Aug. 2, 2009

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England – Former South Carolina golfer Kristy McPherson was one of 12 Americans named to the 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup team, which was announced by U.S. captain Beth Daniel on Sunday following the conclusion of the Women’s British Open. It will be the first Solheim Cup appearance for the 2003 Carolina graduate.

McPherson was an automatic qualifier for the team as she was ranked fourth in the final Solheim Cup points standings. She joins the U.S. team that has never lost a Solheim Cup on its home soil and leads the overall series 7-3. The Solheim Cup is the most prestigious team event in women’s professional golf, a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best American-born players from the LPGA Tour and the best European-born players from the Ladies European Tour.

This season, McPherson currently ranks 14th on the LPGA Tour’s official money list with earnings of $624,268. She ranks 17th on tour in scoring average, and has turned in four top-10 finishes on tour this season. Three of those top-10s have come in the season’s first three majors, the Kraft Nabisco Championship (T-2nd), the McDonald’s LPGA Championahip (T-5th) and the recently completed Women’s British Open (7th). She also recorded a runner-up finish at the Wegman’s LPGA in late June.

McPherson, a native of Conway, S.C., is the most decorated women’s golfer in Gamecock history, winning seven career events while at South Carolina. She is one of only two individuals to win multiple Southeastern Conference championships as she was the individual medalist in both 2001 and 2002. She was a three-time First-Team All-SEC and NCAA All-American selection from 2001-2003, and was the SEC Player of the Year in 2003.

The Solheim Cup runs Aug. 21-23 in Sugar Grove, Ill. Complete coverage can be seen on The Golf Channel.

U.S. SOLHEIM CUP TEAM
Paula Creamer
Cristie Kerr
Angela Stanford
Kristy McPherson
Nicole Castrale
Christina Kim
Brittany Lang
Morgan Pressel
Brittany Lincicome
Natalie Gulbis
Juli Inkster *
Michelle Wie *
(* captain’s picks)