CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Lindy Duncan will make her Solheim Cup debut Friday at 35, partnering Andrea Lee in the third foursomes match at Bernardus Golf. They face Europe’s Esther Henseleit and Leona Maguire at 1:04 a.m. CT.
Duncan is the oldest American to make her Solheim Cup debut since Nancy Scranton was 39 in 2000 at Loch Lomond. Three years ago, she was thinking about quitting golf, The Associated Press reported.
“Honestly, most of my focus has been on keeping my card and maintaining that kind of a status … so this is a real pinch-me moment,” Duncan said Thursday.
Duncan has not won on the LPGA Tour. She and Auston Kim are the only rookies on the U.S. team.
Lindy Duncan’s Path To Angela Stanford’s Captain’s Pick
Duncan grew up in South Florida and graduated from Duke in 2013. She was a four-time All-American there, won six college tournaments, was the ACC Player of the Year three times, and was named the 2012 NGCA Player of the Year.
She played on the 2012 U.S. Curtis Cup team and lost her singles match to Charley Hull, Golf Monthly reported.
It took Duncan five tries to earn her LPGA Tour card, and she has also lost sponsors along the way, Golf Digest reported. She joined the LPGA Tour in 2014, lost her card, and regained it in 2016. In May 2018, she finished second at the Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic at Old American Golf Club in The Colony. She shot a final-round 64, the lowest score of the day, and finished one stroke behind Sung Hyun Park in an event shortened to 36 holes by rain.
Her best season came in 2025, when she had a career-high six top-10 finishes, including a tie for second at the Chevron Championship. The LPGA gave her the Heather Farr Perseverance Award in November.
“For years I thought joy was earned,” Duncan explained at the awards dinner, Duke Athletics reported. “Through accomplishment, now I believe joy is a choice independent of scores and outcomes. That shift, choosing joy over validation, gave me the freedom to be honest and vulnerable. Freedom to play and live freely.”
Duncan was one of U.S. captain Angela Stanford’s three captain’s picks, along with veterans Megan Khang and Rose Zhang. Before her selection, Duncan had one top-10 finish this season and missed the cut in four of the five majors. She made the cut in each of her four events leading up to the pick, Golf Digest reported.
“Look, there were a lot of people we were thinking about, and with Lindy, my two big things going to Europe are putting and chemistry,” Stanford said.
Stanford told Duncan in person in Canada that she had made the team.
“Well, apparently, I’m not very nice, because I tried to scare them all,” Stanford explained. “I tried to be real serious.”
Lindy Duncan, Andrea Lee Face Esther Henseleit, Leona Maguire
Lee qualified for the U.S. team through the world ranking. She played at Stanford University and won the 2022 Portland Classic for her first LPGA Tour title.
Henseleit, of Germany, won the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She played in the 2024 Solheim Cup opener, when she and Hull lost 3 and 2 to Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz. Maguire, of Ireland, became the first Irishwoman to win on the LPGA Tour at the 2022 Drive On Championship.
Duncan and Lee go off third in a morning session that opens with Korda and Corpuz against Hull and Lottie Woad at 12:40 a.m. CT. Maja Stark and Linn Grant, who went 1-1 as a foursomes pair in 2023, are the only European partnership on Friday morning with previous experience together.
The Americans are trying to win in Europe for the first time since 2015. They won 15½-12½ in Virginia in 2024 and lead the all-time series 11-7-1.
The teams play four-ball Friday afternoon and repeat the format Saturday before Sunday’s singles.
