Team Europe did what they could Saturday at the Solheim Cup, splitting both the morning foursomes and afternoon fourballs 4-4. But on Sunday, the Solheim Cup will be Team USA’s to lose.
A split in both sessions means the Americans head into the final day of competition at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club with a 10-6 lead over the visiting Europeans. In order to at least retain the cup for the second consecutive year, the Europeans would have to match the largest-ever comeback in the event, when the Americans came back from down 10-6 in 2015.
The U.S. even managed to drag out the final match of the day, Allisen Corpuz and Lillia Vu against Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, all the way to the 18th hole, despite Hull and Hall coming away with the win for the Europeans to keep the matches within reach.
“This was a great day for us,” U.S. captain Stacy Lewis said. “I think it’s hard, it’s like when you go shoot 62, how you come back the next day. We had such a great day yesterday. It was going to be hard. The Europeans played a lot better today, and that showed, but really, really happy with the day, and to keep the same lead.”
While the U.S. didn’t pad their lead at all after a strong opening-day performance, it wasn’t for a lack of excitement. In the morning session, Nelly Korda and Corpuz continued their dominance in Solheim Cup play, notching their fourth consecutive win as a pairing, the most of all time. They trailed Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda for most of the match until the 14th when Corpuz’s second skirted the edge of a pond and Korda sank the ensuing putt for eagle to take their first lead.
For Team Europe Hull and rookie Esther Henseleit came away with a 1 Up victory too, losing a once 3 Up lead over Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho on the 17th hole with a double bogey only to restore it with a birdie on 18.
Then in the afternoon, Alison Lee and Megan Khang got their match with Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom off to a hot start when Lee’s second at the 2nd hole found the bottom of the cup, resulting in a wild celebration during which their caddies both ripped off their shirts.
“It was completely surreal, definitely one of the coolest moments of my life, of my career,” Lee said. “Got to have one of my best friends there with me and a couple great caddies, and we celebrated just the way we wanted to. We had a lot of fun.”
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Khang made eagle on the on the 14th to basically put the match out of reach for the Swedes. She’s been a sparkplug all week for the Americans, to the point where she already had a horse voice by the end of Saturday.
“I’ve had a little too much fun. I guess you can never have too much fun on this team,” she joked. “We’re just here having a good time and embracing the fans out here.”
The pair went on to win 4 and 3, but that wasn’t even the biggest U.S. win of the day.
That honor went to Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee, who ended their match against Linn Grant and Celine Boutier on the 14th hole when Zhang stuck a hybrid to 10 feet and made the putt for eagle for the 6 and 4 victory.
The final two matches of the afternoon both went to Europe as Ciganda and Pedersen closed out Ewing and Lexi Thompson on 17 while Hull and Hall went the distance against Vu and Corpuz after Corpuz holed a long birdie putt on 17 to keep the match alive.
Even with the late points, European assistant captain Laura Davies was painting a glum picture for Sunday.
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“The Americans have played unbelievable,” she said just before the last two matches finished. “I don’t know how many eagles they’ve had. It seems like they’ve had double figures. They’ve just played great golf. Outputted us at the moment. Deep squad of players. We’ll never say never, but it is going to be very, very difficult to get the Cup back.”
But Ciganda, the hero of Europe’s retention of the cup in a 14-14 tie last year in her home country of Spain, was more optimistic.
“I think we have a chance for sure. You have 12 points. I don’t know the final score what it’s going to be, but 12 points, we can win all of them. That’s what we’re going try to do, everyone focus on their match, and why not?” she said before alluding to a famous European Ryder Cup victory. “Medinah, the ‘Miracle of Medinah,’ it’s coming.”
Ciganda was alluding to the 2012 Ryder Cup matches, held at Medinah, outside Chicago. There, the Europeans faced a similar 10-6 deficit to the Americans and stormed back on the final day to win 8 and a half points in singles and win the Cup, the largest comeback by the away team in event history.
Ciganda and the European women will have the chance to match that Sunday, but their work is cut out for them.
