Meet the 40 golfers in the Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup

Martina Eberl (Germany)

Finland

Kaisa Ruuttila and Ursula Wikstrom
Ursula Wikstrom and Kaisa Ruutila played together last year and although they finished fairly down the leader board in 17th position, don’t rule them out this time. Ursula recorded a career best finish of second at the Finnair Masters in Finland last year and is building momentum, while she and Kaisa will be more familiar with each other’s games in 2009.

France

Gwladys Nocera and Anne-Lise Caudal
Last year’s LET Player of the Year Gwladys Nocera, who won the 2008 New Star Money List after claiming five victories throughout the season, will pair up with her good friend Anne-Lise Caudal, who won her maiden title at the 2008 Portugal Ladies Open. Anne-Lise was 13th on the 2008 New Star Money List and this will definitely be one team to watch.

Germany

Martina Eberl and Denise Charlotte Becker
Martina Eberl, who finished in equal second alongside Anja Monke last year, will represent Germany with Denise Charlotte Becker, who is one of the LET’s most promising talents, who was fourth at the UNIQA Ladies Golf Open in only her first season on tour. Martina had an outstanding year in 2008. After appearing at La Sella she went on to win both the BMW Ladies Italian Open and the Nykredit Masters in Denmark. She was also runner-up at the S4C Wales Ladies Championship and finished third on the New Star Money List. She is regarded as one of the friendliest players on the LET and last year at La Sella she commented: “It´s amazing the number of German spectators following our game. I am happy to share this moment with my compatriots.”

Paula Marti (Spain)

Norway

Lill Kristin Saether and Marianne Skarpnord
Lill Kristin Saether, who was second at last year’s Scandinavian TPC and Marianne Skarpnord, who was second at the AIB Ladies Irish Open, together form a very competitive team. They are good friends who know each other well, which is important in the Double modality Valencian Cup format.

Russia

Maria Verchenova and Anastasia Kostina
Anastasia Kostina, a Duramed Futures Tour player, competed at the Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup with her sister Maria last year. This year, Maria Verchenova joins the Russian team and she is running high on momentum after a strong performance at the Dubai Ladies Masters last year. Both players will show that they have much more to offer than pretty faces.

Scotland

Lynn Kenny and Clare Queen
Clare Queen and Lynn Kenny have played in many tournaments together over the years, including this one last year, when together they finished in a share of 13th position. They will be hoping to draw on all their experience this year to hoist the Saltire for Scotland.

Becky Brewerton (Wales)

Switzerland

Florence Luscher and Frederique Seeholzer
Coming from Switzerland, it is little surprise that Florence Luscher and Frederique Seeholzer are both expert skiers and snowboarders. Last year, Frederique tied for eighth alongside her playing partner Nora Angehrn. Let’s see if playing with her good friend Florence, she can do even better.

Wales

Becky Brewerton and Lydia Hall
Becky Brewerton has been a member of the Ladies European Tour for five years and over this time, she has become one of the tour’s most experienced professionals. After claiming her maiden victory at the 2007 Ladies English Open, she became the first Welsh player to represent Europe at The Solheim Cup and gave an exemplary performance. She has played in four Women’s World Cups and always been in the mix. However her team partner Lydia Hall has more experience of La Sella, having played last year with compatriot Eleanor Pilgrim.

Invited Countries (non-European countries)

Australia

Joanne Mills and Nikki Garrett
This will be Nikki Garrett’s first Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup. She has had much success in Spain, having won the Tenerife and Spanish Opens back to back in 2007. Joanne Mills visited La Sella last year when she represented Australia with Karen Lunn and finished in equal 15th place. Joanne has also won twice on the LET: at the 1997 German Open and 2007 Wales Ladies Championships.

USA

Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon
With 30 years’ tour experience, Beth Daniel has amassed 33 LPGA victories, including one major championship. The 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team Captain is an LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member. Meg Mallon has 18 LPGA titles to her name, including four major championships (the 2004 US Open among them). Like her team partner, she was an eight-time Solheim Cup player and she will serve as one of two US assistant captains at The Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, this August.

Explanation of format:

Thursday 23rd April: Double better-ball (Fourball).
Friday 24th April: Double modality Valencian Cup (**)
Saturday 25th April: Double better-ball (Fourball).
Sunday 26th April: Double modality Valencian Cup (**)

** Valencian Cup: This new format is a variation on the Greensome Chapman System. In the normal Greensome Chapman System, both players tee off and then they switch balls. Player A plays Player Bs drive and vice versa. Usually, they would select the best second shot on every hole, and from that point until the ball is holed they would play one golf ball in alternate shot format. The difference with the Valencian Cup system is that this system only applies to the par fours. For the par threes, alternative shots are played after the drives. For the par fives, players will hit three shots each, switching balls each time, and will then select the best third shot before playing alternative shots with the same ball for the remainder of the hole.