BBC SPORT | Golf | Experience counts for Nilsmark

Newly appointed European Solheim Cup captain Catrin Nilsmark is certainly an experienced choice for one of women's golf's most prominent positions.

Nilsmark handed Solheim captaincy

At 35, she is a veteran of five successive Solheim Cups, making her first appearance back in 1992.

Her finest moment in the competition came in that year, when she sunk the winning putt to give Europe a dramatic victory.

The next (and only other) time Europe won the event, in 2000, Nilsmark was once again instrumental.

Carin Koch and Catrin Nilsmark of Europe celebrate
Nilsmark (right) was key to Solheim success in 2000

In fading light, she and fellow Swede Carin Koch ended eight years of American domination in the Cup with two stunning displays.

Scotland's Dale Reid was captain on that occasion, but Nilsmark's leadership qualities shone through as she rallied the rest of the team in the closing stages.

Nilsmark gave a first glimpse of her talent in 1984, when she won the Swedish Junior Championship.

She went on to compete for the Swedish national team between 1983 and 1987.

Nilsmark begun her professional career on the Women Professional Golfers' European Tour (WPGET) and, in 1994, she picked up the Ford Golf Classic.

Later that year, she joined the LPGA tour in America

Her stateside highlight came in 1999, when she collected the Valley of the Stars Championship.


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