SOLHEIM CUP

September 8, 2026

Anna Nordqvist

Caroline Hedwall

Mel Reid

Anne Van Dam

Bernardus

Team Europe

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good morning. We're delighted to be joined by European's Solheim captain, Anna Nordqvist, and vice captains, Caroline Hedwall, Mel Reid, and Anne van Dam.

Anna, you've been waiting for this moment now for so long and it's finally here. How is it going?

ANNA NORDQVIST: It's going great. It's nice to see what an amazing group of players, caddies, helpers, and team we really have. It's quite cool to be part of, like, the whole journey from the start, from everything from the designing the clothes, the golf bag, to putting together the team, thinking about potential pairings, and then now it kind of becomes a reality.

So it's been really cool to kind of see that come together and see how much people appreciate the work all of us have been doing the last 18, 20 months.

THE MODERATOR: Carol, you've been part of this journey alongside Anna from the beginning. How is the team bonding and how well do you think they're suited?

CAROLINE HEDWALL: I think it's great. We have a great time together and it's very good group of girls and just enjoying each other's company. So, no, it's been perfect.

THE MODERATOR: Mel, your named for bringing the energy and passion as well. What are you passing to the team this week?

MEL REID: Yeah, look, I think that Anna's done a fantastic job. I think that she's done a lot of hard work that makes our job earlier. We're just kind of floating around and making sure that everyone's in the right place at the right time, which I'm doing a really good job at (laughing).

Yeah, look, I feel like my role this week is obviously to support our captain, the other vice captains, but it's also to try and get the best out of the players that we're all doing. I know a lot of the players now have been a part of a few of these and still very good mates with a lots of them.

But, yeah, just to kind of allude to what she's saying, sometimes I think that our gift in Europe is that we are very good at becoming a unit. Sometimes it takes a couple of days. Not this group. I felt that we've been a unit for a couple of weeks now, so it's been nice to get here and not have to kind of try and figure out a couple little things. I feel like everything's in place nicely.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Anne, you have just come from the Ping Junior Solheim Cup closing ceremony where you were the captain for the European team. Commiserations, but it was a really close match and a brilliant fight back today with eight and a half points in the singles. Is there anything that you've learned from this experience that you can bring to European Solheim team in?

ANNE van DAM: Yeah, I think in general, right, it's match play. I told my girls fight for every shot, and I think today showed -- like, we could have still won today. We had a chance. So that shows no matter how far you are behind, we got to give it every shot, and that's what I was telling my girls all day today, all day yesterday. If you fight for every shot, we finish where we finish, and then you can be proud of yourself.

Today, in the end, they lost, but because they fought for every shot, they came back and they can be very happy.

THE MODERATOR: Fantastic golf out there. Well done. Thank you. One last question for Anna before we open it to the floor.

Anna, we always see your family out there in colorful costumes. Do you know what they're going to be wearing? How will we be able to spot them?

ANNA NORDQVIST: I've been trying to bribe my nieces and nephews telling me what's going to happen because everyone's lips are sealed and I'm not part of any meetings or anything. So I really have no clue what they're going so show up in. Everyone seems to think they have always been the bananas, but bananas started in Spain in 2023, like, literally when my whole family came out. And then it was so popular, so the five or six of them, they came to Washington in 2024, brought the leftover.

I know they threw the banana outfits away, so I think they have something else planned. But you know the dedication and everything that goes into it, I mean, they love it and none of them have been to the Netherlands before, so they're very excited, and I'm just as excited to see what they've got planned this week.

THE MODERATOR: Excellent. Look forward to seeing them on the first tee. If you have a question please raise your hand.

Q. Anna and Mel, thoughts on the golf course. I know you're both pretty analytical people in terms of really breaking down golf courses. What do you think about the play so far and how does it suit the you're owes really well?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, I've obviously been here. The first time I came here was four years ago. And then in the last year or so I've been here two or three, this is my further time. So, yeah, I think it's amazing the hard work Niall, the superintendent and the team has done. Both teams came here in July. Obviously it was very dry then. Just to see the difference. I know they had some rain. But it's just a spectacular golf course. I think it's great for match play. Even with all the grandstands and I saw the owner today out there, Robert van der Wallen, he's obviously been hugely supportive of getting the Solheim here on his property and he was all smiles. I made sure to thank him, because I know it's been so much hard work to get the course in this shape. Yeah, you couldn't ask for better facilities and a setup this week. So I think everyone's just very excited to come back here and get to tee it up and such a cool venue.

MEL REID: Yeah I think also that it's a stunning property. I was kind of blown away when I first set foot on property. I think that golf courses are heathlandy, so somebody who grew up playing in England it's very familiar to us. I think it can create a lot of drama. As you said it's a fantastic match play golf course. It's got a lot of water in play, a lot of variations in the par-3s. Drivable par-4s. 16 is an unbelievable golf hole especially at that point on the golf course. That's going to be very popular and a determination in a lot of these matches. So yeah I think the players feel it as well there's not one player that doesn't think it's a stunning golf course and prompt.

Q. Anna, it's a younger team for the Euros this season, ya'll have got quite a few rookies. How much fun or how much do you relish the opportunity to captain such a young hungry squad?

ANNA NORDQVIST: I think it's been rally cool because it's really a breath of fresh air. And as we have seen in the last couple years the younger generations now they come out on tour when they're 20 or 21 and their games are so good. Lottie is going to be a rookie this week, but she certainly doesn't play like one or feel like one. Nastasia is a player that she grew a lot on us in the whole qualifying period. She makes a ton of birdies. Mimi, solid player, has done well on Curtis Cups. And then who am I missing? Julia. Yeah, Julia, you should see her personality. I know a lot of people are going to be amazed when she pulls the driver out because she has some speed that's hard, it's not many people have in the women's game. So I think it's just so fun to see the personalities and you get 'em in an environment where they feel confident, and then just obviously we have a lot of experience on the team as well, a lot of experience in the captain's group. So I think it just seems very natural with everyone on the team this week. Sometimes you have to try to make something work, but that's never felt something that we all had to do in this whole process. So I can't wait for them to tee it up and it's always easy to try to describe to the rookies what it's like playing in the Solheim, but we've all been there and it's something that you need to experience and you kind of have to get your own feel for it. But I can't wait for them to feel what it's like stepping up on that first tee.

Q. I want to follow up on the course. We had a lot of dryness like almost all of Europe, of course. In what way was it difficult to get the setup you wanted, and are you satisfied, well, it's been now with the qualities of your team?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, because I mean obviously as the hosting nation you can provide a little bit of feedback leading up to the event. I don't know, I'm not sure if I believe a lot in setting up in a certain way. All these girls mostly play on the LPGA Tour all year round, so we compete on the same courses. So it's easy to say, Well, this is going to favor Europe or this is going to favor the U.S. I really don't think there's going to be a difference. I think when we worked a little bit on course setup it's just trying to create good holes. Good holes for match play. Kind of discussing like, okay, pin placements, okay, this might be a really good pin for best ball and might not really be a really good pin for alternate shot. So I think you try to protect the game of golf and being able to showcase the women's golf more than necessary trying to figure out what's going to favor Europe, because certainly, like, I don't really believe there's really a big difference in U.S. versus Europe's games.

Q. What do you guys think of the biking culture here?

MEL REID: Well, I've got into biking, actually, because I've moved to Colorado. So I'm a big, big fan of it. It's cool. It's different, isn't it? I think it's cool for spectators to be able to come in on a bike, get your bit of exercise in, and then get some exercise on the way home after a couple of beers. It's perfect.

It's unique, isn't it? It's unique to the Netherlands. They're known for the accessibility of biking, and I think it's really cool that spectators to come here on that.

Q. Anyone else been on a bike here or before?

CAROLINE HEDWALL: Me and Anna did the tandem biking a year ago, and I think it was smooth, right? It worked out well. We made it all the way here. So yeah, it's great.

ANNA NORDQVIST: I quickly learned that if you sit in the back, all you do is you sit there and cruise, so she was doing the hard work in the front.

Q. I heard there was table tennis also in the hotel. Is that something -- well, playing games, other games, helps with, yeah, getting the team together? And who is winning with table tennis?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Carlota showed up on the first tee today being very, very proud that she had beat Julia in ping-pong yesterday. There's a lot of sneaky good table tennis players on our team, so there's been a few heated battles so far.

But Carlota, obviously, she loves Solheim Cup with all her heart, but seeing her competitive passion come out. I know she plays a lot of paddle tennis, some pickleball, but when you get 'em on -- playing a little bit of table tennis, it certainly brings it out. And the dart board has been a huge hit in our team room this week.

So it's just nice to have something to bond together and just relax. I mean, there's going to be enough intensity on the course this week, so it's kind of a nice way to just be able to hang out and not have to think about golf for a little bit.

Q. It was picked up that Charley was a little bit later than the others on the tee this morning. What were the circumstances behind that?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Do you want to do this one, Mel?

MEL REID: This could be a full story. Charley Hull was the first one to bed last night at 8 o'clock and first one on the bus this morning. She doesn't even drink, so that's a completely false story it's been misquoted. She was late to the tee because I was responsible for her, so I'll take a little bit of responsibility to that. But she just thought her tee time was a little bit later, and trying to drag Charley Hull off a driving range is a feat in any tournament, especially a Solheim. So yeah it's a completely false story.

Q. I wasn't aware there was a false story, I was just aware she was late on the tee.

MEL REID: Yeah, well late on the tee, but there's actually a story behind it, so I just want to shut this down before it gets, before other people start talking about it. But she was literally late because, one, I couldn't drive drag her off the driving range, and, two, she thought her tee time was five minutes later than it was.

Q. On a serious theme off that, Charley's always a very individual person, she does her own thing, and that's what's great about her. Is that --

ANNA NORDQVIST: No, so I will, I mean, I've been part of basically every single team that Charley's been on, and I will say it's been really nice to see how much Charley is starting to embrace the whole Solheim atmosphere. I've had multiple conversations with her and it just nice to see how excited she is. In the process leading up to the event I wanted to make sure that every player got the opportunity to pair prepare as well for the event. So some of the girls from the U.S. -- I flew in on the Saturday, some of the U.S. girls flew in on Sunday. But for Charley we decided that she was going to be better off preparing being in home in England. So she flew in yesterday last night. But it's been very nice to see her. I was on the first tee this morning and obviously I told the first three girls to go because there's a little bit of a hike given that we start on the third hole and not the course No. 1 this week. So it takes a good, five, ten minutes to get out there. So I told the first tee, like go ahead and then Charley would just catch up. Because we knew she was on the way. But the third hole I think it's an amazing start because you can fit that grand stand and when they were planning the whole layout of the course, I thought it was really cool because Robert the owner had said, Okay, how many people did we have on the grandstand in Spain? And he says, We'll add another thousand. So I think we have three thousand spots on the first tee because I think that's the coolest experience in the game of golf. So I think it's a really cool setup. Yeah, so there's the correct story and whatever they try to write, but it's just been really nice to see Charley excited and here buzzing about teeing it up this week.

Q. Anne, it's only just recently finished, but how do you look back as a captain on the Junior Solheim Cup?

ANNE van DAM: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Obviously, complete different role for me the last couple days. Same again this week. And actually really enjoyed being kind of like on the sidelines and kind of bringing my energy and calm confidence, I called it this week, forward to my players. It's been lot of fun. These girls, they were a great group together. Like Mel said, the quality of Europe is coming together as a group and these girls had that from day one. Like I didn't have to do any, no team activity or anything. So they were very fun to be around and very proud for how they fought and I'm excited to now be around this next great squad and just be there to support them, bring my energy, and, yeah, cheer them on.

Q. How long have you been together with the group before the play?

ANNE van DAM: We started preparing on Saturday. So it was like two days.

Q. How can you explain the difference in performance of yesterday and today?

ANNE van DAM: Actually, it's match play. Yesterday the score wasn't reflecting I think how well they played. A lot of matches they went to 17 and 18 where everything fell the Americans' way. Which sometimes it is what it is. And then match play can be very hard. You can play amazing, come to 18, make one mistake or the other group birdies and you lose and then you feel like you have nothing for the day because you have zero points. So it's match play, I told them today just go out there and fight for every point, everything is possible. We have 12 points. So there's still points out there to be played you can still win, you just got to believe it. And it shows. I think it's a fantastic course for match play. It played a lot different in alternate shot, best ball and the singles with different wind directions, different conditions. We had hot weather, today was a bit cooler in the morning and then it got windy. So I think every moment it's been different conditions and that also brought out different scores, different plays. The wind switched, so these girls really had to change and I think because of that we, yeah, we saw a lot of very high quality golf.

Q. It was the first time you were acting in a role like this. Did it bring for you personally what you hoped for up front?

ANNE van DAM: It's hard to say. Look, I was just there to support them, it was not about me. I just wanted to be there to make sure that they have a good time and that they are prepared. With the juniors you can really help them make a game plan, talk to talk through some shots because they don't have a caddie or their coaches out there, so what me and Bronte's role mainly was to help them with course management to really prepare for a course like this. It was very intimidating for them to counsel on a venue like this, but they did very well. So that has been really fun to kind of share our knowledge of how we would prepare for a tournament, as of me and Bronte. And right now my role's completely different. I have nothing to do with course management. And it's just, yeah, about cheering the girls on personally, but I really enjoyed it.

Q. What are the leadership qualities you bring to the captain's role and how do you think that your team would describe your personality?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, I think when you assess this role and when you're put in this role I basically had zero experience of being a leader of a team. But I think that's what's cool too because like I don't think everything needs to be perfect. I think at the end of the day I just need to be myself. There's going to be years where you as a player might feel closer to a captain just because your kind of personalities are similar. But I think I just tried to approach the captaincy very similar to how I approach my own career, which was always I like to be organized and preparation was a big key. So trying just to create as little noise around the players as possible and then obviously surrounding myself with great people, having Mel and Carol, Mel, me and Carol have known each other since we were basically, 13, 14, 15 years old. So it's just nice to know that that experience is there and that we played under so many Solheims together. So I think you need great people around you who is going to bring out the best in you and to make you feel comfortable. Like, I've never been a person who felt I needed to be in the spotlight or speak more than I needed. If I had something important to say I would speak up. But I think hopefully I just bring that calmness to the team and know that I'm always there and if they have any questions I've been in a lot of situations in the past, to kind of give my best advice. So hopefully by us just being there it's going to create that calm that we're looking for.

Q. Anne, what do you think that the Solheim can do to increase golf popularity in the Netherlands?

ANNE van DAM: Yeah, I hope it does a lot because we need it. We don't have many new rising stars. Which is unfortunate. So I really yesterday we saw a lot of kids on the grandstands which was super fun. That's, we need that as a young kid you need an event like this to motivate you or to pick up the sport. So, yeah, I just hope that a lot of kids pick up the sport or parents that see this that are like, wow, this is cool. So, yeah, I can only hope it inspires them a lot.

Q. Wondering, with the day, I know you probably -- we know you've been working for months, but you've already got in mind your pairings, and I'm not asking you to tell us. But how useful is a day like today where you see them on the course, there seems to be a lot of energy in the players going out. Does days like this change your mind at all with any plans you may already have in place?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, I mean, it's nice to see a lot of hard work in action. Like you can plan for it, like we have a great helper team and we were kind of saying how quiet the walkie talkie's been because everyone knows what they're doing and we just have very little noise around the players. So I think once you put 'em in an environment for them to thrive and just be them self, I think that's when the good personalities and everything comes out. Because at the end of this week my main goal is for all my players and caddies and like the team to be able it look back and it's like, wow, no matter what happens, like we had a great week. We did everything we could. We had a lot of fun doing it and I can't wait to do it again. And then if we can do that on Sunday and be we can be proud of ourself, no matter the result. And then we've done everything we could.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you very much for joining us. Good luck. Enjoy the week.