Mimi Rhodes is relishing the chance to fulfil a childhood dream at the Solheim Cup and is backing Anna Nordqvist to lead Team Europe to victory in the Netherlands. Rhodes makes her Solheim Cup debut for Team Europe this week at Bernardus Golf, having been named among Nordqvist's captain's picks last month, where the hosts look to regain the trophy after their 2024 defeat to Team USA. The Englishwoman enjoyed a strong amateur career before claiming three wins during her Ladies European Tour rookie season last year, with Rhodes now looking to build on her maiden LPGA Tour campaign by achieving a lifelong goal of representing Europe.
"For me, it's what I've been working for the last 12 years since I started playing," Rhodes exclusively told Sky Sports. "You have it on the TV and it's what you'd wait two years to watch. I have so many vivid memories of watching on TV at my grandparents' house and with my family - we're all into team sport and we love watching team golf.
"It's just such a huge week that everyone has to wait for every two years, so it's so hard to put into words that I'm actually going to be playing in it. "This has literally been the No 1 thing that I've dreamt of since I turned pro, even more than winning majors or anything. I've just wanted to represent Europe." Rhodes started the year with back-to-back top-10 finishes but later feared she may not get a captain's pick, having missed seven cuts in an eight-tournament stretch from April to July before a solid finish to the qualification campaign.
She made the cut at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and AIG Women's Open, as many of her qualification rivals failed to impress, with Rhodes only finding out about her spot when Nordqvist called her after the final women's major of the year. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "That phone call was just so surreal," Rhodes admitted. "When you want something this badly and then it suddenly happens, it's like, 'wow, is this actually real?' "It was such a stressful couple of months.
I just didn't know what to expect, honestly, when I got the call. I was fearing the worst and had come to terms with it a bit! "I would have been devastated to miss out but I was just so happy that that she picked me.
I just want to make her [Nordqvist] proud and I just can't wait to play." Rhodes was involved in the PING Junior Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in 2019, before watching from inside the ropes as Suzann Pettersen snatched a dramatic 14.5-13.5 victory for Europe. "That was a pretty cool memory," Rhodes added. "They had a little party and we got invited in, so that was incredible.
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