Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Solheim Cup skipper Angela Stanford leaned heavily on experience by naming Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and Lindy Duncan as her three captain's picks on Monday for the team that will look to retain the trophy they took from Europe two years ago.
Khang will be competing in her fifth consecutive Solheim Cup, Zhang will wear the red, white and blue for a third time while Duncan, at 35 the oldest member in the squad, is making her debut in the biennial matchplay competition.
"Nothing can compare to the Solheim Cup ... putting on the red, white and blue is such an honor," Khang, who was top scorer for the U.S. at the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain, said after being announced as the first of three captain's picks.
Duncan, who joins Auston Kim as one of two rookies on the U.S. team,had held the second qualifying spot via the world rankings for nearly two months before dropping out of position after The Standard Portland Classic in mid-August.
In addition to being the oldest member on the team, Duncan is the oldest debutant since Nancy Scranton played her first match aged 39 in 2000.
Zhang had arguably one of the most dominant performances in the history of the Solheim Cup in 2024 when she went 4-0-0 in matches that never made it to the 17th hole.
The trio joined automatic qualifiers Nelly Korda, Angel Yin, Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh, Auston Kim, Lauren Coughlin, Allisen Corpuz, Andrea Lee and Alison Lee on the U.S. team for theSeptember 11 to 13 event at Bernardus Golfin the Netherlands.
The U.S. squad are looking to retain the Solheim Cup and secure their first away victory since the 2015 edition.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Ken Ferris)
