What a close Solheim Cup! With both Team Europe and Team USA coming into the final day of matches – Singles – tied at 8-8, the momentum could have gone to either side. Team Europe started off strong despite the heavy rain, and while the U.S. made some headway, it wasn’t enough to catch the home team. Team Europe won 15-13.
Let’s start with the European domination. In the first match, Charley Hull took on Megan Khang. If Team USA wanted to keep the momentum going from Jennifer Kupcho’s putts last night, Khang was the perfect choice to go off first. Her first tee energy is inimitable. However, Hull kicked off the match 1 UP on the first hole and birdied the 16th hole to close out the match 3&2.
Though Hull and Lottie Woad went 0-3-1 in Friday and Saturday’s matches, they – along with Carlota Ciganda – actually were in the top four for most birdies this week.
Anna Nordqvist explained, “So what most people don’t understand is the best golfers in the world are competing in these two days, and Lottie and Charley played really good golf and the U.S. just played a little bit better.”
Hull also added, “I just told myself just play like I did the last two days, because tee to green I was playing really well. I was hitting good putts and they just weren’t dropping. And I played really good again tee to green and they still weren’t really dropping today, probably saving them all for the next Solheim Cup.”
In the third match, Linn Grant went up against Angel Yin. Despite Yin’s early win, Grant’s consistent playing allowed her to rack up wins. Though Yin’s par on the 14th hole kept her alive, Grant’s birdie putt on the par-3 15th hole led to her victory 4&3.
The next three European points came from Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Nastasia Nadaud and Julia Lopez Ramirez.
Nordqvist said, “Nanna came out really hot today. It was nice to see her smiling. Her and the other three girls that sat out yesterday afternoon, they came to the first tee. They were the ones in the grandstand laughing and cheering and they were really good teammates. And if we look back at the week, that’s one of the moments I’m going to remember most because that’s what a good teammate is to me.”
Koerstz Madsen’s early birdies kept Allisen Corpuz at bay while Nadaud started 1 Down to Andrea Lee before finding her stride. Like Hull, she birdied the 16th hole to win 3&2. Yealimi Noh actually led her match for Team USA for the first 6 holes before Lopez Ramirez flipped the script. A couple birdies – including yet another one on Hole 16 to win 3&2 – kept her lead in place.
Before we get to the winning points, let’s dive into Team USA’s play. The most exciting match had to be Alison Lee’s against Esther Henseleit. Alison Lee was 4 Down through 11, but her luck changed on the 12th. She began making her putts. With four birdies in six holes, Alison Lee had the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history, going 1 UP on the 17th hole and tying the 18th to win the point for Team USA.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda went up against Solheim Cup rookie Mimi Rhodes today. There was some back and forth the first few holes before Korda locked in. She was 4 UP through 14 when Rhodes made a birdie on the 15th hole to stay alive. But Korda’s birdie on the 16th sealed the deal, 4&2.
Three more points came in for Team USA before the official end of the day. By this point, Team Europe had already won the Solheim Cup, but all the matches were to be played out for personal recordkeeping. Lauren Coughlin had a close match Leona Maguire while rookie Lindy Duncan had a dominating performance over Maja Stark. Coughlin birdied the 17th hole in front of the largest crowds beyond the first tee to win 3&1. Rose Zhang beat Celine Boutier 2 UP on the 18th hole after a tie that lasted 9 holes. Boutier had the advantage for one hole – Hole 10 – before Zhang made them all square again on the 11th. She eagled the 16th hole and birdied the 18th to win the final U.S. point.
Now let’s go back to the matches where the Solheim Cup was won in real time. Carlota Ciganda and Jennifer Kupcho were on the 15th tee while Lottie Woad and Auston Kim extended the match on the 16th and headed to the 17th tee. Ciganda hit it close on the par-3, giving herself a chance to birdie and close out her match. After just missing, Ciganda went to 16, and the opportunity to win came to Woad on the 17th.
Funnily enough, Woad miscounted the holes won by the Europeans on the leaderboard, so while she knew she could win her match on the 17th hole, she didn’t realize it’d be THE point needed to bring the Solheim Cup back to Europe. She left her first putt short, and while Kim made a strong attempt at birdie, Woad sunk her 2-footer to end the match. Nordqvist quickly ran out, followed by the rest of the players who had finished, to hug her and celebrate their win.
Shortly after, Ciganda birdied the 16th hole to win 4&2. She stayed behind to give autographs, and by the time the other matches wrapped up, everyone was on the 18th hole popping champagne and celebrating the Europeans’ victory. Team USA congratulated the team and exchanged hugs with everyone before making a quick appearance at the trophy ceremony and respectfully bowing out. Before leaving, we heard Korda congratulating Ciganda, calling her “Mrs. Solheim.” We couldn’t think of a better title ourselves – Ciganda truly does shine at this event, especially when she said, “This is why I play golf.”
Based on the celebration we saw, there really was no other outcome here in Europe. The fans, volunteers, greenskeepers and even some media members stayed out in the rain for easily more than an hour after play ended to dance and sing with the players on the first tee. Somehow, we can’t picture the celebration being quite the same if Team USA had won on European soil; there just weren’t enough American fans in attendance.
In fact, the celebrations continued long after the players retired to their team room. Every bus leaving Bernardus was filled with chanting and laughter as Europeans came together to honor their team. They continued to toast them at the pubs once they got off the buses, too.
Sadly, we have to wait two years for the next Solheim Cup, which will be taking place at Valhalla in Louisville, KY. But for now, we’ll leave with the wise words and vision of our 2026 Solheim Cup captains (directly from Angela Stanford): “I hope that, you know, I said Anna and I agree, if we got to the end of the week and women’s golf grew just a little bit more, then we did our jobs.”
