Hudson misses out on Solheim place

2007-08-21

Share this article:  Digg |  StumbleUpon |  del.icio.us |  Reddit

By Brendan McLoughlin Special to PA SportsTicker

There was no place for England's Rebecca Hudson in Europe captain Helen Alfredsson's Solheim Cup squad as she selected Scandinavian trio Maria Hjorth, Iben Tinning and Linda Wessberg as her three wild cards for next month's competition.

Hudson was only named as the first reserve after the Swede chose compatriots Hjorth and Wessberg as well as experienced Dane Tinning for the contest against the United States at Halmstad Golfklubb in Sweden on September 14-16.

Hjorth recently finished tied for second at the Women's British Open and currently leads the Ladies European Tour's New Star Money List, while Wessberg - a winner at this year's Vediorbis Open de France Dames - will be making her first Solheim Cup appearance in front of her home crowd.

Tinning, who has competed in the last three Solheim Cups, is a five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and has recovered her form steadily since giving birth in March last year.

"Mimi (Hjorth) has played really well recently, particularly at the HSBC Women's Matchplay and the Ricoh Women's British Open, which were two world-class events on testing golf courses," Alfredsson said. "She's also the leading player on the New Star Money List and with her strength and experience we didn't even think of not having her in the team.

While Hjorth has grabbed the most recent attention, Alfredsson made special effort to make note of her future teammates.

"Iben Tinning is another strong player with plenty of experience and some solid recent form," Alfredsson said. "We've been impressed by Iben's short game in recent events and her ability to make important putts. We also really like her attitude and her mental strength.

"Linda has played really well over the past few weeks in the big tournaments and particularly on the longer courses. We've been impressed by her game and, again, her mental strength, and are really excited to have her as one of the three rookies in the team."

The trio join British quartet Trish Johnson, Catriona Matthew, Laura Davies and Becky Brewerton as well as Gwladys Nocera, Bettina Hauert, Annika Sorenstam, Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson in the squad.

The United States are expected to finalize their squad at the conclusion of the Safeway Classic in Portland on Sunday.