The 2026 Solheim Cup got underway this morning with thousands of fans packed into the grandstand on the first tee in Cromvoirt, The Netherlands.
Europe and the U.S. Teams opened the competition with the morning foursomes at Bernardus Golf and the teams each ended the session with two points apiece.
Allisen Corpuz/Nelly Korda (U.S.) def. Charley Hull/Lottie Woad (EUR), 4&3
In the highly anticipated first match of the day, the English duo of Hull and Woad opened with a birdie to go 1 up after the first hole, but the Americans bounced back with a birdie of their own on the second.
Major champions Corpuz and Korda then won three consecutive holes with a par and birdies on holes six, seven and eight to be 3 up at the turn. The U.S. pushed further ahead winning the 12th and 13th holes to be 5 up.
Europe clawed one back on the 14th thanks to a birdie from close-range, but it wasn’t enough as the Americans sealed a 4&3 win on the 15th hole.
Speaking about her playing partner, world number one Korda said: “She’s just so solid. Honestly, I enjoy playing with her so much. We have a lot of fun out there. Our caddies have so much fun out there. Yeah, it’s just, she’s just such a solid player. It’s really good to look rely on her and it’s also fun.”
Corpuz added: “I always make the joke to Nelly, like, it’s so nice to be 30 yards ahead of where I would be on my own drive, it just makes the hole so much easier, I think. It’s so much fun out here. I love the Solheim Cup, I love being out here.”
Alison Lee/Lauren Coughlin (U.S.) def. Nanna Koerstz Madsen/Céline Boutier (EUR), 3&2
European duo of Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Céline Boutier took the lead in the second match after making a birdie on the third hole, but the U.S. tied it up on the sixth hole after Europe found water.
The U.S. went 1 up on the reachable par-four eighth before extending their lead on the 10th after Coughlin walked in her eagle putt and then again on the 13th hole. Both teams found water on the par-three 15th hole with Europe reducing the deficit but the U.S. won the next hole to seal a 3&2 victory.
Lee said: “It was great. This is the first time we’re paired together in the Solheim Cup. I feel like this whole morning we just played super consistent. We just kept it in the fairway, kept it on the greens, gave each other birdie chances when we could. I’m just really happy with how we performed.”
Esther Henseleit/Leona Maguire (EUR) def. Andrea Lee/Lindy Duncan (U.S.), 2 Up
It was a fast start for Europe with Henseleit and Maguire making birdies on their opening two holes to be 2 up after three holes. Every time the U.S. tried to make in-roads on the score, the Europeans would then fight back to maintain their advantage.
In the closing holes, Europe went back to 2 up after the 14th hole and they tied the 15th to be 2 up with three to play. The U.S. made a par on the par-five 16th to win that hole, a tied hole on 17th saw the quartet head up the 18th where Europe handled the pressure to secure the point.
With her win, Maguire improved her Solheim Cup record to 9-3-1, which is the highest winning percentage for a European player in the history of the competition.
Maguire said: “I’ve been just very fortunate to have great partners as well a lot of those points have come from foursomes matches and four-ball matches. We had incredible support out here. There was a lot of Irish flags and German flags, and they were really spurring us on, especially when that weather got bad and miserable, it was that extra little bit we needed to grind it out.”
Maja Stark/Linn Grant (EUR) def. Rose Zhang/Jennifer Kupcho (U.S.), 3&2
Swedish duo Maja Stark and Linn Grant raced into a lead early on at Bernardus with birdies on the second, third and sixth holes. Europe made a crucial par on the seventh to be 4 up and then Grant holed out from the bunker on the ninth to be 4 up at the turn.
Zhang and Kupcho fought back on the back nine with an eagle at the 10th before a birdie on the 11th to be 2 down through 11. After the Americans found the water on 15, Europe went 3 up and a par on the 16th was enough for the Swedes to clinch a 3&2 victory.
Grant said: “We had a great time. I told Maja this morning on the first tee, since I didn’t hit the first shot, I was just so calm and collected and I really enjoyed my time. I just told her let’s just go out and have a really fun day and just try to do our best and hopefully, we’ll get into some kind of zone.”
Keep up to date with all the action during the 2026 Solheim Cup from September 11-13 at Bernardus Golf on our socials – @SolheimCupEuro and @TheSolheimCup.
