CROMVOIRT, Netherlands – For the first time in 20 editions, the Solheim Cup is tied after one day.
The U.S. and Europe split each of the first two sessions and are deadlocked at 4-4 entering the weekend at Bernardus Golf.
It’s so tight that both corners believe momentum still to be on their side.
“We took a big swing from ‘em today,” U.S. captain Angela Stanford said.
“We took some of their best body blows. So, I just told ‘em I was proud of ‘em and they hung in there, and I’m excited about tomorrow because I feel like we’re a heavyweight fighter. We fight with our mentality, and we’re just going to see how long we can last, and I feel pretty good about how long we can go.”
Added European captain Anna Nordqvist: “I’m proud of the way how we played things. ... I think we have a really good game plan going into tomorrow.”
Here are some takeaways from a cool, rainy Friday in the Netherlands:
CARLOTA CLUTCH
Carlota Ciganda had seemingly hit her first two shots a combined 100 yards right on the par-4 18th hole, well on her way to nullifying her match-tying eagle two holes earlier. Her teammate, rookie and fellow Spaniard Julia Lopez Ramirez, was basically out of the hole after failing to clear the lip of a fairway bunker with her second shot.
Making matters worse, the setting sun appeared to be outpacing the methodical Ciganda.
Luckily, there was still a window for the 36-year-old veteran of now eight Solheim Cups to keep the momentum from taking a sizable swing. If either American, Nelly Korda or Lauren Coughlin, made birdie from the fairway, the U.S. would go into Saturday with the lead, a designation that has resulted in a 14-2-1 overall record.
So, what did Ciganda do? From about 40 yards, she blasted out of the native sand to about 12 feet past the hole, and when both U.S. players missed their attempts to win, Ciganda rolled in her match-tying par save.
“Carlota loves the Solheim Cup more than anything,” Nordqvist said. “She’s so passionate, and all our conversation the last couple months, she just can’t wait to be there. ... Just to see her bring out the best when it mattered the most, that’s Carlota for you, and that’s golf at its best.”
When the ball disappeared, Ciganda emphatically dropped her putter in celebration, proof that the half-point felt a little more than that.
“Not losing today is important,” Ciganda said. “I think obviously that half a point … big momentum going into tomorrow, so hopefully, we can take that into tomorrow foursomes and win both morning and afternoon sides.”
OH, NELLY
After teaming with Allisen Corpuz to become the first 5-0 foursomes duo in Solheim Cup history, Korda did her best homer-simpson-hedge.gif impression.
Despite tallying three birdies, the world No. 1 was the only one of 16 competitors to not win a hole in fourballs.
But Stanford isn’t panicking. Not in the least.
“We know by watching Ryder Cups and Solheim Cups, regardless of the No. 1 players on the European side or the American side, it’s the same for men and women, there is a huge target on her back,” Stanford said. “Nelly is always going to be the one everyone wants to beat. So, I think she did great today. I think she always puts up a fight. She was there in the end. She had a putt to win the match that they battled all day.
“I’m so proud of her and the way she played today.”
‘TRUST THE PROCESS’
In a matter of hours, Anna Nordqvist went from genius to head scratcher.
After a 2-2 morning split, the European Solheim Cup skipper opted to send out her two winless foursomes pairs for fourballs. It was all according to script, Nordqvist said, sounding as if she were patrolling the paint for the Sixers.
“We had a plan going into today and into the week, and I feel like we’re right on track,” Nordqvist said as the afternoon session got underway, “so I’m just trusting the process.”
Early on, it appeared to be the right call. Lottie Woad was balling alongside Charley Hull, who added a couple par-3 birdies as the highest-ranked Europeans built a 3-up lead after 11 holes, and the partnership of Celine Boutier and Nanna Koerstz Madsen were somehow 2 up through five holes in the match behind.
But if match play is a game of runs, Nordqvist’s two leading duos got run out of the gym on the back nine.
American mom Alison Lee’s eagle at the par-5 10th highlighted what was seven wins for the U.S. in its last 10 holes against Boutier and Madsen, who didn’t take a hole after No. 5 in what ended a 5-and-3 shellacking.
Up ahead, Yealimi Noh’s putter was catching fire, as she drained putts to win Nos. 12, 13 and 17, the latter coming after she stuck her approach from a fairway bunker to 7 feet. When Noh rolled in her fourth birdie of the match, she and Angel Yin, who had to scramble all week just to be fit for these matches, tied up Woad and Hull entering the par-4 finishing hole.
A hole later, the two teams, a combined 18 under in that leadoff match, came away with a fitting – and for the home team, disappointing – tie.
Woad and Hull, ranked Nos. 7 and 8 in the Rolex Rankings, were the first top-10 players on either side to pair twice in a single day – and they didn’t win a match. Such European superstar pairings are now 1-3-1 since the world rankings debuted in 2006.
“I felt like the U.S. played really good in those two matches, and sometimes foursome is a really hard format, too,” Nordqvist explained later. “So, you kind of have to trust the process and trust how the players are feeling. But I’m proud of the way we stuck to what we kind of thought throughout the day was the best way to put our team. ... For me, it was very important to play all 12 players today, and the way the pairings worked out, that’s how I had to play it.”
AN EMOTIONAL ANGEL
Having played just 36 holes of competitive golf since late June because of severe stomach issues, Yin worked overtime this week to ensure she was fit enough to not, in her words, “jeopardize America.”
She played, teaming with Yealimi Noh in fourballs after sitting the morning.
And yet, there was still noticeable rust. Yin won Nos. 7 and 8 with birdie, though her score was posted just four other times as Noh rallied their side late with three straight birdies, starting at the par-3 15th and culminating with a spectacular up-and-down from a fairway bunker.
“Ball-striking today was not as I hoped, but I think I just never really calculated all the pressure that was going to be into it,” Yin said. “Obviously, going off first adds to that. … But I have a great partner, and so that really helps. I mean, it helped me relax. There were a few holes where I got to pick up because I just was so confident in Yealimi, and Yealimi got it.”
Following the comeback, a TV camera caught Yin balling and being consoled by a couple people in the gallery.
Stanford didn’t know the specifics, though she assumed Yin was “unloading emotion” in the company of loved ones.
“She’s been through a lot lately,” Stanford said. “I haven’t personally asked her about it yet. Sometimes personal stuff can be personal stuff. So, to me, it looked like it was kind of a relief and release of emotions.”
KHANG STAYS UNBEATEN
Megan Khang’s day started with her wearing a cowboy hat and dancing on the first tee. It ended with her tying the second-longest unbeaten streak in Solheim Cup history.
The captain’s pick entered her fifth Solheim appearance lacking form, having missed six of eight cuts and without a top-10 finish anywhere in over a year.
But the Americans’ “battery,” as Stanford calls Khang, once again answered the bell with a 5-and-3 win alongside Lee, a victory that improved Khang to 8-0-1 since her last defeat in 2021, putting her one more win or tie away from equaling Paula Creamer’s record unbeaten streak (10).
“I’m hoping it keeps going, selfishly,” Khang said. “But honestly, I’ve always really enjoyed match play. … I’ve kind of really embraced it. I think the Solheim Cup is such a great stage to really embrace that moment. … We’re just going to keep riding the waves and hearing the U.S.A. chants.”
