A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pro", most of whom are teachers/coaches. The professional golfer status is reserved for people who play, rather than teach, golf for a career.
19-663: The Junior Solheim Cup is a version of the Solheim Cup for girls aged 12 to 18. It was inaugurated in 2002. It is currently officially called the PING Junior Solheim Cup. The Junior Solheim Cup follows a similar format to The Solheim Cup and features the top 12 U.S. amateur girls—defined as girls participating in American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events—versus their European counterparts. College/university golfers are ineligible to participate in
38-405: A number of "captain's picks", players chosen at the discretion of the team captains, regardless of their point standings, though in practice the captain's picks are often the next ranking players. Team captains are typically recently retired professional golfers with Solheim Cup playing experience, chosen for their experience playing on previous Cup teams and for their ability to lead a team. In
57-566: A particular tournament is not enough. A player must apply to the governing body of the sport to have amateur status reinstated. Historically, the distinction between amateur and professional golfers had much to do with social class . In 18th and 19th century Britain, golf was played by the rich, for pleasure. The early professionals were working-class men who made a living from the game in a variety of ways: caddying , greenkeeping, clubmaking, and playing challenge matches. When golf arrived in America at
76-805: A points system based on results on the Ladies European Tour (LET). This allowed top European players who competed mainly on the LPGA Tour to be selected to ensure that the European team was competitive. Since 2007, only the top five players from the LET qualify and another four are selected on the basis of the Women's World Golf Rankings . This reflects the increasing dominance of the LPGA Tour, where almost all top European players spend most of their time. In addition, each team has
95-436: Is affordable at public courses to a large portion of the population, and most golf professionals are from middle-class backgrounds, which are often the same sort of backgrounds as the members of the clubs where they work or the people they teach the game, and are educated to university level. Leading tournament golfers are very wealthy; upper class in the modern U.S. usage of the term. However, in some developing countries, there
114-449: Is awarded to the team that wins each match; in the event of a tie, both teams score half a point. After all matches are complete, the team with more points wins or retains the Cup. Any ties are broken in favor of the defending champion team. In addition to the indicated number of players, each team includes one captain and a set number of assistant captains (three as of 2015), none of whom play in
133-515: Is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose said status. A golfer who has lost their amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated; a professional may not play in amateur tournaments unless the Committee is notified, acknowledges and confirms the participation. It is very difficult for a professional to regain their amateur status; simply agreeing not to take payment for
152-542: Is still a class distinction. Typically, golf is restricted to a much smaller and more elite section of society than is the case in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Professional golfers from these countries are quite often from poor backgrounds and start their careers as caddies, for example, Ángel Cabrera of Argentina , and Zhang Lian-wei , who is the first significant tournament professional from
171-594: The COVID-19 pandemic and the Solheim Cup will return to even numbered years from 2024 onwards. The United States teams have won the cup eleven times, compared with eight for Europe. The current holders are the US, who regained the cup with a 15.5–12.5 win in 2024. The trophy is a cut-glass Irish Waterford Crystal, designed in 1990 by one of Waterford's top designers, Billy Briggs. Weight: about 20 pounds. Height: 19 inches, including
190-520: The People's Republic of China . In various countries, Professional Golfers' Associations (PGAs) serve either or both of these categories of professionals. There are separate LPGAs (Ladies Professional Golf Associations) for women. Under the rules of golf and amateur status, the maximum value of a prize an amateur can accept is £700 or US$ 1000. Before the most recent increase in 2022, the maximum had been £500 or $ 750. The 2022 changes also significantly reduced
209-573: The Senior PGA Championship twice in 2004 and 2011. Despite being a first-time Solheim Cup venue, it previously hosted the Ryder Cup in 2008 and will become just the fourth course after The Greenbrier , Muirfield Village and the Gleneagles Hotel 's PGA Centenary to host both events. Sources Professional golfer In golf, the distinction between amateurs and professionals
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#1733085425300228-495: The 19 competitions through 2024, the United States leads the series 11–7–1 with Europe retaining as holders when the teams tied in 2023. Bernardus Golf has previously hosted three editions (2021, 2022, 2023) of the men's European Tour 's Dutch Open and will be the Netherlands' first Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup venue. Valhalla Golf Club has hosted the men's PGA Championship four times in 1996 , 2000 , 2014 and 2024 as well as
247-582: The Solheim Cup. Of the victorious 12-woman European side at Gleneagles in 2019, 10 members had previously played in the Junior Solheim Cup. Sources: Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States . It is named after the Norwegian - American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim , who
266-414: The end of the 19th century, it was an elite sport there, too. Early American golf clubs imported their professionals from Britain. It was not possible to make a living solely from playing tournament golf until some way into the 20th century ( Walter Hagen is sometimes considered to have been the first man to have done so). In the developed world, the class distinction is now almost entirely irrelevant. Golf
285-423: The event, even if they meet the age cutoff. The event is held over two days, with six fourball and six foursomes matches on the first day, and twelve singles matches on the second day. Each event has been held in the general vicinity of that year's Solheim Cup. The United States has won 8 of the 13 contests, with Europe winning 4, while the 2011 match ended in a tie. Many Junior Solheim Cup players go on to play in
304-463: The mahogany base. Diameter of wooden base: 8 inches. Diameter at top: 4 inches. The tournament is played over three days. Since 2002, there have been 28 matches—eight foursomes and eight four-balls played on days 1 and 2, and 12 singles on the final day. This format is also used in the Ryder Cup . Before 1996, and also in 2000, the Solheim Cup used a similar, but abbreviated format. One point
323-490: The matches. The U.S. team is selected by a points system, with American players on the LPGA Tour receiving points for each top-twenty finish on tour. Through the 2013 event, U.S. citizens born outside the country were ineligible for consideration; beginning in 2015, eligibility for Team USA was expanded to include many more categories of (female) U.S. citizens. For the European team, up to 2005, seven players were selected on
342-412: The scope of competitions in which the prize limit applies. Before that time, the only competitions exempt from prize limits were hole in one contests. The 2022 changes took all competitions in which the player's score on a hole is not the primary goal, such as long drive and putting competitions, outside the amateurism rules. If an amateur accepts a prize of greater than this in a competition covered by
361-544: Was a driving force behind its creation. The inaugural Cup was held in 1990, and the event was first staged in even numbered years until 2002, alternating years with the Ryder Cup (the equivalent men's event). As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events after the one-year postponement of the 2001 Ryder Cup following the September 11 attacks , the Solheim Cup switched to odd numbered years beginning in 2003. Another reshuffle of team golf events took place in 2020 due to
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