Team Europe dominates with early lead at Solheim Cup

A lone half point was all Team USA could muster during the morning foursomes session at the 2021 Solheim Cup at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

Each of the four team matches were ultra-competitive, needing all 18 holes to be decided.

In the opening match featuring Americans Danielle Kang and Austin Ernst against recent major champ Anna Nordqvist and Matilda Castren, Kang and Ernst were 1 up through 12 when the Europeans won three straight holes to eventually win the match 1 up.

In Match 2, Americans Ally Ewing and Megan Kang never trailed opponents Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall, but a late surge by the Europeans resulted in birdies on 17 and 18, which was good enough to halve the match.

News

American powerhouse Nelly and Jessica Korda never got any momentum going in Match 3 against Mel Reid and Leona Maguire. A bogey on the par-4 4th hole put the Kordas 1 down, and they never recovered, eventually falling to Team Europe 1 down on No. 18

The last hope for Team USA was Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare, who battled fiercely with opponents Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen, but like their teammates, Thompson and Altomare weren’t able to close out the match at the end. After arriving at the 15th tee 2 down, Hull and Pedersen won 15, 16 and 18 to take the match and the final point of the morning session.

Heading into the afternoon four-ball session, Team Europe leads Team USA, 3.5 to 0.5.

Luckily for the Americans, there’s still plenty of time to turn things around. The afternoon four-ball matchups for Saturday are as follows:

12:35 p.m. ET: Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing vs. Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Madelene Sagstrom

12:50 p.m. ET: Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas vs. Carlota Ciganda and Sophia Popov

1:05 p.m. ET: Lexi Thompson and Mina Harigae vs. Anna Nordqvist and Matilda Castren

1:20 p.m. ET: Yealimi Noh and Brittany Altomare vs. Georgia Hall and Leona Maguire

You can find all the info you need to watch the Solheim Cup here.

Shop Team USA gear

Explore GOLF’s Pro Shop

Callaway Chrome Soft Truvis USA

$42.99

View Product

Puma Ignite Fasten8 USA

$119.99

View Product

Callaway USA Weather Spann

$11.99

View Product

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

• Author Twitter Account
• Author Instagram Account