Scotland and Sweden vying to host 2019 Solheim Cup with final stage of bidding process set to begin

Sweden are proposing to stage the tournament at the Bro Hof Slott Golf Club ©Getty Images

Sweden and Scotland are going head to head for the right to host the 2019 edition of the Solheim Cup, with the final stage of the bidding process set to get underway.

Last month Scotland announced their intentions to host the biannual tournament at The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, which staged the Ryder Cup in 2014.

The bid to bring the Solheim Cup back to the country for the third time is led by the EventScotland team at VisitScotland and also has the backing of the Scottish Government.

Meanwhile, their rivals Sweden have proposed to stage the event at the Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, which has successfully staged the Nordea Masters on the European Tour from 2010 to 2013 and is set to do so again next year.

The course is located around 50 kilometres away from their capital city Stockholm and should the tournament be held there in 2019, it would be the third time Sweden will have hosted the tournament having staged the 2003 and 2007 editions.

The Solheim Cup is the women's version of the Ryder Cup, pitting teams from Europe and the United States against each other.

“On behalf of the Ladies European Tour I’d like to thank the bid teams from Sweden and Scotland for bidding to host what is the biggest event in women’s golf,” said Mark Casey, director of the Solheim Cup.

“We are delighted to have received two bids from such high quality venues.

“We also want to thank the ten countries who expressed an initial interest in hosting the event in March and who attended the bidding seminar at The Buckinghamshire Club earlier this year, many of whom have indicated their interest in submitting a bid for the 2023 event.

Europe are hoping to retain the trophy at the 2015 edition of the tournament at the St. Leon Golf Club in Germany ©Getty Images

“This shows the long term interest in the Solheim Cup and ladies professional golf in Europe."

The bids are now set to be analysed by the Ladies European Tour management team, with the process including site visits where the venues and their facilities will be reviewed.

These visits are scheduled to take place this month and early October, before the final recommendation is made by the Ladies European Tour Evaluation Commission.

The board is set to make a decision on October 29, prior to an announcement.

The 2015 edition of the tournament is due to take place at the St. Leon course in Germany from September 18 to 20 with Europe’s team, captained by Sweden’s Carin Koch, aiming to retain the cup having beaten America at the 2013 event.

Following the conclusion of the 2015 tournament, Des Moines Golf and Country Club will be the next hosts when the event is set to be held in the United States in 2017.