A whole new rules rollout, Tiger Woods’ 15th major title, two epic international events and so much more. Here’s a look back at some of the best moments of 2019.

Best of 2019: Suzann Pettersen retires in style

Golf and life aren’t really much alike. But each helps put the other in perspective.

On the cusp of the 2019 Solheim Cup, Suzann Pettersen’s view of both had changed.

For years, she’d worn competitive blinders, focused single-mindedly on her career. That narrowness of purpose produced stellar results, including 22 professional wins and two major titles. But it also led to moments the Norwegian star lamented, most notably an incident at the 2015 Solheim Cup in which she and her partner, Charley Hull, failed to concede a tap-in to their American opponent, Alison Lee, who had swept away the putt thinking it was good, only to be told that she’d lost the hole.

Publicly chastened for a lack of sportsmanship, a tearful Pettersen owned up to her error. “I’m so sorry for not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle and the competition,“ she wrote in a lengthy social-media mea culpa.

In retrospect, this was the dawn of a broader reckoning that would reshape Pettersen’s priorities. In late 2017, having struggled to conceive with her husband, Christian Ringvold, Pettersen, 36, learned that she pregnant. At first, she thought of playing the 2018 season, but complications with her pregnancy made travel dicey: a reality check that prompted deeper self-reflection, which gave way to her taking maternity leave.

Almost from the instant she opted for time off, Pettersen noticed that a veil had lifted. Her outlook opened to what really mattered. “I realized what an insular bubble I’d been living in for 20 years,” she wrote later in a letter addressed to her infant son, Herman, which was published by the LPGA Tour.

“This was a total break. And I was very comfortable. For the first time, my brain switched to normal.”

Still, an athlete’s competitive fires die hard. Pettersen gave birth in the summer of 2018. In 2019, having played just three events in 18 months, she started banging balls again, encouraged by European Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew to round her game into form for one last run at the biennial event. When Matthew selected Pettersen as a captain’s pick, her choice raised eyebrows while raising expectations for a European stalwart whose swing had been in mothballs for a year-and-a-half.

The venue for the matches was Gleneagles, a brawny course in Scotland that doubled as the backdrop for a Hollywood-esque script. “It all leads to this moment.” So went the tagline marketers had used to promote the competition. And sure enough, it all came down to the anchor match on Sunday, with Pettersen pitted against the young American, Marina Alex. A single point for the whole shebang. They came to 18 tied. Both found the green, leaving good looks at birdie. Alex’s bid went begging, curling past the cup. Up stepped Pettersen, and rolled hers in the heart, an epic putt-drop that she followed with a mic-drop.

As pandemonium erupted, her teammates ringing her in celebration, Pettersen spied her husband, holding Herman, through the crowd. That’s when it hit her. She knew what she would do.

“It took a minute for me to find you and your dad in the melee,” Pettersen continued in her letter to Herman. “But when I did, when I looked at you in your father’s arms, I said, ‘This its it. Nothing is ever going to top this.'”

Less than an hour later, still Champagne-soaked, Pettersen announced her retirement from competition.

“I mean, it’s priorities,” she said.

She went to bed that night as a happily married mom and ex-professional golfer, then woke the next morning to the first day of the rest of her life.

Suzann Pettersen sank the winning putt in dramatic fashion to close out her singles match and a come-from-behind victory for Europe at the 2019 Solheim Cup. Despite her time off, that was not all that surprising considering her sterling resume. What was surprising, though, was when one hour later she announced her retirement from professional golf.

If you had looked at her face as she clutched her infant son Herman after making the putt, you may have been less shocked.

On Thursday, Pettersen wrote a heartfelt open letter, directed to her son, explaining in full for the first time how his birth instantly transformed her life and influenced her decision to end her near 20-year professional golf career.

The lengthy letter posted on LPGA.com, which you can find here, is well worth a full read. But here are some of the many highlights.

The letter opens with Pettersen addressing Herman as her “precious gift” and letting him know that even though he may have been “too young to know what was happening” he was still present along with his father for “the final week of my full-time career as a professional golfer” at the Solheim Cup.

The primary message Pettersen tries to get across to her son is how monumentally he changed her life, which previously had been consumed by her golf career.

“My identity was linked to my job. How I played, how my practice sessions went on a particular day, how many putts I made or missed — all of that affected my moods, my priorities, my relationships and most of my decisions. I was, to some degree, selfish, which I considered a prerequisite for success,” she wrote. “I had no trouble saying ‘No’ and I did it quite a bit when I felt that someone or something was intruding on my time. That was part of the job. And my job, being one of the best golfers in the world, was my focus.”

But according to Pettersen, Herman changed all of that before he was even born.

“Even before you drew your first breath, you taught me an invaluable lesson about the things in life that really matter; about patience and perspective; about the extraordinary work ethic and monumental balancing act women around the world display; and about the sacrifices and selfless choices working mothers make every day.”

Pettersen and her husband, Christian, learned she was pregnant just before Christmas in 2017. At first, she planned on playing the 2018 LPGA season well into her pregnancy. But following some reality checks, in addition to complications with the pregnancy that left her stranded in Oslo and unable to fly, she decided to take the full season off on maternity leave.

She wrote, “once it became obvious that I was going to take at least a full year off, it was like a weight had been lifted off my chest.” It was that moment that she says she “realized what an insular bubble I’d been living in for 20 years.”

And the change was a positive and welcome one, at least once it sank in.

“This was a total break. And I was very comfortable. For the first time, my brain switched to normal,” Pettersen wrote.

It was when Herman was finally born in August 2018 that Pettersen’s life truly shifted, and when she began questioning whether she ever wanted to play pro golf again.

“Then you arrived and in an instant my brain switched again. I’ve always heard people say that becoming a parent changes you, but I had assumed that change took weeks, or maybe even months or years. That is wrong. It’s instantaneous. The moment you drew your first breath, I was a different person. Your father was there and as we held you, I asked myself, ‘Is there really any reason to go back to that other life?'”

But a few fellow players and friends, including Catriona Matthew, convinced Pettersen to try and prepare for the 2019 Solheim Cup. After nearly two years away from the Tour, Pettersen knew she’d need to work hard and pray for a captain’s pick to make the team.

So in the summer she got back out there, playing in a few LPGA events to get her game in shape, but all the while feeling wrong being away from her son and husband. At one point in a hotel in Portland, Ore., during the week of the Cambia Portland Classic, she found herself wondering, “What are you doing? All by yourself? Really? This means nothing if you can’t share it with them.”

But Pettersen stuck with the plan, and eventually was awarded with a captain’s pick to play for the European team in her ninth appearance at the biennial event. This time, though, her family were there to support her.

Then came the dramatic winning putt, the eruption of the European fans surrounding the hole, and her teammates charging onto the green to celebrate. In that moment, one Pettersen calls “a fairytale ending, one I couldn’t have imagined,” she knew that it was her time to retire.

“It took a minute for me to find you and your dad in the melee. But when I did, when I looked at you in your father’s arms, I said, ‘This is it. Nothing is ever going to top this.’ I’d had it all…I’m thrilled you were there. Even though you won’t remember it, having you present is something I will cherish forever. Combining the responsibilities of being a mom and a golfer … it was all I needed.”

Knowing she couldn’t top that experience, Pettersen took the leap she had considered for years, and she announced her retirement “on the spot.”

“I hope this story helps you understand our family,” Pettersen writes to Herman to close out her letter. “I hope it helps you appreciate the discipline and determination it takes to reach goals… That Sunday was the time for me to step away from golf and be a wife and mother. I hope you can find the peace in your decisions that I have found in mine.”

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Check in every Sunday night for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week we discuss the 2019 Solheim Cup, including what went wrong for the U.S. squad, the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year vote and more.

1. Tied 8-8 heading into Sunday singles at the Solheim Cup, Europe charged late and clinched its victory with a Suzann Pettersen birdie on the 18th hole, winning the Cup in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, 14.5-13.5. It was just the sixth win for Europe in 16 meetings and the first since 2013. What went wrong for the Americans, who were heavily favored heading into the matches?

Sean Zak, senior editor (@Sean_Zak): I can’t really look to anything besides that second-to-last match, when Bronte Law took over. It felt like that was an American point for much of the day, and then she made some incredible birdies late — three of her last four holes — suffocating a point for the Euros. Momentum.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: Road games are hard in these team competitions, and this was not a strong U.S. team, so it’s not a surprise. As second-guessing is a national sport in these affairs, I don’t know why you’d ever want to split up the Korda sisters.

Jonathan Wall, equipment editor (@jonathanrwall): Europe rose to the occasion. I don’t think there’s anything you can do in those situations. Sometimes it’s written in the stars.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Suzann Pettersen is what went wrong for the Americans! That putt on 18 isn’t something I’ll forget soon. There were moments the U.S. team would like to have back — Danielle Kang’s 18th hole, say, or Lexi Thompson’s unfortunate back spasms. But Europe showed it was made of tougher stuff and rallied together at the end.

2. One of the great traditions of Solheim and Ryder Cups is, of course, second-guessing the captains’ decisions. Anything Juli Inkster could’ve-should’ve done differently in skippering the U.S. side?

Bamberger: Oh, now I see the second question! Please refer to the first answer. Also, you can’t go overseas too early, but there are many practical limitations at play in that.

Zak: If Inkster thinks it was going to be smart to keep the Korda sisters separate, I 100 percent trust that. That being said, it was hard to see other obvious decisions for her in the pairings, so perhaps she should have just made that obvious one. Thankfully, she doesn’t care about our second-guessing.

Wall: I like the idea of leaving a stronger player at the back in a competition when there’s a chance it’ll come down to the final few matches. No offense to Morgan Pressel, but I would’ve preferred a more in-form anchor. That’s nitpicking. Overall, I think Juli did one hell of a job on foreign soil.

Dethier: I know Danielle Kang is a gamer, wanted to go out first in singles and I definitely appreciate Inkster sending her out in that position — but it was a bit of a vulnerable spot for a player who had faced an onslaught of tabloid aggression all week. She might have felt somewhat more comfortable with Americans on either side of her Sunday. (Note: This is rampant speculation, as she easily could have won her match and the storyline would be the opposite.)

3. Slow play was a major talker all week, as groups were put on the clock and one player even received a bad time (yet no player ever received a DQ from a hole). Are you OK with team exhibitions like this being played at a slower pace, or is there more (or less?) reason for them to be policed like regular Tour events?

Bamberger: I think teams would play better by playing faster. These are players not accustomed to having a lot of chit-chat analysis from playing partners, and now suddenly they do. So, yes, play faster and enforce the rules exactly as they are written.

Zak: I’m OK with four-balls taking longer (to an extent). There are inherent advantages in seeing your opponent’s result, so I understand it. Also, all that slow play came during whipping winds and tough conditions. I’m going to walk the line and remind us that it’s all relative.

Wall: I don’t have a problem with pace of play in a team competition. There are times where playing faster or slower is pure gamesmanship. I think it’s the only arena in golf where I give everyone a pass. Playing for your country is an entirely different beast.

Dethier: I was watching on Sunday and thinking how if there was something like a shot clock, it would take away from these crucial moments where players take time and tension builds, much like a closer gathering himself with the tying run on base late in a baseball game. Yeah, faster would be better, especially early on in the match. But I don’t mind the drawn-out drama later on. My position sounds difficult to legislate, though.

4. Suzann Pettersen sounded like she had made up her mind regarding her future following Sunday’s win. “I’m completely done,” she said, announcing her retirement from pro golf. Given Pettersen was less than an hour removed from draining one of the most important birdie putts of her life, was this the greatest golf retirement ever?

Bamberger: Absolutely! The only thing better would have been saying nothing and just walking away.

Zak: No doubt the greatest. She absolutely pured that putt, just a few minutes after nearly holing out with a wedge from the fairway. Chances are you’ve done that on the 18th before signing your amateur scorecard. There is no greater feeling than playing perfect golf before ending your day, and she did it on one of the biggest stages in the world! Bravo.

Wall: Of course! It’s nearly impossible to top what I’d consider to be the ultimate mic drop. The only thing that would’ve surpassed it is if Tiger had done something similar after his Masters win.

Dethier: Many of these players acknowledge that the Solheim Cup is their most meaningful event. With that in mind, a moment like that would represent the peak of most players’ careers! Very literally retiring on top. We’ll see if she stays retired, but that’s one hell of a mic drop.

5. Tiger Woods signed off on a recent Presidents Cup blog post as “Playing Captain,” which raised a few eyebrows in the golf world, although it turns out he’s been signing his name that way in his Presidents Cup blogs since April. Still, is this development nothing, or something?

Bamberger: I was not aware of the sign-off until this week. I take it literally.

Zak: I also take it literally. I think it would be a very weird look for him to do that for more than six months and then back off the decision in November.

Wall: Something. Why else would he continue to sign off that way even after the recent procedure? I still think he’s playing.

Dethier: He’s playing. But just remember how many of you had jumped off the ship after his Northern Trust WD. With Woods, we never know much — and things change fast.

6. To the surprise of some, Rory McIlroy won PGA Tour Player of the Year. McIlroy and Brooks Koepka were deemed the front-runners, but McIlroy won the player vote to win the award for the third time. Koepka has long spoken out about slow play on Tour, admits he doesn’t pay much attention to golf history and even said he doesn’t really practice for non-majors. How much, if at all, do you suppose Koepka’s candor/personality hurt him in the vote among his peers?

Bamberger: I don’t think anybody would really argue that Rory’s resume was better, but he won a big boatload of PGA Tour money and that of course is going to impress the fellas. Overwhelm them, really. I imagine that the players like Koepka — he’s a straight-shooter, not a pol, and isn’t that refreshing? — but he’s different, and different scares people. So I think that might have cost him some votes. Also, if he did vote, he likely didn’t vote for himself (per his comments to Dan Patrick last year) and that might have made the difference. #releasetheresults! I’d suggest the Tour takes its cues here from what it does every week. Those scorecards are not simply trusted to be accurate, as people so often and incorrectly say. They are vetted by the other players, the caddies, sometimes spectators. Big Brother is watching those cards! And that’s why there is broad faith in the scores, in addition to the idea of golf being a game of honor, which it is. In that spirit, it would be appropriate, and actually add to the fun of the debate, to see the results. Yes, that might lead to some embarrassment, depending on how it plays out, but one of the points of these postseason awards is to give us fans something to discuss and debate.

Zak: I suppose it had something to do with the vote. Everything? No. Rory put up a great season. But something tells me if Rory McIlroy’s 2018-19 achievements were listed next to, say, the name of Xander Schauffele, Koepka is winning POY. The bottom line here is that people love the Rors.

Wall: I’m fairly certain it played a role in the decision. The award isn’t a popularity contest. It should NEVER come down to who’s the nicer guy. It should always take into account a player’s performance in the majors — something the POY ballot curiously omitted. I think the award lost a bit of its luster this year.

Dethier: I think the way the ballot stressed PGA Tour wins and made the majors essentially equal to other Tour events had an effect. Some Tour players are aware of player resumes and tune in to our analyses week by week. Others stay far, far away and wouldn’t know much about Koepka’s year versus McIlroy’s. So framing is important, and Koepka’s snubbing of typical Tour events hurt him. I don’t think it was his candor or personality that swung the vote — it was his results, and the way they were presented. We think of the majors differently than the PGA Tour does, which is why we generally think Koepka should have won Player of the Year. Under that framework, maybe we and the Tour are both right in our own ways.

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Suzann Pettersen could hardly catch her breath minutes after she made the biggest Solheim Cup putt in years. Yet her thoughts were far from cluttered.

“This is it. This is the last you’ll see of me playing in the Solheim,” she said. “I can’t express it any better. I mean to hole the winning putt, for the winning putt. Nothing beats the Solheim Cup in my career.”

Pettersen was an unconventional captain’s pick for the 2019 European Solheim Cup team. At 38, she’s played in just three stroke-play events in the last two years, mostly due to her new role as a mom.

“Yeah, I think this is a perfect closure — the end for my, at least, Solheim career, and also a nice ‘The end’ for my professional career,” Pettersen said in the media center, about an hour after her birdie putt clinched Europe’s epic comeback. “It doesn’t get any better. And to do it with these girls, I never thought I was going to be here four months ago until I met [captain Catriona Matthew] this summer. And to have the confidence from [her] to give me the go, yeah, this is it. I’m completely done.”

Pettersen was 1-1-0 after two days of the Solheim Cup and was in the 10th of 12 matches on Sunday against American Marina Alex. Pettersen’s 2-up lead was erased when Alex won the 13th and 14th, but Pettersen’s wedge and clutch birdie on 18 gave her a 1-up win and ultimately decided the Cup.

“She’s been one of the trailblazers in European women’s golf,” Matthew said. “I think we’ve played on maybe seven, eight Solheim Cups together. So, just been a huge part of women’s golf and the Solheim Cup. It’s such a special moment for her. If this happens to be her last moment in professional golf, well, may as well go out at the top.”

Pettersen was peppered with follow-up questions in the press room, yet she didn’t waver about her future.

“Now I know what it feels like to win as a mom,” she said. “I’m going to leave it like that.”

This Solheim Cup was so riveting neither team deserved to lose. Alas, there is no room for sentiment in the history books — or in our grading. Without further ado, here’s the bottom line on all 24 players and both captains.

United States grades

Nelly Korda (3-0-1): A+

The 21-year-old rookie was a rockstar, lifting the Americans with her superb play and buoyant team spirit. It’s not an accident that Nelly was sent out second in singles, and she put the crucial first point on the board for the U.S. while the other early starters stumbled. She will be a cornerstone for the next couple of decades.

Jessica Korda (3-0-1): A+

She got her kid sis off to a good start by guiding her to a dominating Friday foursomes victory, and Jessica’s veteran leadership never stopped, including a singles win that pushed the U.S. ahead after a sluggish start. Her goofy dancing on the first tee on Saturday morning was symbolic of how Korda set the tone for the Americans who were joyous and loosey-goosey…until the last half hour of singles.

Brittany Altomare (2-1-1): A

The birdie machine made a stellar Solheim debut, notably leading a comeback in Friday foursomes to steal a momentum-shifting halve and then making the winning birdie in a taut Saturday four-ball match against Euro powerhouses Pettersen and van Dam. Her blowout win in the ninth singles match was a strong statement.

Angel Yin (2-1-0): A

The long-hitting rookie was a huge part of the tone-setting 7-and-5 Friday four-ball win, and she took down the red-hot A. Munoz in the massively important fifth singles match. Yin is a tender 20 years old, meaning her power game is going to enliven many future Cups.

Lizette Salas (2-2-0): B

The wily vet showed a ton of heart by shaking off an 0-2 start to come back and put two crucial points on the board, including a gritty 1-up singles victory over van Dam that looked for a while like it would key a U.S. victory.

Morgan Pressel (1-1-1): B-

The captain’s pick was terrific in team play but ran into a red-hot Nordqvist in the anchor singles match. Was this the sixth and final Cup for the 31-year old grinder? Maybe, but she will certainly get the nod as a captain someday.

Marina Alex (1-1-2): B-

Can’t imagine a more brutal position for a rookie, having to play the baddest woman on the planet (S. Pettersen) with the Solheim Cup on the line. Alex summoned plenty of clutch shots but, in the final analysis, had a 12-footer on the final hole to retain the Cup and missed it on the low side. She’ll be thinking about that putt for the rest of her life…if not longer.

Annie Park (1-2-0): C+

The 24-year-old was solid in partner play but got her clock cleaned by Celine Boutier in the fourth singles match.

Ally McDonald (1-3-0): C

Another bad beat for a Solheim rookie, who was a last-minute replacement for the injured Stacy Lewis. She’s never won an LPGA tournament but was thrust into a do-or-die position in the 11th singles match against feisty Bronte Law. Bogeys on three of the last six holes sealed McDonald’s fate — and the Americans’.

Megan Khang (0-2-1): C-

The 21-year-old rookie salvaged her entire Solheim by winning the 18th hole in a singles match versus Charley Hull, stealing a halve in the sixth match that looked like it might be monumental.

Lexi Thompson (0-2-2): D

After three previous star turns at the Cup the U.S.’s most decorated player looked jumpy and jittery all week, especially on the greens. Tweaking her back on the range before her singles match added injury to insult.

Danielle Kang (1-3-0): F

Her press conference woofing added a big buzz to the Cup but, rather than embracing the heel turn, she seemed intimidated and overwhelmed by the inevitable blowback. Captain Inkster still showed a lot of confidence in her U.S. Open champ by sending her out first in singles but Kang wilted at the finish in a dispiriting loss.

Captain Juli Inkster: B-

Her dedication to resting players meant the red-hot Korda sisters each got benched for a session, an eminently second-guessable choice in such a taut Cup. Worse was having untested rookies in the 10 and 11 spots in singles; when the Cup came down to those matches Inkster’s choices couldn’t deliver.

Europe grades

Suzann Pettersen (2-1-0): A++

As a captain’s pick who has hardly played over the last year following the birth of her son, Pettersen was already on the hot seat. To deliver the Cup to Europe with a walk-off birdie is simply legendary.

Céline Boutier (4-0-0): A+

What a debut for the sweet-swinging 25-year-old! Her defeat of Annie Park in the fourth singles match helped apply a ton of early pressure on the U.S.

Georgia Hall (4-0-0): A+

The 2018 Women’s British Open champ continues to see her star rise. Only 23, Hall is going to be a Solheim force for a long, long time. Sorry, Yanks.

Bronte Law (1-1-2): A

She was searching for her game all week and finally found it when it mattered most, gutting out a monumental singles victory that set up Pettersen’s heroics. This supremely confident 24 year old from England (who went 5-0 at the ’16 Curtis Cup) is on the verge of becoming the Ian Poulter of the Solheim Cup.

Charley Hull (2-0-2): A-

The feisty Englishwoman made a mess of the 18th hole in singles to gift a half point to Khang, and for a while that loomed large. In the end, what matters is the three points Hull put on the board as she continues to emerge as Europe’s emotional tone-setter.

Azahara Muñoz (2-2-1): B+

The Spanish veteran provided so much leadership in partner play but got dusted by Yin in singles. It was nice to have her back in the matches after she missed out in 2017.

Carlota Ciganda (1-2-2): B+

Her takedown of Kang in the opening singles match set the table for Europe. Not coincidentally, it kept Ciganda undefeated in singles in four Solheim appearances.

Anna Nordqvist (1-2-0): B+

Playing in her sixth straight Cup, the Swedish vet redeemed two previous singles losses to Pressel when it mattered most, in the 12th and final match. What a warrior.

Anne van Dam (1-3): C

The much ballyhooed rookie seemed to always be in the middle of the action but she struggled to justify the hype. Her debut ended in tears with a bad bogey on the 17th hole and a disappointing birdie miss on 18 in a singles loss to Salas.

Caroline Masson (0-2-1), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (0-2-1) and Caroline Hedwall (0-2-0): C-

All three players struggled mightily but since Europe won no harm no foul.

Captain Catriona Matthew: A+

Choosing the mostly retired Pettersen could have been the most second-guessable captain’s pick in Solheim history but clearly Matthew knew what she was doing. And she juggled her singles lineup perfectly, making sure her grittiest players were in position to bring home the Cup.

One half point was all America needed.

Lizette Salas was down early but led Europe’s Anne van Dam late, and when van Dam missed her birdie putt on the 18th the U.S. led Europe 13.5-11.5, meaning the Americans, with three matches left on the course, were just a half point away from retaining the Solheim Cup — one half point.

Thirty minutes later, much had changed in Scotland.

Anna Nordqvist finally finished off Morgan Pressel to win her match, Bronte Law played lights out late to win hers and veteran Suzann Pettersen struck the final blow in the form of a cold-blooded dagger. A stunning and epic finish, all of which happened in less than 30 minutes, had taken place in western Scotland.

Pettersen’s birdie on the 18th, an uphill 8-footer to beat Marina Alex, gave Europe a 14.5-13.5 victory and its first win in the event since 2013. Pettersen dropped her putter, bent her knees and threw her arms into the air as her teammates rushed the green. The comeback was complete. Had she missed, it would have been a tie, and the Americas would have kept the Cup.

“I mean, can you ask for more?” Pettersen said. “The last putt to win the Cup, when it’s that close? History was just made.”

The drama unfolded slowly on Sunday at Gleneagles.

Tied 8-8 heading into the final day of the Solheim Cup, America and Europe traded blows as the scoreboard started to scatter U.S. red and European blue. U.S. captain Juli Inkster, in classic Juli Inkster fashion, said it perfectly: “The math is simple.” Whichever team won the majority of the 12 singles matches won the Solheim Cup.

As matches finished, the race started to take shape, but the result was far from clear. When American Angel Yin closed out Azahara Munoz 2 and 1 it tied the match 11-11 (three wins for the U.S. and three for Europe) yet the six matches remaining were still split — three in favor of the U.S. and three for Europe.

Jessica Korda put the next point on the board for the U.S. All square through 11 against Caroline Masson, Korda won 12 and 13 with birdies, lost the 14th and then won the 15th and 16th — the finishing touch a birdie putt to win the match 3 and 2 and put the U.S. up 12-11. Megan Khang and Charley Hull then halved their match. Hull birdied the par-5 16th to take a 1-up lead, but Khang answered with a birdie on 18 to tie the match and earn a half point each.

Salas’ pivotal point came shortly later. It made it 13.5-11.5 in favor of the U.S., meaning the Americans, with three matches left on the course, were just a half point away from retaining the Cup. Inkster was minutes away from her third straight Solheim Cup win, and America, with six rookies, was on the verge of winning on away soil and in Scotland for the first time … but that celebration never came.

Nordqvist was well in control of her match with American Morgan Pressel and eventually won 4 and 3, making it the first time the Swede beat Pressel in three Solheim Cup singles matches. That cut the lead to one point.

Two matches were left on the course. Law and Ally McDonald were all square through 15, and Pettersen and Alex were all square through 17. Law struck first. She birdied the 16th to go 1 up and then found the green on the par-3 17th as McDonald hit into the bunker behind the green.

Up ahead Pettersen missed the fairway on the par-5 18th, but both players laid up and had wedges into the green. Alex hit her approach to about 15 feet, but Pettersen landed hers behind the hole, and it almost went in as it spun back. But the stakes were raised before Pettersen would get her chance to putt. McDonald failed to get up and down from the bunker and made bogey, losing 2 and 1 to Law and tying the match at 13.5 apiece. Alex missed her birdie putt. Pettersen did not.

“You know what, Suzann made a great putt,” Inkster said. “And you know, the Solheim Cup doesn’t come down to that putt, but she made it today.”

Pettersen’s teammates rushed the green when she sunk the putt as the U.S. roster watched in disbelief.

Pettersen, for what it’s worth, took an unlikely path to this Solheim Cup. She’s 38 and was one of four captain’s picks. Due to the birth of her first child she’s played in just three stroke-play events in the last two years. She found closure on Sunday, saying she is now retiring.

“The end for my, at least, Solheim career, and also a nice ‘The end’ for professional career,” she said. “It doesn’t get any better.”

Sunday singles results

Carlota Ciganda (EUR) def. Danielle Kang 1 up
Nelly Korda (USA) def. Caroline Hedwall 2 up
Georgia Hall (EUR) def. Lexi Thompson 2 and 1
Celine Boutier (EUR) def. Annie Park 2 and 1
Angel Yin (USA) def. Azahara Munoz 2 and 1
Megan Khang (USA) and Charley Hull, halved
Lizette Salas (USA) def. Anne van Dam 1 up
Jessica Korda (USA) def. Caroline Masson 3 and 2
Brittany Altomare (USA) def. Jodi Ewart Shadoff 5 and 4
Suzann Pettersen (EUR) def. Marina Alex 1 up
Bronte Law (EUR) def. Ally McDonald 2 and 1
Anna Nordqvist (EUR) def. Morgan Pressel 4 and 3

Things are heating up in the prelude to the Solheim Cup, which begins on Friday at Gleneagles in Scotland. Earlier this week, Team USA’s Danielle Kang made headlines when she described what it’s like to compete in a Solheim Cup on GOLF.com’s Drop Zone Podcast.

“You’re trying to take souls, you know,” Kang said with a smile. “You’re going there to make people cry at this point, just crush the other team. That’s the fun of it. We don’t ever get to do that. We’re always alone. We’re always by ourselves, playing for us and our caddie and our own little team. To have another person to understand what you feel when you hit a bad shot and to do it together, I just think that’s pretty incredible.”

During a press conference with European captain’s picks Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Suzann Pettersen, the women were asked about Kang’s “fighting talk” about “taking souls and making rivals cry,” and how comments like that have gone down in the team room.

Ewart Shadoff was the first to answer. “I think it’s just extra motivation, really, for us,” she said. “I don’t think there will be any tears on our team, just happiness.”

But then Pettersen closed with quite a kicker. “And we’re just going to step on their necks.”

Laughter ensued, and Pettersen’s retort was clearly all in good fun. But history has shown that Pettersen is also a fierce competitor. She was selected as a captain’s pick for Team Europe despite the fact that she has only made four competitive starts this year, after taking a year and a half off for the birth of her first child.

The 38-year-old is No. 4 on the all-time European team Solheim Cup points list with 19, and has a career record of 16-11-6. Pettersen was also at the center of the 2015 Solheim Cup controversy involving Alison Lee. During a closely contested Saturday morning fourball match, Lee missed a birdie putt that would have won the hole for the Americans, then picked up the two-foot putt that was left, believing it was conceded. Pettersen said it was not, and Europe won both the hole and the match. Both Lee and Pettersen’s partner, Charley Hull, were in tears afterward. The Americans ultimately staged a dramatic comeback to win the Cup a day later, and Pettersen issued an apology via Instagram for her role in the controversy on the Monday after the match ended.

Team USA is seeking a third straight Solheim Cup victory this weekend. Team Europe has not won at home since 2011 at Kileen Castle Golf Resort in Ireland.

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