Europe finalizes Solheim Cup team for match vs. USA at Killeen Castle

The European team for the 2011 Solheim Cup is set, with eight spots finalized by points and Captain Alison Nicholas announcing her four wild-card selections on Monday.

Former Ricoh Women’s British Open champion Karen Stupples of England received one of the wild cards, along with Spain's Azahara Munoz, Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall and Sandra Gal of Germany to round out the 12-woman team for the competition against the United States.

Four players -- Scotland's Catriona Matthew and Sweden’s Maria Hjorth, Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson -- qualified automatically based on their position in the world rankings as of Monday.

And four others -- England's Melissa Reid and Laura Davies, Norway's Suzann Pettersen and Holland's Christel Boeljon -- had already earned their spots from the Ladies European Tour's Solheim Cup points' list.

Europe will be looking to win back the Solheim Cup from the United States at Killeen Castle in Ireland on Sept. 23-25. The U.S. team has won eight of the 11 editions since the inaugural event in 1990, including each of the last three.

"I am confident in my team and I believe that we will do very well at Killeen Castle," said Nicholas, whose assistant captains are Joanne Morley of England and Annika Sorenstam of Sweden. "These players represent the best of European women's golf and we look forward to putting on a magnificent show for the fans."

The U.S. team was set last week, with nine returnees from the victorious 2009 squad. Captain Rosie Jones will lead a team consisting of Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome, Brittany Lang, Juli Inkster, Christina Kim, Vicky Hurst and Ryann O'Toole.