The Solheim Cup has become one of the great tournaments in women's sport. This coming weekend, 13-15 September, the 16th edition sees the might of Europe and the USA doing battle at Gleneagles in Scotland, on the same course on which Europe's men beat the US in the Ryder Cup in 2014.
If you don't have the good fortune to be in the stunning Perthshire countryside to attend the event in person, watching the drama unfold live on television is the next best thing. (Although nothing, of course, can beat actually being at a sporting event, to keep tabs on everything that's going on properly, some might argue that watching on TV is a better option.)
Just as with the Ryder Cup for the men, the fact that this is a team event in a game normally played as an individual means that emotions can run extremely high – just ask Suzann Pettersen, one of Europe's Captain's picks, after "hole concession-gate" at the 2015 event.
That passions can run so high makes for compelling viewing, of course, and you won't want to miss any of the action, no matter where in the world you may be. Read on, then, and we will tell you how to watch the Solheim Cup live, on TV, tablet or smartphone.
First tee-off for the foursomes on Friday and Saturday mornings are at 8:10 BST. The deciding singles matches on Sunday start at 11:40am.
How to watch the Solheim Cup live anywhere in the world
Find yourself overseas when the Solheim Cup is on? You won't be able access your usual live stream while you’re abroad – you’ll be geo-blocked. But fear not; you can still access your home sports TV package by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and without any shady websites or dodgy streams.
VPNs create a private connection between your device and the internet so that it’s not possible for the servers you’re accessing to tell where you’re accessing them from. All the information passing back and forth stays entirely encrypted.
They’re as useful for banking or anything you wish to keep private as much as they are for video streams. So, whether you want to watch the Solheim Cup, enjoy another country’s Netflix library or just keep your browsing data private, then a VPN is well worth considering.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service and would recommend the following:
Which has a 30-day money back guarantee and brings VPN access to smart devices including the Amazon Fire TV Stick, laptops, TVs and both Android and iOS mobiles and tablets. Sign up for an annual plan now and you'll also get 3 months completely free!
Which comes in at as little as £2.29 per month and features 24/7 assistance.
Once you've chosen and installed your VPN of choice, open the VPN app, select the country of origin of the live stream you’d like to access, then head back to your chosen streaming service, sit back and enjoy one of sport’s classic clashes.
Live TV in the UK
It's Sky that has the broadcast rights for the competition in the UK – and extensive coverage it is too. There's no 4K content for this one, perhaps understandably; a golf course is a whole lot harder to cover with cameras than a normal sports stadium.
The BBC will be presenting a highlights package of each day's play as well, so you can catch up on the action on terrestrial TV too. Highlights are at 7:00pm, on BBC Two on Friday and Sunday, and BBC Four on Saturday (repeated on BBC Two at 11:00pm).
To enjoy the golfing action live, though, you'll need a subscription to Sky, and to the Sky Sports Golf channel.
There are other options, though, to view Sky Sports if you don't want to invest in a long-term contract. You can catch every swing of the Solheim Cup on Sky's pay-per-view partner, Now TV.
Sky subscribers can enjoy the action on the Sky Go and Sky Sports streaming apps at the same resolution. Should you need to upgrade your package to receive it, then you’re looking at an extra £18 per month which is not bad at all, so long as you remember to cancel it again.
Virgin Media will also be showing the Solheim Cup in HD on channel 505 to their Sky Sports package subscribers. It’s channel 515 for the SD version.
Likewise, you can watch the golf on BT Sport. It’s £36 per month for the HD version.
Live Solheim Cup in the US
The Golf Channel is showing exclusive live coverage of the competition in the United States. Coverage starts on Friday and Saturday at 3:00am Eastern, and on Sunday, for the singles, at a slightly more civilised 6:30am Eastern.
Pricing starts at $9.99 per month, with a discounted $99.99 getting you a full year of membership and $199.99 unlocking premium benefits with the Golf Pass+.
Most importantly, though, there's a 7-day free trial, so you can watch the Solheim Cup without paying a penny and decide whether or not to cancel within the week.
Find the Golf Pass that works for you.
Live Solheim Cup coverage in the rest of the world
Golf TV is showing the whole weekend's action and more. Its Solheim Cup coverage is available to stream anywhere in the world other than the US.
A monthly pass to Golf TV costs $9.99, or you can get an annual subscription for $89.99. There is much more there than live coverage only, with plenty of golf related videos, clips and documentaries for the golf fan to enjoy.
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