of the season at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
The Women's Open also offers up the final chance for those not bagging spots to impress Solheim Cup stalwart Nordqvist enough to grab one of her four captain's picks.
And those picks will be announced on Monday, the day after the final round of the Women's Open - while there's still some time to run for Team USA with Angela Stanford not naming her side until August 24 following the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada.
The 2026 Solheim Cup will take place September 7-13 at Bernardus Golf Club in the Netherlands and with double points on offer at the AIG Women's Open there's all to play for in Lytham.
The top two on the European Solheim Cup points list automatically qualify, with six spots filled by the top six European players on the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.
Nordqvist will then complete her team with four captain's picks, but despite plenty of support she's decided against picking herself and being a rare playing captain.
There's some big similarities with USA Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley as he had to wrestle with the idea of picking himself and was clearly playing well enough to be in the team.
The 39-year-old Nordqvist has played in the last nine Solheim Cups and with a 17-15-3 record only five players have won more matches in the event - and with a T7 finish at the Evian Championship and T28 at the Women's Scottish Open the form is there, but she's already ruled herself out of consideration.
So who will be playing for Europe? Here's how the Solheim Cup standings look heading into the AIG Women's Open...
Who has qualified for the Solheim Cup?
Charley Hull has built up an unassailable lead at the top of the Solheim Cup points list, with a pretty intense battle behind her for that second spot.
Chiara Tamburlini currently holds it but only by a whisker with a lead of just 1.1 points over Helen Briem, with Agathe Laisne and Cara Gainer also in striking distance.
Lottie Woad sits in eighth on the points list but as the World No.5 she's assured of making her Solheim Cup debut anyway via her world ranking position.
Maja Stark at World No.25 and Celine Boutier at World No.30 are also assured of making Nordqvist's team via their world ranking, while Esther Hesseleit is all-but there sitting in 43rd.
Position |
Name |
Country |
Points |
Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
Charley Hull |
England |
232.93 |
15 |
2. |
Chiara Tamburlini |
Switzerland |
133.10 |
30 |
3. |
Helen Briem |
Germany |
132.0 |
26 |
4. |
Agathe Laisne |
France |
110.0 |
15 |
5. |
Cara Gainer |
England |
104.63 |
35 |
6. |
Maja Stark |
Sweden |
100.75 |
6 |
7. |
Carlota Ciganda |
Spain |
88.38 |
14 |
8. |
Lottie Woad |
England |
86.0 |
7 |
9. |
Pia Babnik |
Slovenia |
82.50 |
37 |
10. |
Mimi Rhodes |
England |
81.69 |
24 |
Who needs what to qualify for the Solheim Cup?
With 100 points on offer for winning the Women's Open there's still plenty to play for though, with second place getting 75 points and third being awarded 50.
Only the top 20 on the final leaderboard at Lytham will get points, with fourth awarded 45 and fifth 40 before the remaining spots go down by 2.5 points for every place.
So there's plenty at stake, especially in the points list with Tamburlini sweating on that slender lead and knowing that if she fails to make the top 20 and Briem does then the German will move above here.
Laisne needs to finish at least 12th and Garner ninth to stand any chance of pipping Tamburlini, while those lower will likely need a top-two finish at Lytham.
There's 100 world rankings points available for the AIG Women's Open winner, but it'll need something close to a win for anyone outside the current top six in the Solheim Cup qualifying spots.
Alongside Woad (5th), Stark (25th), Boutier (30th) and Henseleit (43rd), Spanish stalwart Carlota Ciganda (47th) and Linn Grant (50th) currently sit in the qualifying spots thanks to their world ranking.
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (63rd) and Leona Maguire (79th) are the next best, with just eight more European players inside the world's top 100 - Julia Lopez Ramirez (84th), Nastasia Nadaud (86th), Dewi Weber (87th), Ingrid Lindbland (91st), Mimi Rhodes (92nd), Briem (94th) and Tamburlini (100th).
So it's looking like that tight points list race could be the best bet for a late move with the world ranking spots looking settled - but a big week at Lytham could change all that.
Who could get a Solheim Cup captain's pick?
Nordqvist will have the usual quandary over her four captain's picks come Monday, but you'd have to think that Madsen and Maguire as the next two on the world rankings would be first in line.
Both made their Solheim Cup debuts in 2021 but Madsen hasn't made the team since. Maguire went unbeaten in 2021 going 4-0-1 and then 3-2-0 in 2023 but only played two matches in 2024.
She's a fiesty competitor though and dogged matchplayer so she has to be near the top of the list for Nordqvist.
One of Tamburlini, Briem and Laisne will likely qualify but the other two are sure to at least be in consideration as possible rookies, and what about former World No.1 amateur Julia Lopez Ramirez for a wildcard selection?
The big-hitting Spaniard topped the LPGA Tour driving distance stats as a rookie in 2025 by averaging 285.42 yards off the tee, and is second this year, while she came through Q-School to get a full LET card to become eligible for Solheim Cup selection.
Among those with Solheim Cup pedigree, Emily Kristine Pedersen has four appearances for Europe under her belt but failed to qualify for the Women's Open, while Georgia Hall has been on the last five teams in the tournament and must be another name near the top of the list.
Hall returns to Lytham, where she won the 2018 Women's Open, having only given birth in February, but if she's anywhere near close to her best then Nordqvist reading out her name come Monday would be no surprise whatsoever.
