Europe beat USA 15-13 to reclaim Solheim Cup in Netherlands
Europe have reclaimed the Solheim Cup with a 15-13 victory over the United States at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, Netherlands. Captain Anna Nordqvist's side sealed the 20th edition on 11-13 September after starting Sunday's singles tied 8-8, with 14.5 points needed to take the trophy back. The Guardian
It was the first Solheim Cup held in the Netherlands, and it finished tight. Europe led 7-5 after winning three of four matches on Saturday morning, only for the United States to rally in the afternoon fourballs, a format where both players play their own ball and the better score counts, to level at 8-8 going into the 12 Sunday singles, one-on-one matches worth one point each. SolheimCup.com
Jennifer Kupcho dragged the Americans level. She holed a 91-foot putt on the 17th and a 30-foot putt on the 18th during Saturday fourballs to turn the momentum late in the day. BBC Sport
Charley Hull struck first on Sunday. Sent out in the opening singles match after taking only half a point from the first two days, she beat Megan Khang 3&2, meaning she led by three holes with two left to play and the match could not continue. Hull had been paired repeatedly with Lottie Woad over the first two days, a partnership of two world top-10 players that had not yet fired.
The middle of the order swung both ways. Rookie Nastasia Nadaud beat Andrea Lee 3&2, and Julia Lopez Ramirez beat Yealimi Noh by the same score. Lauren Coughlin, who arrived on Sunday with two-and-a-half points already, beat Leona Maguire and ended Maguire's unbeaten Solheim Cup singles record. Lindy Duncan beat Maja Stark for the United States, while world No. 1 Nelly Korda beat rookie Mimi Rhodes. Rhodes had earlier won two matches alongside Nadaud.
Then came the squeeze. Alison Lee trailed Esther Henseleit by four holes after 11 holes, a heavy deficit in matchplay where every hole is won, lost or halved. Lee won on the final green, 1UP, one hole ahead after 18, to complete the biggest singles comeback in Solheim Cup history. BBC Sport
Rookie Lottie Woad held her nerve to beat debutant Auston Kim 2-up, two holes ahead with one to play, to move Europe to 14 points. Carlota Ciganda followed in the penultimate match, beating Kupcho to reach 15 and make certain of the cup. Rose Zhang beat Celine Boutier 2UP in the last match to finish to leave the final score 15-13.
What makes this stand out is how new much of this European team was. Nordqvist, 39, a three-time major winner who announced her retirement from competitive golf shortly before taking the captaincy, led a side containing four rookies. Europe had not lost a Sunday singles session since their home defeat in 2015, and the United States had not won on foreign soil since that same year.
