Mimi Rhodes on her Journey to The Solheim Cup

Image courtesy of LET

Mimi Rhodes could have an Australian passport in her back pocket and a soft spot for a Sydney club that quietly shaped her rise to the Solheim Cup. Ahead of her debut for Team Europe at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands this week, the Englishwoman spoke to Ozziegolf and reflected on the unlikely Australian chapter of her career journey.

“My mum was born in Australia, in Sydney,” Rhodes explained. “My grandparents spent maybe ten years out there, and then my mum went out there as well when she was young and lived and worked there. So yeah, I got a passport from her.”

That connection became more than a family footnote last year, when a cyclone forced the cancellation of a Ladies European Tour event on the Gold Coast and sent players scrambling for somewhere to hit balls. Rhodes ended up at Monash Country Club in Sydney, tagging along with a fellow player who had practised there the year before.

Rhodes wins the NSW Open

A couple of weeks later, she claimed her first professional title at the New South Wales Open. “I remember it pretty clearly. My putter was on fire, I was playing amazing, I remember just playing so freely,” she said. “There were big crowds out there, and I enjoyed playing in front of the Aussies — they were all very supportive.” Rhodes even returned to Monash in January during a family holiday, a reminder of the grinding that preceded her breakthrough. “After I missed that first cut, I thought to myself, is golf going to be for me?” she said. “But you don’t know what’s around the corner, and everything can just switch your way.”

Rhodes during Thursday practice at the Solheim Cup

That switch has been dramatic. Two more Ladies European Tour wins, Q School success and a promotion to the LPGA Tour followed, and this week Rhodes lines up for her Solheim Cup debut as one of captain Anna Nordqvist’s picks. She likened the atmosphere to her 2024 Curtis Cup appearance, only amplified. “I thought it didn’t get better than that,” she said. “Here we are two years later, and it’s just amazing. It’s obviously a big stage, and for me, being my first one, I haven’t experienced anything like this before.”

Mimi Rhodes speaks to Ozziegolf

Despite recent rain, Rhodes says Bernardus is playing firm and fast. “It hasn’t really softened up. The greens are quite firm and still rolling the same as yesterday,” she said. “They’ve got it in really good condition, and it’s a great match-play course — we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

For a player who spent a wet week grinding away in Sydney with barely a soul watching, representing Europe on one of women’s golf’s biggest stages is a full-circle moment — and the members at Monash, back on Sydney’s northern suburbs, will be watching every shot.