GOLF/SOLHEIM CUP:ALISON NICHOLAS is pleased with the way her European Solheim Cup team is "quietly taking shape" ahead of the biennial team event at Killeen Castle in Co Meath in September.

At the top of the pile is veteran Laura Davies, who leads the Ladies European Tour (LET) Solheim Cup points list and is set to make a remarkable 12th appearance in the event.

The evergreen Davies (47), who has won 79 times around the world including five titles in the 2010 season, is the only player to have competed in all 11 Solheim Cups since the inaugural event at Lake Nona, Florida, in 1990.

Nicholas yesterday confirmed she will name her 12-player European side on Monday, August 29th, following the publication of the world rankings. The US team will be announced a week earlier in Oregon on Sunday, August 21st.

Nicholas’s team will comprise the top four players on the LET Solheim Cup points ranking, the next four players from the world rankings, with four captain’s picks from members of the LET.

Rebecca Coakley is the best-placed Irish player at tied 18th in the standings, with Hazel Kavanagh 49th. “With fewer than seven months to go until tee off at Killeen Castle, I am pleased with the way the European Solheim Cup team is quietly taking shape,” said Nicholas.

“The early part of this season will offer the opportunity for all of the European players to demonstrate their skills as they seek to qualify for the team.”