Hjorth among those named to Solheim team

DUNSANY, Ireland, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Maria Hjorth was among four Top 40 golfers added Monday to the European Solheim Cup team.

European captain Alison Nicholas added Hjorth, Anna Nordqvist, Catriona Matthew and Sophie Gustafson to her 12-player team. They made the team as the four highest-ranked European players in the world women's golf rankings. Hjorth is 19th and Gustafson, the lowest ranked of the four, is 37th.

All are veterans of the biennial Solheim Cup, which sets a team of European players against a U.S. team.

Gustafson is making her eighth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance. Matthew has played in five and Hjorth four. It is the second Solheim appearance for Nordqvist.

Nicholas also placed Sandra Gal, Caroline Hedwall, Azahara Munoz and Karen Stupples on the team as her captain's picks. All are Solheim Cup rookies, except Stupples who played in the 2005 event.

Christel Boeljon, Laura Davies, Suzann Pettersen and Melissa Reid qualified for the team via the European Solheim Cup points list.

The U.S. team was announced last week and includes Paula Creamer, Vicky Hurst, Juli Inkster, Christie Kerr, Christina Kim, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Ryan O'Toole, Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford and Michelle Wie.

The Solheim Cup will take place Sept. 23-25 at Killeen Castle Golf Resort in Dunsany, Ireland. The United States has won the last three Solheim Cups and owns an 8-3 advantage over the series.