The start of Saturday at the Solheim Cup saw an even session with Europe and the U.S. each taking home two points apiece.
It was foursomes once again in the first session of the day and both teams ended up winning two matches each.
Therefore, Europe still trails the U.S. Team by two points with the Americans leading by a score line of 7-5 at Finca Cortesin.
Emily Kristine Pedersen/Carlota Ciganda def. Lilia Vu/Jennifer Kupcho 2&1
In the first match of day two, Carlota Ciganda and Emily Kristine Pedersen were fired up from the start, notching the lead with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 to go 2-up.
Jennifer Kupcho tied the match with her putt at No. 8, after struggling with her putter through the first seven holes. Europe regained the match lead on No. 10 after Ciganda’s birdie putt was short enough for a conceded par to win the hole.
With Europe 2-up heading to the 15th tee, the U.S. team attempted a comeback after a clutch birdie putt on No. 15, but it was to no avail, as Ciganda and Pedersen came out on top, 2 and 1, to add another full point to the European total.
“I’m very happy to play here in Spain,” said Ciganda. “I think it’s really nice. That first tee, it’s so nice. I feel like I am in a disco dancing. The atmosphere is really nice.
“I want to play with Emily. I think we had a great pairing for foursomes, for fourballs. We hit it pretty similar. Off the tee, she’s just great. She’s been amazing. I tried to make a few putts and we played very consistently. In foursomes, they made a few mistakes and we just took advantage, so very happy to get that point for Europe.”
Lexi Thompson/Megan Khang def. Anna Nordqvist/Leona Maguire 1 Up
The European duo of Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire led the majority of the front nine in their match with Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang.
But the Americans kept things tight, never letting their opponents pull clear by more than two holes. Maguire’s bogey putt at No. 9 pulled the Americans back within one, and another European bogey at No. 10 brought the match back to even.
The U.S. Team grabbed its first lead when Thompson put her birdie putt to tap-in range, going 1-up with the conceded par. The back-nine was all Team United States taking the 1-up lead and holding it for six of the last eight holes, securing the win for the Americans.
“This week is just purely adrenaline,” said Khang. “If you feel like you’re tired, you forget about it because the crowd’s right there picking you up. You have your partner looking at you going ‘let’s go’. Lexi is literally ‘come on, we can do it’. I’m like, I can do it. My little legs can keep up.”
Nelly Korda/Allisen Corpuz def. Georgia Hall/Celine Boutier 5&3
The American duo of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz got off to a hot start on Saturday morning, with Korda winning the first two holes with birdies to build a 2-up lead.
They extended the advantage to 3 up when Corpuz dropped a par putt at No. 7 after Celine Boutier drained a long bogey putt, forcing the Americans to win the hole outright.
Korda and Corpuz extended the lead to 5 up with a par at No. 13, but Hall won the 14th with a 15-foot birdie putt to stay alive. Two holes later, Korda sealed the 5-and-3 victory with a 25-foot birdie putt, punctuated by a big fist pump.
Korda explained: “Allisen and I just played really well the past two days. I think we just bonded really well on the golf course. We didn’t make too many mistakes, especially today, and we rolled in a lot of putts.”
“Nelly is really calm, which is kind of what I need,” said Corpuz. “I play pretty low energy. Obviously, she has the experience as well. So just knowing that having someone like her by my side has helped me a lot to get comfortable.”
Maja Stark/Linn Grant def. Danielle Kang/Andrea Lee 1 Up
It was the Swedish twosome of Maja Stark and Linn Grant that would strike first going 1-up on the first hole where it would be held for the first three holes.
The Americans, Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee, kept the pressure on the Swedes tying the match up on 4 where it stayed until 8. Grant sunk a clutch birdie putt for a quick one-hole lead before the U.S. tied it right back up again.
Finding themselves 1-down on 12, Kang sunk a winning putt met with roars from the U.S. fans and praise with Captain Stacy Lewis and Vice Captain Natalie Gulbis.
Back and forth the match went with Europe taking 1-up leads on 13 and 15 before Stark took the air out of the Americans sails with a go-ahead birdie putt on 17. With the Americans looking to force a tie, Grant was not going to let that happen sinking her own birdie putt to clinch the point for Team Europe.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Stark. “It’s so much fun, especially getting that confidence growing with Suzann putting us together. I mean, two rookies, that’s got to be a little hard for her to be out in the first group yesterday.
“I think there were a lot of nerves involved yesterday on the first few holes and then getting to play with her again it’s just amazing and I knew that we could do it. It was just letting loose and just doing it.”
Grant added: “It was amazing. The last two holes we play here, there’s so much momentum. The putt Maja holed on 17, bringing us in, amazing. I’m just excited right now.”
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