CROMVOIRT, Netherlands – Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz made history Friday morning at the Solheim Cup.
The American duo became the first partnership in event history to push its record to 5-0 – and it did so in dominating fashion, routing Europe’s top-ranked pair, world No. 7 Lottie Woad and No. 8 Charley Hull, 4 and 3.
The emphatic point was part of a 2-2 tie in the opening foursomes session at Bernardus Golf, just the third time in 20 editions that the first session was split.
A day earlier, U.S. captain Angela Stanford said of the Korda-Corpuz pairing: “The whole world knew they were coming.”
Though Korda, the world No. 1, and Corpuz fell 1 down after the first hole, they took control with three straight won holes, at Nos. 6-8, and only dropped one other hole.
“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,” Corpuz said. “It just makes the hole so much easier.”
Not only are Korda and Corpuz the winningest U.S. tandem ever, surpassing Dottie Pepper and Brandie Burton (4-1-1), but they matched Europeans’ Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas (5-4) for the most points earned on either side.
To compare, the only 5-0 partnership in Ryder Cup history is Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson.
“She’s just so solid,” Korda said of Corpuz. “Honestly, I enjoy playing with her so much. We have a lot of fun out there.”
Individually, Korda is now 11-5-1 in all formats for her career. Seven of those 11 wins have come after Korda trailed in the match.
Here are recaps of each of the four Friday morning foursomes matches:
Match 1: Allisen Corpuz/Nelly Korda (U.S.) def. Charley Hull/Lottie Woad, 4 and 3
Woad got scoring started by calmly rolling in a 20-footer for birdie at the par-4 first hole, but Corpuz made a short birdie putt at the par-5 second to tie the match back up.
When Hull hit her tee shot at the par-3 sixth long and left, eventually leading to the first bogey of the day, the Americans made par to take their first lead in any match of the morning.
Woad had 12 feet for birdie at the par-4 seventh but missed, setting the stage for Corpuz to drain a 10-footer to push she and Korda’s lead to 2 up.
Hull put Woad in the heather with her drive, and after Woad hit a nice wedge to 7 feet, Hull missed the birdie try. Korda made a short birdie to win she and Corpuz their third straight hole.
Woad kept things from getting uglier with clutch birdie putts on Nos. 10 and 11 to tie those holes. But she then fatted a wedge from the native area into the water at the par-4 12th, and the Americans moved to 4 up with six holes to play.
At the par-4 13th, the Europeans got into more trouble with Hull missing the green right, Woad’s chip not quite getting up the falloff and rolling back onto the fringe, and Hull missing the length par save. Woad was able to make the comebacker for bogey, but Korda had just a few feet for par and made that to go 5 up.
Woad hit a nice approach to 6 feet at the par-4 14th to set up a Hull birdie make that got one hole back. But it didn’t really matter, as the Americans tied the next hole with par to seal a 4-under, bogey-free performance and the first point of this year’s Solheim Cup.
Match 2: Alison Lee/Lauren Coughlin (U.S.) def. Nanna Koerstz Madsen/Celine Boutier, 3 and 2
Boutier gave her side a 1-up lead by holing a 25-foot birdie putt from off the green at the par-4 third. Lee had 15 feet to tie but couldn’t convert.
Madsen hit a terrible tee ball at the par-3 sixth, her shot coming up at least 20 yards short of dry land. A European bogey brought things back to tied.
With Coughlin 8 feet away for par but with two putts to win the eighth, she was conceded the try, which gave the Americans their first lead of this match.
They moved to 2 up when Coughlin drained a 15-footer for eagle at the par-5 10th and 3 up after another Coughlin putt at the par-4 13th.
Both teams headed to the drop zone after wet tee balls at the par-3 15th, and the Europeans were the only pair to get up and down for a winning bogey, extending the match.
The Europeans got a huge break at the par-5 16th after Madsen fanned her drive right of the hazard running along the right side of the hole. Her ball ended up in the penalty area but on the bank, and with a pedestrian bridge in her line of sight, Boutier was granted TIO relief and was able to eventually place her ball on the other side of the creek and into a better lie, though still in the penalty area.
However, it was all for naught, as Madsen whiffed a short par putt that would’ve sent the match to No. 17.
Coughlin improved her career record to 4-0-1, matching Michelle Wie’s U.S. record for most points earned in her first five career Solheim Cup matches.
Match 3: Esther Henseleit/Leona Maguire def. Andrea Lee/Lindy Duncan, 2 up
The Europeans jumped on the Americans early in this one. Henseleit hit a pair of close wedge shots, to 5 feet at the first and to 8 feet at the second, to set up Maguire birdie putts that gave the home pair a 2-up lead through as many holes.
Two holes later, Henseleit missed her par save, and the Americans brought their deficit back to 1 down.
But the Europeans got it back at the par-3 sixth, where Duncan’s tee ball hit the bank and kicked back into the water.
Henseleit missed a short par putt at the par-4 ninth that cut the Europeans’ lead in half, but she rebounded with birdie at the par-3 11th to return the advantage to 2 up. Lee then holed the longest putt of the session, from nearly 40 feet at the par-4 13th, and the birdie cut the deficit to just 1 down.
But Maguire delivered the most emotional moment of the morning, giving a big fist pump after sinking a 10-footer for birdie and another 2-up lead.
Henseleit’s drive found the right creek at the par-5 16th, and Maguire couldn’t hole a 12-footer for par to guarantee a half-point, as the Americans pulled to within 1 down with two holes to play. But the Americans couldn’t generate a birdie on either the closing holes, and European pars got the job done.
Maguire moves to 9-3-1 for her Solheim career, her .731 winning percentage passing Janice Moodie for best all-time among Europeans with at least five matches played.
Match 4: Maja Stark/Linn Grant (Europe) def. Rose Zhang/Jennifer Kupcho, 3 and 2
Stark’s 7-foot birdie make at the par-5 second not only gave the Europeans a 1-up lead early but at the time, it put the third blue shade on the leaderboard as the home team led in three of the four matches.
Stark rolled in another birdie from close range at the par-4 third to double the advantage.
The third ball in the water at the par-3 sixth on the morning came off Kupcho’s clubface, and the Americans’ bogey dropped the visiting side to 3 down in this one. Kupcho then bogeyed the par-4 seventh by missing a 6-footer to give another hole away.
The front nine closed in crazy fashion, as Stark left a long bunker shot in the greenside bunker before Grant holed her bunker shot to tie the hole with par and remain 4 up. The Swedes’ 4-under front nine was the best of any team in the morning session.
Kupcho was conceded an eagle putt at the par-5 10th that cut the Europeans’ lead to 3 up. And Zhang followed with a nice tee ball at the par-3 11th, setting up a Kupcho birdie to get another back, now just 2 down.
But the threat ended with American bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16, the latter coming after Zhang hit her second shot from the fairway into the water.