Which biennial women's team competition is the counterpart to the Ryder Cup?

The biennial women’s team competition that is the counterpart to the Ryder Cup is the Solheim Cup.

The Solheim Cup is contested by professional women’s teams representing the United States and Europe. Like the Ryder Cup, it uses match play rather than conventional stroke-play scoring, with points awarded for foursomes, four-ball, and singles matches.

The competition was established in 1990 and is named after Karsten Solheim, the Norwegian-American founder of the golf-equipment company Karsten Manufacturing, later known as PING. Solheim was an important supporter of women’s professional golf and helped make the event possible.

Each team typically has 12 players, and the contest is played over three days. The schedule has changed over time: it originally alternated with the Ryder Cup in even-numbered years, shifted to odd-numbered years after the 2001 Ryder Cup postponement, and returned to even-numbered years from 2024 after another scheduling adjustment. The Curtis Cup is also a major women’s team event, but it is for amateurs rather than professionals.