Profiles of the 12 European players who will travel to Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, Indiana, for next week's Solheim Cup action, in alphabetical order:

Laura Davies

Laura Davies CBE (England)
England's greatest female golfer of all time, Laura Davies is the most highly experienced Solheim Cup player in the event's history. The 41-year-old has qualified and played in every Solheim Cup since its inception in 1990, a distinction no other player– American or European– can claim. Her Solheim Cup resumé includes several additional impressive records: most matches played (32 of 33 possible); most matches won (16, tied with Annika Sorenstam); and most points earned (17-1⁄2).

Davies is renowned for living and breathing every moment and every shot with her playing partners and the supporting galleries. 'LD' is a born entertainer, and it is no coincidence that this five-time LET Order of Merit winner is credited with encouraging the international growth of the women's game and The Solheim Cup with her powerful, swashbuckling style.

Davies' glittering career includes 66 victories around the globe, 20 of those coming on the LPGA Tour. She arrived on the scene in the United States with a memorable victory at the 1987 U.S. Women's Open Championship, which she won in an 18-hole playoff before she was a member of the LPGA Tour. Since that time, Davies has added three additional major championships, a 1996 Rolex Player of the Year trophy and collected more than $7.3 million in earnings.

Sophie Gustafson

Sophie Gustafson (Sweden)
Sophie Gustafson, 31, is one of the most naturally talented ball strikers anywhere in women's golf, and she played a vital part in Europe's 2003 victory at The Solheim Cup, earning three points for her continent, including a memorable display of massive hitting and silky putting against Heather Bowie in her singles match. Gustafson won four times in Europe in 2003 and captured her second Order of Merit title. She produced some blistering rounds of golf in the process, such as her course record 63, on her way to winning the Irish Open and the HP Open in her homeland.

Gustafson's LPGA career has been just as successful, as the Swede has earned four victories since 2000 and more than $2.6 million career prize money. The 2000 season was perhaps her most successful, as Gustafson captured the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez and the Weetabix Women's British Open, the year before the event became a major championship on the LPGA schedule.

After a return to form with a second-place finish at this season's final major championship, the Weetabix Women's British Open, Gustafson will be a key player for Europe this week as she makes her fifth appearance on the Team. Usually dramatic and breathtaking to watch when in full flow, Gustafson is a capable player around difficult courses. With her power, finesse, determination and above all her experience of 20 worldwide career wins, the Swede will be a highly prized asset for Europe.

Maria Hjorth

Maria Hjorth (Sweden)
Maria Hjorth made her Solheim Cup debut in 2002, earning her way onto the team at the last minute by finishing second at the Wales WPGA Championship of Europe. She won one point alongside Iben Tinning in the Saturday four-ball match.

Since her 2002 Solheim Cup debut, Hjorth has won two tournaments on the LET– at the Ladies English Open in 2004 and 2005. 'Mimmi', as she is affectionately known on Tour, set a course-record 64 in the final round in 2004. In 2005, she successfully defended her title under immense pressure and in front of thousands of supporting fans at Chart Hills Golf Club in Kent, England.

Hjorth has also found success on the LPGA Tour, winning two tournaments during the 1999 season– the SAFECO Classic and the Mizuno Classic. With her 408 birdies that season, Hjorth became the first player in LPGA history to record more than 400 birdies in a single season. Hjorth's best finish this year was a tie for fifth at the Evian Masters. She has amassed more than $2 million during her eight-year LPGA career.

Hjorth, 31, who joins a strong tradition of Swedish Solheim Cup players, is originally from Falun, Sweden, and currently resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Trish Johnson

Trish Johnson (England)
England's Trish Johnson is no stranger to The Solheim Cup, as this is her seventh appearance as a member of the European Team after missing the past two stagings. Her most recent appearance came in 2000 when Johnson, now 39, helped to secure 2-1⁄2 points for the victorious European Team at Loch Lomond.

Johnson began competing on the LET in 1987, when she was named Rookie of the Year after winning three tournaments during her first season. She owns a total of 17 worldwide professional wins, including her last victory at the Wales 'Golf as it Should Be' Ladies Open in 2004. She has posted four top-10 finishes in eight tournaments this season, including a runner-up finish at the Arras Open de France Dames.

A 17-year LPGA Tour member, Johnson compiled three victories while on Tour. She recorded back-to-back wins in 1993, first at the Las Vegas LPGA at Canyon Gate and then the following week at the LPGA Atlanta Women's Championship. Johnson captured her third career victory in 1996 at the LPGA Fieldcrest Cannon Classic.

Johnson also makes appearances on television as an expert commentator on women's golf.

Carin Koch

Carin Koch (Sweden)
Carin Koch, one of the glamour girls of golf with a formidable game to match, holds a fine Solheim Cup record, having scored a total of nine points in three appearances. She has lost just one of the 12 matches in which she has played (2003 singles match to Juli Inkster). Perhaps her most famous Solheim Cup moment came in holing the winning putt at Loch Lomond in Europe's victory in 2000. It made the now 34-year-old an overnight star in the world of women's professional golf, and the photo of her with arms raised in victory after the putt found the hole is one of the indelible images of Solheim Cup competition.

In 2003, she was an obvious choice as one of Catrin Nilsmark's five captain's picks to represent Europe. Renowned as a deadly putter, Koch proved her talents at Barsebäck when she teamed up with compatriot and world-number-one Annika Sorenstam and earned a key victory in the foursomes matches. Koch contributed 1-1⁄2 points en route to another European victory.

Koch, a winner of two European events, has returned to the winner's circle on the LPGA Tour this season with a victory at the Corona Morelia Championship by an impressive six shots. She owns one other LPGA Tour win, the 2001 LPGA Corning Classic.

Koch, who joined the LET in 1992, is married to Stefan Koch, and the couple has two sons: Oliver (6); and Simzon (2).

Ludivine Kreutz

Ludivine Kreutz (France)
After playing in 13 LET events in 2004 with only one top-10 finish, Ludivine Kreutz is enjoying a breakout season this year that includes two wins. In addition, she has posted five top-20 finishes including a runner up at the Algarve Ladies Open of Portugal. Kreutz has competed on the LET since 1998 and earned her first victory at the 2003 La Perla Italian Open. After an up-and-down 2004, the 31-year-old from Paris has found her form this year and as a result is making her Solheim Cup debut this week.

European Captain Catrin Nilsmark got a first-hand look at the crafty Kreutz when they were paired together at The OTP Bank Ladies Central European Open, which represents one of the Frenchwoman's two victories this year. Afterward, Nilsmark confessed that she was more than impressed with Kreutz's solid iron play and smooth putting stroke. Kreutz's consistency throughout the season has helped prove that she is one of Europe's best competitors and that she will not be intimidated by being a “rookie” on the European squad.

Catriona Matthew

Catriona Matthew (Scotland)
After three years of frustration, Catriona Matthew finally got the birthday present she wanted when European Team Captain Catrin Nilsmark announced her as one of five captain's picks for the 2003 European Solheim Cup Team on Matthew's 34th birthday. The North Berwick, Scotland, resident had been controversially omitted from the two previous European Teams, but she made the most of her golden opportunity to shine in Sweden in 2003.

At Barsebäck, Matthew was a rock, earning 3-1⁄2 points for Europe, the most important of which came during the Sunday singles matches, where she defeated Rosie Jones, 3&1, to reclaim the Cup for the team. Matthew had also played in the 1998 Solheim Cup and earned one point when partnered with Annika Sorenstam in the foursomes.

Matthew joined the LPGA Tour in 1995 and earned her first victory at the 2001 Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open. Although winless from 2002-03, she posted numerous top-10 finishes and was 15th and 21st on the ADT Official Money List, respectively. In 2004, she claimed her second LPGA win and the fourth of her professional career with a playoff victory at the Wendy's Championship for Children, propelling her to 14th on the season-ending money list. This season, she has been as consistent as ever, posting seven top-10 finishes, including three consecutive third-place finishes.

Gwladys Nocera

Gwladys Nocera (France)
Gwladys Nocera of Moulins, France, first joined the LET in 2002, but the humble 30-year-old has really come into her own this year, displaying a mark of consistency that is usually associated with a 10-year veteran rather than someone who has only played on Tour for a couple of years. Nocera does not have a win this year, but she did not need one to earn a spot on this year's European Solheim Cup Team. She has posted six top-10 finishes to date, including a pair of runner-up finishes at the Thailand Ladies Open and the Siemens Austrian Ladies Open.

Nocera is a keen sports fan and was influenced by the great Seve Ballesteros growing up. She attended New Mexico State University before heading back to Europe to compete on the LET. She has bettered herself every year climbing from 51st to 23rd on the LET Order of Merit from 2003 to 2004, and this year she has continued to improve as evidenced by her berth on the European Team this week. One of Europe's up and coming stars, Nocera enjoys music and playing with her dogs in her spare time.

Suzann Pettersen

Suzann Pettersen (Norway)
Suzann Pettersen was instrumental in Europe's victory at Barsebäck in 2003. She won four points for Europe, the most important and memorable of which came when she holed a 12-foot birdie putt at the final hole of the Saturday four-ball matches, allowing her and partner Annika Sorenstam to defeat Kelly Robbins and Laura Diaz, 1 up, giving Europe a three-point lead heading into the Sunday singles matches. It was a key moment of The Solheim Cup and was nominated shot of the year for 2003.

This powerful Norwegian is not scared of making birdies, especially in match-play competition. As a rookie on the 2002 European Team, who can forget her singles match against Michele Redman, when Pettersen recovered from five holes down with five to play to halve the match. Despite injuries that have hampered her ability to compete on both sides of the Atlantic, there is still plenty of fighting spirit within Pettersen, still just 24, and she brings an impressive game and confidence to any match.

A three-year member of the LPGA Tour, Pettersen has accumulated eight top-10 finishes and more than $600,000 in earnings. On the LET, she won the French Open and finished second on the Order of Merit in 2001, earning LET Rookie of the Year honors.

Annika Sorenstam

Annika Sorenstam (Sweden)
Annika Sorenstam, the world's number-one female golfer, remains the woman to beat after five years in which she has dominated the women's golf scene. Sorenstam, who is 34, became the first woman ever to shoot a 59 and has set numerous records since turning professional in 1992. Sorenstam has won 62 career titles on the LPGA Tour and an additional 13 internationally and completed the LPGA Career Grand Slam when she won the McDonald's LPGA Championship and Weetabix Women's British Open in 2003.

Sorenstam added two more majors this year, her eighth and ninth, at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, which she won for a record-setting third straight year. She has won a total of six tournaments on the LPGA Tour in 2005, as well as the Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika on the LET. She is well on her way to earning an eighth Rolex Player of the Year trophy, and eighth money list title and sixth Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average. With more than $17.5 million in prize money on the LPGA Tour alone, Sorenstam is by far the all-time leading money winner in women's golf.

Despite all of her achievements, nothing would mean more to Sorenstam than helping Europe win The Solheim Cup on U.S. soil. She was pivotal in the success of the 2003 European Solheim Cup Team, where she won four points out of five. This will be Sorenstam's seventh appearance in The Solheim Cup. She made her debut in 1994 and has since amassed 17-1⁄2 points in competition, tied with Laura Davies (who has made two additional appearances) for the most points scored in Solheim Cup history.

Karen Stupples

Karen Stupples (England)
Ever since Karen Stupples claimed her first major victory at the Weetabix Women's British Open last year, her Solheim Cup debut has seemed inevitable. Not only did she win the last major championship of that year, she did it in supreme style, with a five-shot victory after a memorable start to her final round, beginning eagle, double-eagle on the first two holes. Stupples also came away from the major tying the tournament record set by Karrie Webb in 1997 and also equaling the lowest total in a women's major championship.

Stupples joined the LPGA Tour in 1999 and enjoyed a breakout year in 2004, posting her first two career victories and eight top-10 finishes. Her first win came at the Welch's/Fry's Championship where she set the LPGA record for lowest four-day raw score at 258 (-22). Stupples went on to pick up her second victory five months later at the Weetabix Women's British Open. She has compiled 17 top-10 finishes during her LPGA career.

Stupples began competing on the LET in 2003. Her best finish came in 2004 at the ANZ Ladies Masters where she finished runner-up to Annika Sorenstam. She also tied for third at the Ladies English Open in her home country last season.

Stupples, 32, was born in Dover, England, and now lives in Orlando, Fla. She played collegiate golf at Florida State University.

Iben Tinning

Iben Tinning (Denmark)
Iben Tinning's steely on-course persona and sterling performance in the 2003 Solheim Cup belies her off-course personality. She is known on the LET as a practical joker, and whenever the Dane participates in The Solheim Cup, she always brings high spirits to the European Team locker room.

With two victories on the LET this season, at the Spanish and Italian Opens, Tinning has proven to all of her supporters that she has what it takes to be a consistent winner who will be able to handle the pressure in the cauldron of match-play competition. A two-time player in the biennial transatlantic event, Tinning's experiences will stand her in good stead this year at Crooked Stick. She won 1-1⁄2 points for Europe in 2003, including a vital 2&1 singles win over Wendy Ward. Her determination as a rookie member of the European Team at Interlachen earned her two of Europe's points, most notably her singles win against Kelli Keuhne.

A fantastic ball striker who can shape the ball both ways at will, Tinning's strength is driving the ball enormous distances. Tinning, 31, hails from Copenhagen, Denmark, and has been a member of the LET since 1995.