Anne Van Dam, the PING Junior Solheim Cup captain for Team Europe, is confident that her young squad has a realistic chance of reclaiming the trophy from the United States when the competition arrives at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. Van Dam, herself a former Junior Solheim Cup player, says her twelve‑member team will "fight to the last putt" and leave nothing on the table. The event brings together the continent's top junior golfers, all aged between 12 and 18, for a two‑day showdown on September 7‑8. The junior contest is scheduled just three days before the senior Solheim Cup opens on September 11, and both tournaments will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
This will be the first time that the Junior Solheim Cup and the senior Solheim Cup share the same venue and the same week, creating a unique atmosphere of continuity between the rising stars and the established professionals. 2026 also marks a historic first for the role of captaincy. Van Dam will simultaneously serve as a vice‑captain for the senior European Solheim Cup team under Anna Nordqvist, making her the inaugural captain to hold both positions at the same time. Her former teammate, Bronte Law, will act as Van Dam’s vice‑captain for the junior side, adding further depth of experience to the leadership group.
Across the Atlantic, Morgan Pressel leads Team USA. The American side enters the competition as the defending champions after a decisive victory at the Army‑Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, in 2024. Pressel’s squad is widely regarded as the favorite, but Van Dam remains optimistic, pointing to the fighting spirit and strong personalities of her players.
"My team are all fighters," Van Dam said in a pre‑tournament interview. "They each have big personalities and a feisty attitude. I know they will battle hard right to the final putt. That's something you either have or you don’t, and every player on our team has it." She added that Europe currently lags slightly behind the United States in the overall Junior Solheim Cup standings, but she hopes the Dutch venue will inspire a comeback.
"Europe may be a little behind in the total record, but I would love to see us catch up," she said. Historically, Team USA leads the series with an 8‑4‑1 record, yet the most recent meeting on European soil in 2023 saw Europe dominate, winning 15‑9 in Spain. That victory demonstrates that the home‑field advantage can be decisive, and Van Dam believes her players will relish the chance to compete on the same course that will host the senior Solheim Cup a few days later.
The European roster was assembled through a mix of automatic qualifiers and captain's picks. The top six European players in the PING Junior Solheim Cup rankings after the R&A Girls' Amateur Championship earned automatic spots. Among those were Spain’s Marta Muñoz, who captured the R&A title by defeating compatriot Adriana García Terol in a 36‑hole final, and Switzerland’s Lana Guyot, a semi‑finalist at the same event.
Van Dam also exercised her captain’s picks, selecting Marta Muñoz again for her consistency and adding England’s Annabel Peaford, who showed strong form throughout the season. Lauren Crump, the Annika Invitational Europe champion from June, qualified automatically, as did her teammate from England, while García Terol secured her place through the rankings. On the American side, the roster features a blend of rising talent and seasoned junior stars. Asterisk Talley, a two‑time Junior Solheim Cup participant, tops the Rolex AJGA rankings and recently triumphed at the U.S.
Women’s Amateur Championship. Amelie Zalsman has posted top‑five finishes in every AGJA event she entered this year and was runner‑up at the U.S. Girls’ Junior. Anna Fang, who helped the United States win in 2024, has climbed to 52nd in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings after a runner‑up finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in 2025.
Both teams also include players who have already tasted Solheim Cup action at the senior level. Europe’s lineup features former Junior Solheim Cup alumni such as Charley Hull, Georgia Hall, and future senior captain Anna Nordqvist. The United States boasts former participants Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, and Alison Lee, all of whom have competed in the junior event before moving on to professional success. The competition format mirrors that of the senior event.
On Monday, September 7, six four‑ball matches and six foursomes will be contested, followed by twelve singles matches on Tuesday, September 8. Each match contributes a point toward the team total, and the side that reaches the required number of points first will claim the Junior Solheim Cup. Beyond the on‑course action, Van Dam highlighted the broader significance of playing at Bernardus Golf. "For these youngsters, competing on the same venue as the Solheim Cup is groundbreaking," she said.
"They know they are part of a larger story, and that adds extra motivation." The junior competition also serves as a showcase for the next generation of elite women golfers, offering them a taste of the pressure and excitement that comes with representing their continent. Van Dam and Law, both veterans of the 2013 Junior Solheim Cup, will draw on their own experiences to mentor the players, helping them navigate the unique challenges of international team play. As the tournament approaches, anticipation builds among fans and media alike. Sky Sports will provide live coverage of both the junior and senior events, giving viewers a seamless narrative from the emerging talent in the Junior Solheim Cup to the seasoned professionals battling for the Solheim Cup itself.
The dual‑venue schedule promises a week of continuous, high‑quality women's golf that could inspire a new wave of participants and supporters. Whether Europe can overturn the United States' historical advantage remains to be seen, but Van Dam’s belief in her team's resilience and fighting spirit sets the tone for a fiercely contested battle. The young golfers, armed with big personalities and a willingness to fight until the very last putt, are ready to make their mark on the historic Bernardus course and, perhaps, usher in a new era of European dominance in junior women's golf.