Europe will have a new captain and professional golf loses one of its most consistent Solheim Cup figures, after Anna Nordqvist confirmed she will retire from tournament play following this week's FM Championship near Boston.
Nordqvist, 39, has been named Europe's Solheim Cup captain for the event at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands on 11-13 September. She has served as a playing vice-captain in the previous two editions of the contest and has been selected to lead the team into the next match against the United States.
The Swede has competed in every Solheim Cup since her debut in 2009, and she helped Europe lift the trophy on five occasions. Her international record sits alongside three major titles, collected at the LPGA Championship in 2009, the Evian Championship in 2017 and the Women's Open in 2021.
Nordqvist made the announcement on social media, reflecting on two decades in the US and the personal journey that carried her through the tour. She wrote, "Dear golf, 20 years ago, I came to the US with two suitcases, a golf bag and a dream of one day competing with the best golfers in the world." She added that she is proud of her achievements and grateful for the life the sport has given her.
Across an 18-year professional career she recorded nine LPGA Tour victories and five wins on the Ladies European Tour, and she earned $14.1m (£10.36m) in prize money. Nordqvist is currently ranked 118th in the world, and she recently finished tied for seventh at July's Evian Championship and tied for 29th at the Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
The announcement also referenced personal and health matters from the past year. She had a benign cyst removed from her stomach during the summer of 2024. That operation came a year after the sudden death of her husband, Kevin McAlpine, who died suddenly aged 39 while the couple were going through a divorce.
Nordqvist closed her statement by explaining her priorities. "I'm not sure what the future has in store for me, but it's with a grateful heart I have decided to retire from playing professional golf to focus on my health and my family," she wrote. Her final competitive week will be at the FM Championship, after which she will turn her attention to captaincy duties in September.
