Grandmasters Allisen Corpuz, Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu have mathematically won their spots on the United States Solheim Cup team for the 2023 game at Finca Cortesin. Korda and Vu are currently ranked first and second in the points standings, maintaining their spots after their performances at the US Women’s Open with 422.50 and 416.50 points, respectively. Finishing third in the standings with 348.50 points, Corpuz secured his first Solheim Cup berth following his victory at Pebble Beach Golf Links and his runner-up finish at the Dana Open.
Korda will be playing in his third consecutive Solheim Cup and boasts a career record of 5-2-1 in the last two editions of the event, held at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2019 and the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in 2021. The 24-year-old has collected two wins and 14 further top-10 finishes in the qualifying period, which began after the 2021 Solheim Cup. She won the 2021 ANNIKA ridden by Gainbridge at Pelican and successfully defended her title at Pelican Golf Club last November.
Six of those 14 top 10s have come this season, and all were within her first seven starts of 2023. Four were top fives that saw Korda tie for fourth at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, second at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, T5 at DIO Implant LA Open and solo third at The Chevron Championship.
“I am so grateful and excited to be a part of Team USA,” Korda said. “It’s a week where you’re not just playing for yourself, but for your teammates and for your country. I can’t wait to play under a captain like Stacy (Lewis) who bleeds red, white and blue.”
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis knows how valuable Korda will be to a young U.S. team. Although only 24, the seven-year LPGA Tour veteran has accomplished much throughout her tenure in professional golf, giving her a perspective and poise that Lewis hopes will help reassure and motivate her teammates as they work on to bring the Cup home again earth.
“Nelly brings so much experience to the team, not only from her two Solheim Cups, but from major championships, her time at world No. 1 and her success at the Olympics,” Lewis said. “She’s incredibly talented and I see this as her time to really step up and be a leader on the team. Hitting the ball is the strength of her game, but honestly, there really isn’t much that isn’t a strength for her. She’s just such a well-rounded athlete.”
Vu will represent her country at Finca Cortesin for the second time in 2023 after playing it up at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown earlier this season, where she teamed with Korda and helped Team USA to a third-place finish. As an amateur, Vu represented the United States as a member of the 2018 Curtis Cup, Arnold Palmer Cup and Espirito Santo Trophy teams, but this will be her first time doing so on a stage as big as the Solheim Cup and the 25-year-old. -old is looking forward to being a rookie in Spain in September.
“It is such an honor to represent America at the Solheim Cup,” Vu said. “I have a lot of respect for Stacy Lewis, so I’m looking forward to playing for her. I am super grateful and excited about it. I am also looking forward to playing with the best from my country. It has been a dream to play in the Solheim Cup since I was a child.”
After losing her LPGA Tour status following her rookie year in 2019, Vu regained membership for the 2022 season via the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card in 2021, winning three times on the “Road to the LPGA” that year. Last season, the California native recorded eight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour, three of which saw her finish in the top three at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play presented by MGM Rewards (3), the Portland Classic (T3) and the BMW Ladies Championship (T3).
This year, Vu became a Rolex winner for the first time at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February and captured her second LPGA Tour title just four starts later at the Chevron Championship, defeating fellow American and Solheim Cup hopeful Angel Yin in a playoff. She has three more top-15 finishes on her 2023 resume, most notably a tie for seventh at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain.
Lewis sees a lot of promise in Vu’s game, especially in her putting and hitting. She believes Vu is one of those “sneaky dad” players whose distance could be a real asset in this team format, but her ability to get the ball in the hole is what really stands out for the captain. Vu is someone whose putter gets hot when the moment is big, and her ability to jam with the flatstick under pressure is another valuable skill she brings to this team, even as a Solheim Cup rookie. She is also young and hungry to win, a new perspective that Lewis looks forward to nurturing in Spain later this year.
“The call to tell Lilia she’s on the team was easily one of the coolest things I’ve done so far in my time as captain. To be able to tell a freshman she’s on the team was pretty amazing,” Lewis said. “But even though she’s a first-timer, she’s definitely not a rookie. Lilia played team golf in her amateur days, so she has a lot of experience representing the American players like Lilia and some of the other first-timers that are playing, really got me excited about the future of the Solheim Cup.”
Corpuz was a 2022 LPGA Tour rookie and recorded three top-10 finishes in her first season, including a runner-up finish at the ISPS Handa World Invitational and a solo three at the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. This season, the 25-year-old Hawaiian became a Rolex winner for the first time at the US Women’s Open, becoming the first American to win the championship since Brittany Lang in 2016. She has earned three more top-five finishes this year, the most notably a tie for fourth at The Chevron Championship in April.
Corpuz has represented the United States as an amateur and has played on the 2020 and 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup teams as well as the victorious 2021 Curtis Cup team where she went undefeated with a 3-0-0 record. This will be her second time on the LPGA Tour as a professional, and she is looking forward to once again competing for her country.
“Representing the United States is always an honor and I’m excited to go to Spain,” Corpuz said. “Playing in the Solheim Cup has been a huge goal for me, and it’s special to know that I have achieved it. Team golf is so different from our usual competitions, so I’m looking forward to being part of a team and playing a match. I’m excited to be a Solheim Cup rookie and can’t wait for a great week!”
Like Vu, Lewis is excited to have another Solheim Cup rookie in Corpuz join her team for a myriad of reasons. Corpuz brings a veteran level of composure, cool and composure to the golf course that the captain believes could be valuable when pairing her up for partner play. She also believes that Corpuz’s ability to be “the same person Thursday through Sunday” is important in these types of emotional contests, especially with the match-play tension that runs high in the Solheim Cup.
“I love watching Allisen play golf,” Lewis said. “I watched her last few holes at Pebble Beach – her grip, her face, her emotion, they never changed. She makes the game look so effortless. All of that will definitely work in her favor at Finca Cortesin when she is with a playing partner and going through tough matches. Her consistency and her ball hitting are great assets to the team.”
The United States Solheim Cup team will be finalized on August 28, 2023. Four additional players as determined by the points standings will be added to the team along with Corpuz, Korda and Vu, as well as the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings who are not already qualified via the points standings. Three additional captain picks will round out the 12-man U.S. team.
The 18th playing of the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin will take place from the 22nd-24th. September in Andalusia, Spain. Tickets for Solheim Cup 2023 can be bought here. Don’t miss tickets to the 2024 Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. Tickets can be purchased via Seat Geek.
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⭐ Allis’s Corpuz#SolheimCup2023 | @FINCACORTESIN— Solheim Cup (@TheSolheimCup) 18 July 2023