Putting truly is the name of the Solheim Cup game. Maja Stark’s putts were dropping left and right all day; it’s no surprise she is 3-0-0 this week. And can you name a more crowd-pleasing putter than Carlota Ciganda? Both of their fist pumps will be immortalized in photos.
It was also two putts in the final match – on the last two holes – that changed the momentum of the day.
Team Europe started the morning strong, winning the Saturday Foursomes session 3-1. The Swedes – Linn Grant and Stark – became the first duo to defeat Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz in this format. Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit finished 1 UP on the 18th hole against Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang. This was Maguire’s record-breaking 10th match play win in the shortest amount of time at the Solheim Cup. And the rookie pairing making headlines? Yes, Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes continued their winning streak this afternoon, winning 4&3 against Andrea Lee and Auston Kim and became the first rookie duo to win their first two matches.
The only American point from this morning came from Lauren Coughlin and Alison Lee’s 6&5 win over Charley Hull and Lottie Woad. This is Hull’s biggest defeat in her Solheim Cup career. Alison Lee joked about her involvement, saying, “To be fair, Lauren [Coughlin] played some incredible golf today. I just felt like all I did was sit in the passenger seat. I just was kind of there and participated when I could.”
Despite Alison Lee’s comment today, she remains 3-0 this week. Coughlin also remains undefeated at 5-0-2, making her the winningest player in Solheim Cup history who has played at least five matches.
All that to say, most of Team Europe was feeling good after the morning run and was ready for the afternoon Fourball session. Stark and GHowever, the Americans came back with a vengeance, painting the scoreboard red. Zhang and Kim went 1 UP in the third match on the third hole and never looked back, ultimately winning 4&3. Zhang two-putted for birdie on the reachable 16th par-5.
Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee followed a similar pattern and finished 1UP on the 18th hole. After Woad birdied the 17th hole to give Europe a chance at halving the point, Hull hit her tee shot into the water. Woad missed her birdie putt, giving Noh two putts to win. Noh’s four birdies today brought her birdies or better total up to 13, the most any Solheim Cup player has made in Fourball (the next player[s] has 10).
While Load and Hull were the first pairing to ever play all four sessions together in one Solheim Cup, they are also the first to individually play all four sessions and earn less than a point. Coughlin also joined the list of players who compete in all sessions, but her point contribution this week was much higher.
Coughlin unfortunately experienced her first lost today. Paired with Megan Khang, Coughlin’s three birdies were not enough to hold off the Swedes. Stark and Grant’s combined five birdies were enough to win the match 2&1.
At this point, Team Europe earned one point in the afternoon and Team USA had two. The final match of the day – between Ciganda / Boutier and Kupcho / Lindy Duncan – looked like the Ciganda Show. She made five birdies (and almost two more on the final holes). After two European water balls on the 15th hole, the momentum started to shift as Team Europe was only 1 UP. Both teams birdied the 16th hole, and then Kupcho’s drive on the 17th was off to the right in the brush behind a tree.
Her approach shot immediately elicited “Fores” from all around the green, though her ball ultimately stopped at the far back right side of the green. Duncan had a pin-high putt that was fairly far and left of the hole while both Ciganda and Boutier left themselves decent birdie opportunities. Kupcho was the furthest and, as match play dictates, had to go first. As her 91-foot putt started down the second tier of the green and began lilting right, everyone held their breath as it stayed on track. When it dropped for birdie, the U.S. Team, which had congregated to watch the last match, erupted. Everyone was running, including Duncan, who jumped and threw her putter before joining her team in celebration.
“Walking up to the green, honestly, I just thought, okay, during all these practice rounds, I’d just get up and whack it,” recalled Kupcho. “So I really didn’t read it. I was like, we’ll just give it a run, make sure we get it there, but what the heck it went in. That was insane.”
Captain Angela Stanford said, “I’ve never seen anything like that. The putt on 17, you’re like, okay, it’s golf. But, like, is she going to make that putt – if you drop 10 balls back there, she may never even make that putt again. It’s just one of those things. And in that environment, it just makes it so much special, so much more special.”
After calming themselves, Kupcho and Duncan headed to the 18th tee all square with the Europeans. Both Ciganda and Boutier’s birdie putts missed on the 17th, and then Boutier’s tee shot on the 18th went in the water. The remaining three players hit onto the green, with Duncan going first and barely missing her birdie putt from 40 or so feet away. Ciganda was next, and her ball was a centimeter shy of dropping, which is typical form for Ciganda in the Solheim Cup – she’s known for her clutch putting and has demonstrated it many times already. Then it was Kupcho’s turn. Her 20-foot birdie putt popped right in, giving the U.S. a third point in the afternoon session and a tied overall score heading into the Singles.
For the first time, there was silence on the golf course – besides the shouts of excitement from Team USA, of course. Team Europe immediately huddled around Ciganda and Boutier, with Captain Anna Nordqvist seen presumably giving a pep talk.
Nordqvist later told the media, “I think we’ve had a good plan all week, sticking to it. I think the atmosphere in the team room’s been amazing all week. We’ve done a lot of preparations. So, yeah, I mean, you create an environment for the players to go out and thrive in. We’ve had an amazing team of helpers and everyone around the players keeping the spirits and making it possible for the players to just focus on the golf. So I think we’re all excited. Tomorrow is going to be another long day, but this is the moments that we live for.”
With the Singles matches teeing off at 11:10am local time, check out the pairings and the streaming times.
In the meantime, Fairway to Green’s Kelly Okun had a chance to ask Kupcho and Duncan, who share the same mental coach, what he would tell them in regards to resetting for tomorrow after ending on such a high today. Kupcho said, “It’s a new day. Go out there and get it.” Duncan added, ” And sleep is so huge. Sleep is a main priority.” We have no doubt both Teams are in bed after such a long day.
