Wednesday, April 19 2006 15:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Paris: The European Ladies Golf Tour announced changes to its selection process for the Solheim Cup on Tuesday (Apr 19, 2006) to better reflect the growing internationalisation of the game.

The changes mean that the 12-strong 2007 European team to take on the United States, will consist of the five leading players in the European Solheim Cup standings, plus the four leading players from the world rankings not otherwise qualified and three selections made by team captain Helen Alfredsson.

Previous teams were made up of the leading seven players on the European standings, plus five captain's selections.

"The changes have been made in order to incorporate the women's world rankings in recognition of the burgeoning number of competitive opportunities which are available for European players across the world," a tour statement said.

World No. 1 Anika Sorenstam said that she fully backed the new selection standards saying that they would ensure the best possible European team.

"I support the changes because of the growing number of European Tour players also competing on the USLPGA Tour," the Swede said.

"We most definitely need to take into consideration the performance of these players. This will make the team stronger long term and will give us the chance to bring back the cup."