Palm Beach County Looking into Solheim Cup in 2017
Team U.S.A. at the 2011 Solheim Cup. Photo courtesy of Getty Images
The Solheim Cup is a team event in which the United States and Europe. The women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup features three days of match play and is held every two years at sites alternating between the United States and Europe.
With this year’s event being held in Colorado and the 105 event taking place in Heidelberg, Germany, the 2017 cup location is up for grabs. Bids are starting to come in from all over the country and Palm Beach County is considering throwing their name in the proverbial hat.
George Linley, the executive director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced last week that the board of directors is discussing the possibility of bidding on the event.
Named after Ping founder Karsten Solheim, the Solheim Cup would be the biggest event that the Palm Beach County Sports Commission has hosted in recent memory. Due to the magnitude of the event, the financial commitment would be in the range of $3 to $4 million.
“We’d have to look for a big sponsor,” Honda Classic Executive Director and PBCSC board of directors member Ken Kennerly said, “and then we’d probably be looking to generate another $2 million in cash. This is an event — probably the biggest in ladies’ golf — that has grown substantially, and the economic investment has become significant.”
The most logical site to host the event, should Palm Beach County be awarded the cup, would be PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens.
PGA National has hosted the Honda Classic the past seven years and even hosted the men’s equivalent of the Solheim Cup, the Ryder Cup, in 1983. The LPGA is expected to award the 2017 Solheim Cup at this year’s event which will be held from August 16-18 at Colorado Golf Club in Denver.
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