The Solheim Cup, put simply, is the women's version of the Ryder Cup. Held every two years, the Solheim Cup pits the very best of America's female golfers against their European counterparts.

First held in 1990, the competition was named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim.
The tournament takes the same format as the Ryder Cup, although when the tournament was created, it had a slightly shorter schedule, until it was standardised to match the men's competition in 2002. Players are therefore involved in 28 matches across three days eight foursomes, eight four-balls and 12 singles with the team that wins the most matches emerging victorious.

The selections for both teams are made using a points system based on tour performances, but there are differences due to the gulf in quality between the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET).

From the 2007 competition only the top five players from the LET were selected, with another four chosen using the Women's World Golf Rankings. This enabled European LPGA players to be selected in order to keep the Solheim Cup competitive.

Teams also have a selection of captain's picks, whereby the respective team captains will choose players regardless of their ranking or performance. The captains, like in the Ryder Cup, tend to be well-respected retired professionals with a wealth of experience.

The host team alternates, with the 2009 competition due to take place at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois and the 2011 event scheduled for the Killeen Castle Golf Resort in Ireland.