If the size of the check handed over on the 72nd (or 54th) hole is how you judge the importance of a golf event, this week’s Solheim Cup would be bottom of the barrel. There are not millions of dollars at stake. There are no world ranking points to earn. There are no end-of-season bonuses to pocket. And yet this is one of the most important events of the year for each and every member of Team USA and Team Europe.

For the Americans, this week is about redemption. The cup hasn’t been in their hands for seven years. Behind the backdrop of our nation’s capital, the pressure is on the home team to deliver. For the Europeans, this week is a chance at dominance. If they chalk up 14 points like they did last year in Spain, it’ll be four Solheim Cups in a row for Team Europe. That’s a feat neither team has ever accomplished. Let’s take a look at how things are shaping up for what promises to be another memorable Solheim Cup.

Picking Favorites

At first look, the tale of the tape shows a lopsided matchup. Stacy Lewis’s American squad is the betting favorite at -170 despite the team’s losing streak. Home soil plays a large factor in the betting line, but the gap in world rankings and other statistical advantages also come into play. Team USA’s average Rolex Ranking is 26.8, compared to Team Europe’s 40.5. Per KPMG Performance Insights, Team USA outranks Team Europe in SG: Off the Tee, SG: Approach, SG: Around the Green, and SG: Putting. Yes, that’s every primary strokes gained category.

Dig a little deeper, though, and predicting this week’s outcome gets murkier. The European side boasts loads of experience and is full of players who have played crucial parts in the team’s recent success. As a group, they’ve played 37 Cups compared to 22 for the Americans. Their roster’s overall record is a whopping 71-55-16, much better than the dismal 20-36-17 mark for Team USA. Team Europe has played better than they look on paper in recent years, and they have a knack for flipping matches late on Sunday. If they do it again, the underdogs will come out on top once more.

Stepping Up to the Plate

Every player on these teams plays an important role this week. But there are a handful of players who have greater expectations than the rest. For the Americans, that’s world No. 1 Nelly Korda and world No. 2 Lilia Vu. If Captain Lewis sticks to her strategies from last year, they will each likely only sit for one session. Korda and Vu combined to deliver just three points in Spain, and if that happens again the path to victory for Team USA gets much harder.

On the other side, where Leona Maguire goes, so goes Team Europe. The Irishwoman has amassed a dominant 7-2-1 record in her first two Solheim Cup appearances. She’s never sat out a session. Her two losses have been by the slimmest of margins, both going all the way to the 18th hole. With how close the recent competitions have been, each of her nine points has been critical to the European’s success. She is their MVP, and they’ll need her to keep collecting points at a dizzying rate if Team Europe is going to four-peat. Expect Pettersen to put her out early on Friday in hopes of quieting the pro-American crowds.

A Long-Awaited Return

Alison Lee is making her return to the Solheim Cup after nine years. She and Lexi Thompson are the only players on Team USA who have been on the winning side of this event. She won’t shoulder as much weight as some of her other teammates, but there will still be plenty of motivation for Lee this week.

On that Sunday nine years ago in Germany, the day ended in celebrations for the Americans. Just a few hours earlier, Lee was at the center of one of the most controversial moments in Solheim Cup history. In her fourball match with Brittany Lincicome, Lee left her birdie putt on the 17th hole 18-inches short. Thinking Charley Hull’s move away from the hole was indication the putt was given and the hole was halved, Lee scooped up the putt. Hull’s playing partner, none other than now Captain Suzann Pettersen, stepped in to tell Lee the putt was not conceded. Words were exchanged, tears were shed, and the eventual loss of the match put Team USA in a 10-6 hole going into singles.

Captain Juli Inkster used the slight as motivation, saying, “If that’s the way they want to play, let’s go.” Displeasure with Pettersen was even noted by her fellow Europeans. Laura Davies held nothing back, saying on Sky Sports, “I’m disgusted. How Suzann can justify that I will never, ever know. I am so glad I am not on that team this time.” (In a fun example of time truly healing all wounds, Davies is one of Pettersen’s assistant captains this week.)

When the singles matches began later that day, the motivation didn’t transfer onto the golf course. It would take the Americans winning the final five matches of the day to eke out a 14.5 to 13.5 victory. Lee contributed to the comeback with her own 3 & 1 win. Almost a decade later, she finally has another chance to celebrate a Solheim Cup win.

Every Half-Point Matters

Three points. That’s the combined difference in the last three Solheim Cups. The competitiveness of this event has made it a highlight of the golfing calendar. It feels impossible that another Solheim would come down to a late Sunday putt tipping the scales, but what a treat it will be if it happens once again. Whether it’s another painfully close call for the Americans or another last gasp push to the finish line for the Europeans, we should be in for a fascinating weekend of golf.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.