World number one Lilia Vu among nine qualifiers for the US team

Lilia Vu holds the winner's trophy after her win at the Women's Open in August.

Vu has won the Chevron Championship and the Women’s Open this year.

World number one Lilia Vu and second-ranked Nelly Korda are among nine automatic qualifiers to represent the United States at the Solheim Cup next month.

LPGA Tour rookie Rose Zhang, who won the Mizuho Americas Open on his professional debut in June, is also named.

Captained by Stacy Lewis, the team consists of Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang, Andrea Lee and Lexi ThompsonAlly Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin.

“I’m so excited to have these nine players on the team,” Lewis said.

“The last year has been exciting – and challenging – and having these players locked in has me pumped for the week in Spain.

“Even the rookies are not real rookies in my eyes. Over the last two years they have proven to be good competitors and I have no doubt that they will not be overwhelmed by the experience.”

Thompson, making his sixth appearance in the tournament, and Zhang qualified as the two highest-ranked Americans not in the top seven of the nation’s Solheim Cup standings.

Ewing, Knight and Yin round out the team as Lewis’ captain’s choice.

“It’s an honor to be on this team, for me to be with the best players in the world as well as to be an athlete representing his country,” Zhang said.

“I can’t wait to go to Spain and battle it out with these amazing girls and represent the red, white and blue at the same time.”

The tournament kicks off on September 22nd at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, as the USA looks to dethrone the reigning champions of Europe.

It is the first of two major events for the sport, with the Ryder Cup starting on September 29 in Rome, but Lewis told BBC Sport that more could have been done to promote the game as a whole.

“I would have liked to see more collaboration between the men’s and women’s matches,” she said.

“We have two weeks of team golf, patriotism, playing for your country in back-to-back weeks. We could have done more to try to promote that.

“These are two great weeks for golf in general. Not just women’s golf, not just men’s golf, but golf — let’s come together and have two great weeks of crazy, fun golf and promote it.

“We’re never going to have this opportunity again when both events are in the same year. I wish more had been done, especially to get fans to see ours first and go see the guys play.”

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