Gleneagles, the host venue of last year’s Ryder Cup, "will go head-to-head with the Bro Hoff Slott club in Sweden for the right to host the 2019 Solheim Cup," according to the HERALD SCOTLAND. From the 10 initial expressions of interest that were submitted from a variety of nations around Europe, "it is Scotland and Sweden that will fight it out for the right to stage the biennial women’s contest." Following the "hugely successful" staging of the 2014 Ryder Cup, Gleneagles "will be a highly attractive proposition for the Ladies European Tour." EventScotland COO Paul Bush said, "We did meet with John Solheim and representatives from the Ladies European Tour during the Ryder Cup and they were hugely impressed; it was difficult not to be given what was delivered that week. That has given us a good pedigree." The final recommendation "will be made by the LET Evaluation Committee to the LET Board" on Oct. 29, which will make the final decision (HERALD SCOTLAND, 9/1). In Edinburgh, Martin Dempster wrote as part of the final phase, "the submissions from Scotland and Sweden will now be scrutinised by the Ladies European Tour." That process "will include official site inspections of the two bidding parties." The Perthshire venue "has also staged various other top events over the years, including the Bell’s Scottish Open, Johnnie Walker Championship and the McDonald’s WPGA Championship." However, the Swedish bid "is equally strong due to the fact Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, located around 50km north west of Stockholm, is the home of the Nordea Masters on the European Tour." Both countries "staged the event twice already" -- Scotland at Dalmahoy and Loch Lomond in '92 and '00, respectively, while Sweden hosted it in '03 at Barseback then four years later at Halmstad (SCOTSMAN, 9/2). GOLF CHANNEL's Randall Mell wrote Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam "wrote a letter of support for Bro Hof Slott Golf Club that was included in the club’s official application to host the Solheim Cup." The childhood home where Sorenstam was raised "is practically in the club’s shadow." Though Sorenstam has played in eight Solheim Cups, she "has yet to captain a team." When asked about the possibility of being a captain in front of fans in her homeland if Sweden gets the bid to host in four years, she said, "I have always said I hope to captain the European team someday, so we’ll just have to see how things play out" (GOLF CHANNEL, 9/1).
