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The problem with miracles is they do not happen all that often, so all those Europe fans who are feverishly spotting the similarities between the Solheim Cup of 2024 with the Ryder Cup of 2012 are still likely to be disappointed on Sunday.
But that does not mean it is impossible that history will repeat itself and at least by winning the last two fourballs Saturday afternoon they reduced the deficit to 10-6 – yes, the same scoreline going into final day as it was at “The Miracle of Medinah” 12 years ago – and gave themselves a chance.
Suzann Pettersen’s team were courageous “drawing” the second day 4-4 – 2-2 in the foursomes and fourballs – and will further spur themselves on by telling each other that Medinah was not a one-off. In 1999, Ben Crenshaw’s Americans enacted the resurrection at Brookline in 1999 and in Germany in 2015, Juli Inkster’s heroines performed the same feat of escapology for the Solheim’s great comeback.
Therefore there is little wonder that Pettersen is not waving the white flag. Anything but.
Team USA have watched their opponents lift this trophy three times in succession and will have nerves on which to prey as they try to get over the line for the first time in seven years. And do not forget that just like last year, 14-14 would see Europe retain the cup. Eight points from the 12 singles is just about feasible.
However, three of the Americans have played three and won three – the wonderful Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang and the brilliant rookie Lauren Coughlin. One or more of these must surely be downed and that is hard to envisage as the trio are fresh.
But if the blue-and-gold brigade are looking for any extra motivation they need only rewind the video and watch the histrionics of the two US caddies who celebrated on Saturday afternoon as if this showdown was already over when removing their shirts and going barechested after Alison Lee holed out from the fairway.
Alison Lee with the fairway dunk!!! 😲🏀 pic.twitter.com/TtavGxG5tw
Another bizarre sight was Nelly Korda being benched for the afternoon. One of the Solheim’s most mystifying anomalies is that Korda has been on three US teams and has yet to be on the winning side. Yet nobody can blame the world No 1.
The 26-year-old came into this match having won 71/2 points from 12 games and this week, she has been magnificent Fair enough, Stacy Lewis, the US captain, remained true to her word by ensuring each of her golfers had at least one session off, but it must have been very tempting to rip up this plan when it came to Korda.
Not only has her play returned to levels of earlier in the year – when she won six titles from seven events – but she has never looked so full of energy and effervescence.
Top notch bunker shot from @NellyKorda 💯 pic.twitter.com/HGSVIFVOFE
Normally an introspective individual, Korda was even cracking jokes after her and Allisen Corpuz’s morning victory on the last hole against Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda.
When asked what has inspired her to be so animated here, she replied: “My alter-ego, Norry.” Korda was announced as “Norry” instead of “Nelly” on the first tee and she delighted in the subsequent ribbing. “It’s been such a fun week,” she said. Although not so much for the visitors.
A morning that promised so much for Europe ultimately only produced parity. They seemed almost certain to take the foursomes 3-1, until Korda and Corpuz recovered from two down at the turn. Their fightback did involve one of the luckiest shots you might ever witness from Corpuz – her topped three-wood on the par five 14th somehow coming to rest within 15 feet of the pin – but Korda did not deserve anything else than another win.
If there is an Ian Poulter in Pettersen’s ranks, then it is Charley Hull. The Englishwoman won both her matches on Saturday and was inspired down the stretch as she and her best friend, Georgia Hall, saw off Corpuz and Lilia Vu on the 18th in the fourballs.
Charley Hull rolls in an eagle putt to send @SolheimCupEuro 2UP 👊#SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/8BMPg5n7l3
With Ciganda and Pedersen defeating Lexi Thompson and Ally Ewing 2&1, it meant Europe won the last two matches from being 10-4 to the bad. That is exactly what Poulter and Co did in Chicago. Omens can mislead, but not as much as they can excite.
“Our pairings and foursomes were set up for that stretch from 9-13, you get into a good rhythm and that’s what it was set up for. It worked out
“Most of them weren’t around for the Germany comeback, we’re going to try and get this thing done and get as many points as we can early. We are almost there.”
“We have given ourselves a chance, and as long as their is hope we will go out there. The afternoon session was a pretty fair outcome, some of these girls are playing phenomenal.
“10-6 is absolutely doable. We’ll see if we can digest what happened, recharge, wake up tomorrow fresh and any given day these girls can take each other down. Charley [Hull] is a rockstar, she’s playing so good.”
“Those last two matches were pivotal, we feel like we’ve not had any momentum. The Americans have been holing puts and out-playing us, so those last two putts were needed and it’s a big deficit to do but it’s happened for the Ryder Cup boys and in Germany for the Solheim girls.
“Some of us veterans have been through it, Germany was heartbreaking for some of us and it can happen. The girls are fired up, the momentum in our team has switched and those two matches were so important.
“We are anticipated that Nelly [Korda] will go out first, all we can do is control our line up and put your strongest foot forward.”
Corpuz cannot land her lengthy putt so the USA concede. Europe win the final match to take it to 10-6 to the USA going into the singles tomorrow. A crucial couple of points late on in the fourballs for Team Europe.
Having found the fairway with her drive, Georgia Hall’s second with the wedge lands around 10 feet away. Charley Hull also plays a good second shot after a quality drive. Will Europe get the job done?
Two great tee shots from Georgia Hall and Charley Hull have set it up nicely for Team Europe. Can they seal the point?
That is the way matchplay works! Corpuz gets her putt, Hull does not so we head to the final hole. Hull and Hall lead by one going to the last.
Allisen Corpuz lands a long putt for birdie which puts the pressure on Charley Hull now. Can Hull sink her putt to win the match?
Lilia Vu comes so close to chipping in for birdie but it slides just by. Allisen Corpuz will have to hole her birdie putt to have a chance of taking it to the final hole.
The first three players are not particularly close but Charley Hull gets her second shot within 10 feet. She thought it might end up in the bunker but for once today Europe get a kind bounce. USA have to win this hole to take it to the final hole so Europe look primed for a win in this match with a hole to spare.
Neither Ally Ewing nor Lexi Thompson can land their long birdie putts so Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen take the first point for Europe in the fourballs today, winning 2&1. USA still lead 10-5.
Just one match remains, with Georgia Hall and Charley Hull two up coming down 17. Hall and Hull only have to tie this hole to win the point.
USA had the chance to reduce Georgie Hall and Charley Hull’s lead to one shot but they cannot take it so Europe will go onto the 17th with the opportunity to wrap up that point.
Up ahead on the 17th green…
That is sublime from Emily Pedersen. Just a few holes after a superb birdie putt, her second on 17 may well be her best shot of the round. With a little bit of spin, her second shot finishes just a few feet away from the hole. That will be a birdie and Europe could be on the verge of a point in the penultimate match.
The birdie putt goes in and in the third match Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen now lead by just one with two holes remaining.
Georgia Hall and Charley Hull still lead by two as they head to the 16th tee. Up on the 16th green Lexi Thompson has the chance to cut the lead to one in the penultimate match.
Lexi Thompson’s tee shot is sublime, which will leave her with a fairly simple birdie putt which would likely reduce Europe’s lead in the penultimate match to one.
Lexi Thompson has had a bit of a mare on 15 but luckily for her Ally Ewing has had a better hole. Having seen Carlota Ciganda though leave her putt short on a similar line, Ewing cannot land her putt, which means Emily Pedersen has the opportunity to win the hole for Europe, which she does. Europe now lead the third match by two with three to play.
Georgia Hall lands a birdie putt on the 14th green but Lilia Vu has an eagle chance to reduce the gap in the final match to just one, but the putt slides just past the right edge. Europe still lead by two in that final match.
You can sense the nerves on the 14th green as both teams miss a series of putts, including one for Carlota Ciganda. The slow-mo replay shows it went in and then lipped out. Ally Ewing has the chance to win the hole for USA and bring it level but she misses her putt. All four women in that match missed multiple putts each. The final match behind has had to wait a while for the match ahead of finish up the hole.
Charley Hull lands a lengthy birdie putt to put all the pressure on Lilia Vu, who has a much shorter putt to halve the hole and she does. The final game is through 13 holes and Europe lead by two.
Andrea Lee:
“I think we both played incredible golf today, super solid. We both made a lot of putts and just had such much fun out there. I’m grateful to have a partner like Rose.
“We have incredible vibes in the team room. There’s lot of carpool karaoke on the bus rides home. There’s a lot of laughs… this team is really special.”
Rose Zhang:
“I think today was even better [than yesterday]. Whenever I was out of a hole, Andrea was there for me, and vice versa.
“In general, we kept each other in it, had laughs with each other and had just a good time.”
“We have to win them [the last two matches], the Americans are already on 10 which means they only need four-and-a-half in the singles. If we don’t win both of them, that will almost be the nail in the coffin.
“I don’t know how many eagles the Americans have, they’ve been brilliant. We’ll never say never but it will be very very difficult to the cup back.
“They’re trying so hard, it’s so crushing. Lovely putt from Carlota on the sixth and Lexy chips it in. It’s so hard to get a point off them.
“Tomorrow is going to be a tough day, but we’ve got to get these two home.”
Make that 10-4 to Team USA as Alison Lee and Megan Khang have beaten Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom 4&3 in match one. Europe in a pickle.
Team Europe now lead in two matches as Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen go one up in match three against Ally Ewing and Lexi Thompson. The bottom two matches are now in Europe’s hands and boy do they need to win those two games.
We have the first point handed out in the fourballs this afternoon and the writing has been on the wall for some time in match two. Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang have been in complete control and win 6&4 over Linn Grant and Celine Boutier. Team USA now lead 9-4 overall.
We have already seen Megan Khang just get one to drop and now we have another as she makes the eagle putt. After that sublime second shot on 14, the putt drops which sees Team USA move three clear in the top match with four to play.
Georgia Hall has the chance on 11 to extend Europe’s lead in the final match to two but it slides just by the left-hand side of the hole. That would have been very handy for Europe.
Andrea Lee, that is special! Her second shot ends up in the bunker but that causes Lee no problems as she chips in for birdie. Sublime golf. Celine Boutier cannot hole her lengthy birdie putt and USA lead match two by five through 13 holes. That match is nearly over.
Up on 14 Megan Khang gets her hybrid out for her second shot and gets lucky with the bounce to set up a great chance to extend Team USA’s lead in match one to three shots.
With the top two matches looking like they are out of reach, Europe need to win the bottom two games.
Sensational shot from Lee 👏 pic.twitter.com/DRAqPx8D0r
On the 10th Charley Hull sinks her putt to win the hole for Team Europe. Hull and Georgia Hall now lead by one over Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu, who cannot sink their putts on the 10th green. How Europe needed that.
In match three Carlota Ciganda and Ally Ewing miss birdie chances on the 11th and that match stays level.
Rose Zhang’s eagle putt narrowly misses meaning USA halve the hole. Zhang and Andrea Lee lead Linn Grant and Celine Boutier by four through 12 holes.
Ciganda has received a warning for slow-play and is very close to being frozen out effectively of a hole. She takes her time having said that on the 11th tee but her tee shot is fantastic, setting up a good chance for birdie.
Up on 12 Rose Zhang plays a sublime second shot to set up an eagle chance. Zhang and Andrea Lee are four up and could be five up in the next few moments.
Both Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen play terrific second shots on the 10th to set up birdie opportunities for Team Europe in their quest to take the lead for the first time in this match. That puts the pressure on Lexi Thompson, who steps up with a huge putt on the 10th to land a birdie. Ciganda makes her birdie putt so the third match stays level.
Rose Zhang stands over her birdie putt on 11 to take the hole and she sinks it with ease. Playing alongside Andrea Lee, they now lead Linn Grant and Celine Boutier by four through 11 holes. This match could be done and dusted in the next few holes. The US team have been so strong so far on the back nine so all to do for Team Europe.
Only one game was lighting up blue on the leaderboard but now there is now blue as Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu level it up against Charley Hull and Georgia Hall as they head to the ninth. As it stands (and a lot can change!) USA will be be withing striking distance of regaining the Solheim Cup going into the singles.
Celine Boutier has to hole her putt on 10 to halve the hole but it shaves the edge of the hole, meaning her and Linn Grant are now three down against Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang. Team Europe need to make inroads into these top two games or else they will have a mountain to climb in the singles tomorrow.
In match one on the 11th, Megan Khang has just had a huge slice of luck. Her putt is hanging over the left-hand edge of the hole but does not fall. But, after around 10 seconds and having resigned herself to the fact that it had missed, it does drop which counts. They check with the officials to make it sure it counts as you cannot stand over it for ages waiting for it to drop. That means that Megan Khang and Alison Lee still lead by two over Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom.
That has got to hurt for Celine Boultier. She was the closest to the hole off the tee at the par-three ninth – but she failed to apply the pressure in sinking her birdie opportunity.
She had the chance from around 10 feet to pinch the hole and swing this slight momentum back to Europe. Sadly, she cannot – her putt does not drop and so she and Linn Grant remain two down through the front nine.
The commentator’s curse – as Anna Nordqvist finds the birdie on the tenth! Surprise to watch Alison Lee miss those chances from inside four feet to hand the hole to Europe.
The American sank her putt at the par-five eighth to stretch her and Andrea Lee’s advantage to two up through eight.
Anna Nordqvist is struggling to find her rhythm at the moment maybe she has hit a wall after some sensational play over the last couple of days.
Ciganda is continuing her decent spell as she nails her birdie putt at the seventh to bring her and her partner Pederson level against Ewing and Thompson.
Are we starting to see a fightback from Europe?
The top match is not going to the way of Europe, who are about to hit the back nine.
Celine Boutier fails to roll in her long distance putt for birdie but fortunately her European partner saves the day – a putt from around 12 feet from Linn Grant earns a half of the hole.
They remain just one behind as they head now to the eighth hole.
Alison Lee rolls in a birdie chance at the par-five eighth – leaving Nordqvist and Sagstrom three behind through eight. You feel, this one is getting away from European team.
This USA pair are riding the momentum ever since that sensational hole-out at two from Lee for an eagle.
Here we go Carlota Ciganda! She has absolutely drained that putt from distance at the sixth and is now punching the air!
Meanwhile, Lexi Thompson takes aim with a chip and she is only gone and slotted it in. Brilliant work from the American.
What a putt from Carlota Ciganda 🤩 pic.twitter.com/6ZGXf2cLFt
Georgia Hall has the longest putt at the fifth hole but Charley Hull decides to go first so as to not give opponent Lilia Vu the line. Hull successfully converts – meanwhile Vu misses! Excellent from the European pair.
Andrea Lee has just hit a sensational shot to within four feet of the pin on the seventh – surely a birdie is coming for the USA.
Their European counterparts Celine Boutier and Linn Grant also hit decent approaches but are outside of 10 feet for what will likely be testing efforts to halve the hole.
Emily Kritstine Pedersen cannot convert her birdie putt, while Carlota Ciganda sees her effort drag to the left.
USA’s Ally Ewing and Lexi Thompson remain one up on their European counterparts.
There were scenes on the second hole as Alison Lee holed out from the fairway – the wild celebrations were marked by by Shota Takada taking off his bib and his shirt and performing a bare-skinned hug with Jack Fulghum, Megan Khang’s bagman, who had also disrobed in the excitement.
Apparently, both men made a bet with Lee and Meghan Khang that if either of them holed out from off the green they would lose their shirts – they certainly stayed true to their word!
Read the full story here.
SHIRTS OFF FOR ALISON LEE’S HOLE OUT FROM THE FAIRWAY 😤💯 pic.twitter.com/VDmLUq8xR6
There are two scoring opportunities for both Lilia Vu and Allisen Corpuz on four. Vu’s is tantalisingly close but no cigar, Corpuz a bit further from the mark and the English duo are spared a one hole deficit.
Shortly after, Sagstrom with another birdie chance to guarantee a half, but yet again she misreads and is in for par before Megan Khang holes out to extend a 2up lead in match two. There’s a big cheer from another hole during Lee’s inconsequential putt too…
Not sure why, the other three matches maintain their status quo – perhaps a European miss
And Europe do reduce the lead in match two, Celine Boutier making birdie as Rose Zhang misses a four footer to equalise.
Some shifting on the scoreboard prompts the following:
Match 1: Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom one down vs Alison Lee and Megan Khang Match 2: Linn Grant and Celine Boutier one down vs Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang Match 3: Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen one down vs Ally Ewing and Lexi Thompson Match 4: Charley Hull and Georgia Hall tied with Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu
Ally Ewing and Emily Pedersen fall foul to the steep slope left of the pin on the fourth, but Lexi Thompson’s tee shot is top drawer, so there’s a big chance for a US score in match three coming up.
Sagstrom has a third putt to win a hole now at the sixth, it’s a tough one from 10 feet, and the ball holds its line so she misses right, but there’s still a tough putt for Megan Kang to half it. She sinks it with ease and remains 1up.
Elsewhere, Linn Grant has presented herself with a great chance to score Europe’s first point in match two.
When will it stop?!? Lilia Vu nails a putt from 15+ feet to remove Europe’s sole lead in match four – she struggled this morning but the American energy is contageous at the moment. Speaking of which, Ewing putts well from distance to guarantee a tie for Thompson and give her license to attack – she lips out! Chances aplenty for the US.
Ally Ewing lips out a putt on the third to give Ciganda a chance to peg the US back in the third match. We’ve just been reminded that Ewing has now lost five Solheim Cup matches on the bounce.
She’s been given more work to do here too, as Caginda walks it in and reduces the match three European deficit to one.
Megan Khang comes up trumps for the US now, keeping her nerve over a five footer to maintain her lead in match one after Nordqvist and Sagstrom birdie and Alison Lee pars.
A miss from Allisen Corpuz serves up a scoring chance for Hull and Hall, which is gratefully taken by Georgia Hall, who holes her fourth scoring putt of the day.
Meanwhile, Andre Lee’s putting masterclass continues, as she scrambles a tie on hole four from long distance…
The fourth group tie their first hole, a relief for Pettersen no doubt.
Ahead, Andrea Lee is refusing to give any relief on the putting green – she has the ball on a string and is inches away from holing a birdie for a third point in as many holes from a big distance – nothing she couldn’t sink yesterday.
Ally Ewing follows suit and makes a 15 footer for birdie, pressure on for Emily Pedersen to tie the hole from five feet or so… it’s lipped, USA lead match three by two through two. An American putting clinic…
Match 1: Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom one down vs Alison Lee and Megan KhangMatch 2: Linn Grant and Celine Boutier two down vs Andrea Lee and Rose ZhangMatch 3: Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen two down vs Ally Ewing and Lexi ThompsonMatch 4: Charley Hull and Georgia Hall tied with Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu
There’s a clear difference in approach between the captains here. USA’s Stacy Lewis has used all four of her changes, and sent the fresh four out first to drive the energy levels, they have certainly done that.
Suzann Pettersen has only sent out two fresh players, split across the first two matches. In the third match, both Carloti Ciganda and Emily Pedersen have bogeyed to leave them one down vs Ally Ewing and Lexi Thompson.
The choice to keep Ciganda and Pedersen together may raise eyebrows given the draining nature of their defeat earlier, the two having blown a lead vs Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda.
Andrea Lee walks her putt in to claim a second point for her and partner Zhang through two. Grant and Boutier haven’t had a sniff.
Way ahead on four, everyone’s negated the water, and some excellent lag putts from , Sagstrom, and Lee means pars minimum. Khang was within range but misses, so the first group remains differentiated by Alison Lee’s ‘dunk’.
Things are just about calming down, and Sagstrom misses a second chance at a hole through three – the two misguided efforts sandwiching Alison Lee’s instantly iconic eagle. Lee and Khang remain 1up as a result. The first group are flying through, they’re on hole four before the second group have had a chance at putting for hole two.
At the first, the final match is under-way and both English women Chalrey Hull and Georgia Hall are in the bunker…
A great putt from Andrea Lee to follow that insane Alison Lee shot. There’s early leads in both of the first two groups, and Europe understandably seem a little rattled.
Here’s Alison’s shot below:
Alison Lee with the fairway dunk!!! 😲🏀 pic.twitter.com/TtavGxG5tw
Oh my!!! What a shot from Alison Lee!!! She holes out on her approach for an eagle on the par four, the place goes crazy! There’s two people – the American caddies perhaps?? – with their tops off, the American team at the tee box are giving it large! Needless to say Lee has earned her country an early lead here, sinking it from around 100 yards away, wow.
Megan Khang sends a putt within inches from way downtown to take a gimme par, and Sagstrom misses a tough chance for a hole winning birdie.
Behind them, two perfect drives for Europe off the first tee, landing within a few feet of each other. Rose Zhang sends it into the rough, though, before Lee takes a few yards off her drive to land it safely.
Suzann Pettersen is speaking to Sky, and addresses Leona Maguire’s surprise omission for this afternoon.
“It’s always hard to sit great great players. Leona’s going to be 100% tomorrow, she’s a great teammate and has belief in what we’re doing, but we have to play the players playing well this week.”
Anna Nordqvist is brimming with confidence, and takes on the fairway bunker with aplomb on the first. Her Swedish compatriot Sagstrom is a bit more conservative, but finds the fairway nonetheless.
The US follow, Alison Lee piping it into the rough, before Megan Khang revs up the crowd and sends it down the middle.
No respite for Anna Nordqvist, as she opens the afternoon fourballs session alongside Madelene Sagstrom for the 12.05pm local time tee off – 17.05 BST. They play Alison Lee and Megan Khang.
Following them at 17.20 is the Linn Grant and Celine Boutier duo, who are grouped with the USA’s Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang.
The third group sees Carlota Caginda and Emily Pedersen play Ally Ewing and Lexi Thompson at 17.35, before English pair Charley Hull and Georgia Hall take on Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu
“We saw a few of the leaderboards out there but we just tried to control what we could control with our game and our emotions,” says Lexi Thompson to Sky Sports.
“Swing freely and try to make each other comfortable.”
There was a point at which Europe led by six in match four, two in match one, and three in match two, which could’ve gone two ways in the minds of Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin. They saw it as a prompt to relax, clearly, and that’s no surprise given Thompson’s Solheim Cup pedigree. Her record is now 10-7-7, and she’s the third most successful foursome player in tournament history with six victories.
Nordqvist, Boutier, Hull, and Hall are all back out for Europe, Ewing, Thompson, Corpuz and Vu re-emerging for the US. Marathon weekend for Charley Hull.
Saturday afternoon four-ball pairings at @TheSolheimCup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/PPKEJoihuY
Ally Ewing finds the bunker before rookie Esther Henseleit nails an approach on the 18th. And the US concede, what a shot! It gives Jennifer Kupcho an impossible bunker shot to hole, which she can’t, so Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit win 1up.
For a second it looked as though they might bottle what had been at times a 3up lead, but they held their nerve as Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda surrendered a lead ahead of them. At one point, an overall 7-5 scoreline seemed more than likely, but Europe have to settle for 8-4, perhaps a relief given the widespread European misfortune in the back nine.
Stunning comeback by Nella Korda and Allisen Corpuz. The turning point undoubtedly Corpuz’s skulled hybrid that miraculously rolled on to the green. Korda still had a lot to do for the eagle putt but she made it look simple to give the US the lead having trailed since the second.
It was clinical from thereon in, the two waiting for Pedersen and Ciganda to miss, Ciganda pushing a big putt on the 16th amidst a huge cheer from the crowd on the 15th. 8-3 US with only match two to finish…
…Through 17. A moment of madness from Charley Hull in her approach has put an incredible amount of significance on this final hole, where Emily Pedersen is about to take on a long putt to half the match. Seems a job for Carlota Ciganda if memory serves…
Even the inevitable seemed doubtful in this back nine in match four as Sarah Schmelzel and Lilia Vu won a couple holes despite trailing by six. Vu, however, misses on the 15th and the hole is tied, giving Anna Nordqvist and Celine Boutier a 4&3 victory. Nordqvist has played exceptionally this weekend, and has continued to do some heavy lifting today.
It’s crucial that Hull and Henseleit follow suit…
Oh dear. Charley Hull fires one out of bounds in her approach to the 17th pin, before Jennifer Kupcho nervelessly places one within putting distance. I didn’t enjoy that passage of play.
Back on the 15th, Lexi Thompson adds another chapter to a storied Solheim history as she and Lauren Coughlin take a 4&3 victory. They led the whole time despite a really tough start to the day for the US, and the repeated cheers as Thompson in particular kept on sinking point winning putts will have been heard by their compatriots. Hall and Stark played well, winning three holes, but every time they took one, the US responded instantaneously.
And now they guarantee another half a point! Emily Pedersen misses a putt to tie the 17th, it’s all the US at the moment!!
Two exemplary tee shots there, first from Lilia Vu and then from Charley Hull, both executed under significant pressure.
Then Nelly Korda steps up and lands her ball wide of the pin but it spins and rolls within puttable distance, magnificent control from the world number one.
Meanwhile, a big cheer as Ally Ewing drains one from close to 30 feet. It’s only enough to tie the hole, given how accurate Hull was off the tee, as Henseleit taps one in. Hull and Henseleit miss a big chance to go 2up, but keep their lead in tact.
It’s getting to ‘every shot matters’ time, so here’s an update:
Match 1: Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda level vs Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda (16) Match 2: Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit one up vs Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho (15) Match 3: Maja Stark and Georgia Hall three down vs Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin (14) Match 4: Anna Nordqvist and Celine Boutier four up vs Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel (13)
There’s a signficant crowd following the first match, and their cries of ‘get in’ are not obliged by a long effort from Allisen Corpuz. Onto Ciganda to birdie for a lead through 16…
And she misses badly! She opted not to reset amidst a significant cheer from the 15th as Ally Ewing sinks one from range, so there’s a chance to lead in match one missed, and a 2up lead in match two reduced. Korda halfs the hole, match one tied through 16.
Meanwhile, Georgia Hall narrowly misses a putt to win the 14th, so the US maintain a three hole lead through 14th – Hall and Stark now running out of time…
Someone will need to relay to Stark and Hall that Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit have just taken the 14th to restore their 2up lead, that’s Europe’s first notable success there this weekend.
Shortly after, Carlota Ciganda misses a long putt to win the 15th, but there’s still a lot for Nelly Korda to do to tie it up…
And she misses, I was certain that would go in from 15 feet or so, but it’s all level in match one now. Coming into the backend of the round, with Europe 6-2 down, it’s absolutely imperative that Pedersen and Ciganda win to stand a chance of reducing the overall deficit.
What will help is if Nordqvist and Boutier can wrap up their match early as forecast during the front nine. Boutier misses a chance to restore a five hole lead through 13, but they’re still on the cusp of a first European point today…
That was a ridiculous eagle from Korda and Corpuz and could be the moment that broke Europe’s resistance. A horrible knee-high approach from Corpuz – the luckiest shot of the week – somehow gets to within 12 feet of the pin on the par five and the world No 1 capitalises on the outrageous fortune.
Ciganda and Pedersen looked stunned. They should already have put this foursomes in the bag with so many chances on the front nine. Instead, they are one down with three to play.
Coughlin nails a 20 footer, fantastic putt and the crowd give it its due reception that will echo through the course – they take a deserved three hole lead through 13. Will be interesting to see how Stark and Hall fare on the 14th hole now, it has proved to be pivotal in American fortunes on both days so far.
Korda putts for eagle! She capitalises on a significant amount of luck, and the crowd erupts as the ball finds the hole – that’ll have been heard all over the course, bearing in mind Europe are on the back foot in three other matches right now…
There’s surely no escape for Hull and Henseleit now on hole 13. There’s not much room to play with and Hull goes bunker to bunker before Ewing drops the ball within a few feet with her approach shot.
Then there’s a huge slice of luck for Allisen Corpuz as she tops a hybrid off the deck on the 14th where multiple shots landed in the water yesterday. It narrowly misses the water, rolls over the lip of a bunker and trickles conveniently onto the green, Korda will putt for birdie. Pedersen, however, chips within putting distance to give them some hope of tying the hole.
Back to the second group, Hull misses her putt and the Americans sink a low pressure putt to reduce the deficit to one.
Wild stat about Anna Nordqvist. The Swede has made history by winning nine holes in a row – six with Madeleine Sagstrom at the end of their Friday afternoon fourballs and three at the start of the Saturday fourballs with Celine Boutier.
That is easily the longest such streak at the Solheim and as a point of reference one more than the Ryder Cup record of eight set by that man Scottie Scheffler in 2021.
It’s therefore entirely fair that she’s lost the last two – those are freakish numbers. Anyway, here are the scores, European leads in bold, score changes in bold
Match 1: Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda tied vs Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda (10) Match 2: Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit two up vs Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho (9) Match 3: Maja Stark and Georgia Hall two down vs Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin (8) Match 4: Anna Nordqvist and Celine Boutier four up vs Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel (7)
Hull and Henseleit continue to flirt with their two-hole lead, and are once again spared as Ewing completely misreads her line on a short putt.
Pedersen has an eight footer to keep hold of Europe’s lead in match one after Corpuz putts within inches brilliantly from distance. She misses and match one is tied up for the first time since the second tee box.
Meanwhile, the match four lead is reduced again as Schmelzer seems to have regained some confidence to sink one for birdie. They now trail by four after an eagle the hole before.
A tidy putt from Lilia Vu gives her and Sarah Schmelzel a long-awaited hole to reduce their deficit to five through ten, still a mountain to climb.
The third match continues to provide the goods, a confident putt from Lexi Thompson restoring their two hole lead – their advantage vs Stark and Hall is crucial in the wider American picture.
Intriguingly, the fourth group are quickly through and Vu chips within birdie distance on the 11th, before Anna Nordqvist sends it long into some thick rough, big chance for Schmelzer to win a second consecutive hole and plant some seeds of doubt.
Having tussled back some traction, there are two bad tee shots for Europe. Esther Henseleit leaves one short on the 11th, and an elevated green gives the impression the ball has dribbled down into the water. There’s some significant fortune, however, for Charley Hull as an embedded ball warrants a change of lie, and she’s able to tee it up on some moderate rough. She nearly holes it too, and Henseleit is presented with a simple chance to scramble a tie for the second hole in a row.
The good fortune continues as some wayward approach play by Ciganda and Pedersen nearly takes out some spectators but goes unpunished by Corpuz, who sends an approach into the bunker. Ciganda sinks a putt for birdie, and the hole is tied.
Europe can’t capitalise everywhere, though, as Maja Stark misses a puttable chance to go level-pegging in match three – she and Georgia Hall remain one down.
The first three groups are in the balance, but the fourth is all Europe – here they are going five up!
Celine Boutier has just secured a birdie on the ninth, and Schmelzel’s woes continue as her line is, once again, fractionally off line. She goes down six with Vu…
Nordqvist and Boutier go 5UP through eight holes! 🇪🇺#TeamEurope | #SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/0Rwo4kTDWV
Despite the last couple holes, this is hugely encouraging for Europe and exactly the reaction Suzann Pettersen will have wanted after the first day. If the visitors can close it to within a couple of points going into the afternoon footballs they will have the opportunity to prey on the nerves of their opponents.
Team USA has watched Europe lift the trophy for three matches in succession and could get tight in their desperation.
It’s all very timely, then, that Nordqvist extends the match four lead to five, simultaneously to Georgia Hall pulling Thompson and Coughlin within one. Up ahead, Pedersen drains a pressure putt to save their one hole lead. That’s three of the groups accounted for, and Charley Hull scrambles a tie on the tenth from a perilous distance.
It’s a crucial passage to prevent what felt like a big momentum swing for the US from materialising into something dramatic.
Four holes won over the session for the US by the time the first group were through the front nine, but they’ve won three all of a sudden just now. That calls for a scoreboard update. Europe’s leads in bold, the recent US scores italicised:
Match 1: Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda one up vs Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda (10) Match 2: Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit two up vs Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho (9) Match 3: Maja Stark and Georgia Hall two down vs Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin (8) Match 4: Anna Nordqvist and Celine Boutier four up vs Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel (7)
Hull and Henseleit are really on the offensive now, the latter holing a 10+ footer with ease, but Jennifer Kupcho responds emphatically to take the hole for the US, they trail by two now.
Despite being able to fill the stands on time today, it’s been quieter than yesterday given Europe’s dominance. But there’s some noise now, Korda birdies the tenth in match one to reduce their deficit to one. Meanwhile, Lauren Coughlin sinks one to take their match three lead back to 2up. That’s three scores in as many holes for the hosts.
Vu does well to putt from seven or eight feet to keep the European lead at four, but European fortunes are better up at hole eight where Charley Hull lags another putt to earn her and Esther Henseleit a third straight point to go 3up.
There is slowly mounting pressure on Pedersen and Ciganda in match one, but they resist to maintain a two hole lead at the halfway house. It’s six tied holes in a row between them and Corpuz/Korda, and the formers have had a majority of the pressure putts – as you can see below Korda is pulling out all the stocks to counterattack. The European’s have been impressively unflappable thus far.
Yep, Nelly Korda has all the shots 💯@NellyKorda | #SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/bXVXob4faC
Carlota Ciganda two-putts to give Allisen Corpuz a big chance from ten feet or so to reduce the lead to one, but her line is fractionally off. The hole is halved and Pedersen and Ciganda retain their two-hole lead.
At the other bookend of the session, Schmelzer and Vu continue to falter. Schmelzel’s tee shot is conservative, and Vu thicks her approach shot to leave the US short of the green after two shots on the par four. They’ve bogeyed every hole so far, and will need a drastic improvement from their putting to avoid another, and a five hole deficit.
In group three, Lexi Thompson provides a Solheim collector’s item by lipping a chance to extend their lead, and Maja Stark holds her nerve to keep the US lead at just one.
Match 1: Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda two up vs Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda (7)Match 2: Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit two up vs Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho (7)Match 3: Maja Stark and Georgia Hall one down vs Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin (6)Match 4: Anna Nordqvist and Celine Boutier four up vs Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel (5)
Schmelzel is being done no favours by Lilia Vu here. On the fifth hole par five, Vu has found two bunkers, and Schmelzel’s escape flies past the pin and into some rough. Seems inevitable they will go four down now.
Meanwhile, Henseleit misses a birdie putt for the lead, but Ewing misses too so Hull has a chance to put some pressure on Kupcho imminently.
Georgia Hall, in group three, is presented with a simple chance to reduce her deficit to one, and she obliges with a putt that probably should’ve been a concession.
Europe’s short game is really prevailing here. Kupcho can’t respond to Hull and the group two European lead is extended to two. Scores on the doors to follow…
Group three struggle on the fourth, Schmelzel in particular is having a tough morning. Her tee shot follows Celine Boutier’s into the bunker, both lucky to avoid the water. Both chips avoid the steep lip, though, but leave tough putts.
Nordqvist is unfortunate to lip out having read the line quite nicely, all onto Schmelzel…
She takes her time, seems jittery, and misses – her third through four this morning. A bogey means Europe’s group four lead remains 3up.
Ahead in group three, Lexi Thompson restores the USA’s two-hole lead, whilst Charley Hull in group two hits a wonderful lag putt within concession range, and Ewing can’t respond – Europe lead 1up in group three.
That’s leads in three groups for Europe now – an ideal start given the USA’s record breaking day yesterday.
Before Friday, Charley Hull had never lost two Solheim games in succession. She will be desperate to avoid a third.
She has lost five of her last six Solheim games and if Europe is to have any chance, Hull needs to reverse this worrying trend.
Hull and her partner Esther Henseleit are tied with Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho through five.
Excellent putt from England’s Georgia Hall, taking a birdie on the fourth hole par 3 to half the USA’s lead.
Behind her, Lilia Vu continues to struggle with her putter for the US, she’s out of concession range and Celine Boutier holes her putt to give Schmelzel a pressure putt to half the hole. You’d expect her to hole it but the match situation complicates things, and she does indeed lip out. Group four’s Nordqvist and Boutier are 3up for Europe through three.
Ahead of them, Emily Pedersen once again lets Korda and Corpuz off the hook in group one, another missed putt to limit their lead to two through six.
With the first and last groups seeing early European 2up leads, and Hull piling the pressure on in the second, a three putt from Stark and Hall in the third group puts them two behind USA’s Thompson and Coughlin.
Pedersen, meanwhile, lips out to deny Europe a 3up lead in the first group through five.
A birdie on the second hole by Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin, the former draining it from over 10 yards -they go 1up.
Ahead of them, Charley Hull drops her tee shot within five or six yards on the par four, excellent shot. Henseleit is unable to convert, however, and Europe miss a big chance to go 1up through four.
There are some good shots elsewhere for Europe, as Nordqvist mirrors Ciganda’s shot from the rough on the second earlier on and, given the US have had to scramble from a bunker, Celine Boutier has a puttable shot for a 2up lead. She misses, but Vu has a tough putt to half the hole…. she misses narrowly, vice captain Nordqvist and Boutier are 2up.
In the first group, Pedersen’s punishing approach play continues, and Ciganda will have a good chance to take birdie on the fifth.
The first group come onto the first par three of the day, hole four with a daunting body of water and collection of bunkers.
Korda’s eight iron is bettered by Pedersen, who looks in fine form this morning, but Ciganda misreads her line, which stays gun-barrel straight to miss the hole but tie up the hole – the Europeans maintain their two hole lead.
Back at the first, Sarah Schmelzel lips a putt that should really have gone in and then gives a generous concession to Nordqvist and Boutier, who go 1up as a result.
That generosity is not matched in the second group as Hull and Henseleit force their opponents to putt from close range to tie up after three, which Kupcho does with ease. The Americans did bogey three times yesterday so they have opened themselves up to being challenged.
In both senses of the phrase. Hull’s drive off the second teebox finds another bunker, but Henseleit’s approach is exemplary, giving Hull a straight forward putt for birdie, which she takes to draw the second group level.
There’s quality elsewhere, as Pedersen lands within one-putting distance of the third pin. Korda is given a much tougher putt for birdie, and Ciganda opens up a two hole lead in the first group for Europe.
In the third group, there’s quality all round as both pairs play from teebox, to fairway, to green, to par.
As the fourth group tee off Europe are in a two shot lead in group one, and are all square elsewhere. Here’s the shot that gave the first group the ascendancy:
“She is interested. And that is why.”Superb shot into the 2nd by Carlota.#SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/cDlFMfgB8m
Ciganda’s shot from the rough was an extremely tidy one, and given the US’ two-putt she gives Pedersen a good opportunity to take an early lead, which the Dane duly takes.
Behind them, though, Charley Hull lips out a putt to tie up the first, so Ewing and Kupcho go 1up. Encouraging that they were in contention to equalise given their bunker-to-bunker approach.
It’s bunker to bunker in the second group as Charley Hull fires her approach shot into a greenside bunker, giving Esther Henseleit a lot to do to scramble a par, let alone equal the potential par that the US are lining up.
Ahead, Pedersen’s second hole tee shot is into the rough, but Ciganda’s recovery is a good one. The US, meanwhile, are unwavering in their accuracy.
The third group are under-way too, but Georgia Hall’s drive is hit too cleanly and bounces into a kind lie in the rough.
Great to see the full grandstands. The organisers have seemingly fixed the transport issues that marred the first day.
Europe need a big morning to get back in this.
It’s an excellent shot out of the fairway bunker from Emily Pedersen, but the ball trickles a couple of yards off the back of the green. The lie for Korda’s hybrid shot is tough and Corpuz is left with a 40-yard putt, which she puts within gimme range for par.
Ciganda’s putt lands within similar distance, so the first group are tied through one.
Meanwhile, the second pairing follow suit as Esther Henseleit finds the bunker and Ally Ewing crashes her drive down the fairway.
Carlota Ciganda has the honours and steps up into an intimidating silence to fire her drive right of the fairway and into a bunker. Allisen Corpuz hits hers straight down the middle as her teammate Nelly Korda ramps up the crowd.
More of the same, then…
There’s no respite for Europe this morning, as Stacy Lewis is sending out her Nelly Korda sized juggernaught out for the first tee, she’ll be accompanied by yesterday’s teammate Allisen Corpuz. Suzann Pettersen’s response is to fight fire with fire, as she takes one of yesterday’s foursome winners, Emily Pedersen, and repairs her with last year’s last-hole hero Carlota Ciganda. They tee off at 12.05pm BST, 7.05am local time.
Yesterday’s opening European pair of England’s Charley Hull, presumably cigarette in hand, and Germany’s Esther Hanseleit, will follow at 12.17pm, and they’ll play the US’ only foursome losers, Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho who remain in their pair despite the 2up loss.
Then follows the only changed US pair at 12.29pm, Lauren Coughlin repaired with Solheim veteran Lexi Thompson – they play Maja Stark and England’s Georgia Hull.
Anchoring the morning is another new European pair, fourballs winner Anna Nordqvist joining Celine Boutier to take on Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel at 12.41pm.
In terms of the crowd before the imminent first shots, it’s as packed as you’d hope, USA flags and banana costumes packed to the rafters in a suitably partisan setup. Muted greetings to the Europeans, a deafening reception for Nelly Korda. This is looking to be US-European golf at its very best.
Unfortunately, for many US fans, what should’ve been a memorable morning was marred, or altogether missed, as one of the most mouth-watering opening clashes of Nelly Korda vs Charley Hull was teed off in front of an, at best, half capacity crowd.
Both captains, Europe’s Suzann Pettersen and USA’s Stacy Lewis, were questioning a ‘flat’ atmosphere on the opening teebox at Robert Trent Jones as an indicator of the LGPA’s slow communication as the news slowly filtered through that tens of thousands of fans were left stranded, waiting for shuttle buses to take them to the course for the early 7.05am opening tee time.
All four foursome matches teed off with sub-par crowd numbers, a particularly disappointing situation given that players and fans alike speak of the opening shots as the highlight of the biennial competition. By 8am, some fans were being told they’d have to wait a further three hours to get to the course.
An LGPA apology eventually followed, and the crowds eventually filled up for the fourballs tee off where they were treated to a cameo by club member Barack Obama, but amidst controversy coming into the weekend, organisers couldn’t have got off to a worse start. Our man on the ground, James Corrigan, has the full run-down here…
The line for the Solheim Cup shuttle busses this morning is less than ideal. pic.twitter.com/uJP1RDdX3K
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the second day of the Solheim Cup where Europe are already facing an uphill task having fallen to a record-breaking 6-2 deficit to team USA yesterday at Virginia’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
The day, unfortunately, might be remembered for other reasons with the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LGPA) buckling under the pressure of considerable interest in the match, as thousands of spectators were left stranded and unable to watch the coveted first tee-off. We’ll bring you up to speed on that controversy in the next post and throughout the day.
A regrettable subplot to the spectator controversy was a gripping day of golf. Vying for their fourth straight title, Europe lost the morning foursome session 3-1 and suffered the same result in the afternoon four ball session, handing the hosts the biggest first day lead in the competition’s 34-year history. Led by world number 1 Nelly Korda, USA’s Rose Zhang, Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel became the first four women to win two games in a single day, but it was the nature of the victories that may have been most damaging for Suzann Pettersen’s Europe team.
The heavyweights were the first on the teebox, Korda combining with 2023 US Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz to wrap up the first match against Solheim cult hero Charley Hull and rookie Esther Henseleit with three holes to spare. Zhang and Coughlin emulated this score, also winning 3&2 against Celine Boutier and Albane Valenzuela.
Pettersen’s side were able to save face in the third group, the Norwegian captain’s selection decisions justified as two of her picks, Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark, held their nerve on the 18th to win 2up against Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho as Pettersen’s decision to omit Solheim specialist Leona Maguire from the foursomes came under increasing scrutiny.
However, Stacy Lewis’ USA side maintained their momentum going into the fourballs as Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel recorded another 3&2 victory before Korda, alongside Megan Khang, obliterated Georgia Hall and Maguire 6&4. European vice captain Anna Nordqvist, alongside Madelene Sagstrom, ensured Europe could hold onto a semblence of hope with their own comprehensive 6&5 victory, but the rest of the afternoon was a US procession as 3&2 and 5&4 victories saw them take a record-breaking lead coming into this morning’s foursomes. It’s all to do for Europe now…
English