CROMVOIRT, Netherlands – Charley Hull wasn’t about to show any cards.
The Europeans will have seven returners from the last Solheim Cup when they begin play at Bernardus Golf on Friday morning. But of the four partnerships that could potentially be refired by captain Anna Nordqvist, those pairs combined for just one point in what was a three-point loss in Virginia.
That was Hull and Esther Henseleit in foursomes.
“I pretty much got my partner,” Hull said, before revealing her cheekiness. “I think I’m going to be playing with Mel Reid over the weekend. And she’s really in form now. She’s sorted her chipping out since the women’s KPMG championship when she was duffing it. I gave her a few lessons. But she’s been absolutely smashing it the last few days on the golf course, and I think we’ve got a pretty sweet pairing there.”
Reid, of course, is a non-playing vice captain.
But it’s no laughing matter when one looks across at the U.S. team and sees six points via four partnerships from 2024:
Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz won a pair of foursomes points together two years ago, just like they did the year prior in Spain, when Europe retained the cup.
Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang, who went 0-2 in four-balls in 2023 (granted they were 8 under through 13 holes in one of those losses), rebounded the next year to win twice in the format.
Korda also teamed with Megan Khang for a four-ball point, and Zhang and Lauren Coughlin earned a foursomes point together.
“I think our games are also pretty similar,” Lee said of she and Zhang. “We don’t smash the ball a long way, but we’re both most of the time in the fairway and most of the time on the green, and we’re both really great putters. I think those are strengths to our game, and the last time around we really played so well together. I think we were a combined 20-something under par, which was crazy. So I’m hoping we can bring a little bit of that juju back this week.”
While U.S. captain Angela Stanford has switched up her groupings for the third straight practice round – “I threw ‘em in a hat,” she quipped – paired on Wednesday were Korda and Corpuz, and Lee and Zhang.
“We’ve been working on this since March,” Stanford added. “We have been watching them, we’ve been watching their numbers. I think it’s just been a combination of who we have seen in the past, also things that have worked well, their personalities. I’ve been tracking who they have been playing with all year, their scores. We get feedback from ‘em – who do you want to play with, who do you not want to play with? Like, I have all that confidentially, and I’ve asked the assistants. We’re kind of mixing it up these days. Like, they’re going with different players, just to see, you know, who feels more comfortable with who once we start on Friday.”
There are some other likelihoods for the Americans:
Angel Yin, who has played just once since late June because of stomach issues, has never played a foursomes match in three previous Solheim Cups, nor has she paired with any current teammate. It doesn’t seem like she’ll factor much in team play at this point.
Megan Khang has been a Swiss army knife, having earned at least a half-point with three different current teammates. Her captain’s pick despite recent results bodes well for her pairing with multiple teammates, especially if some changes are needed after Day 1.
Lindy Duncan, at 35 years old, is one of two rookies along with Auston Kim, the latter of whom has already caught the eye of Stanford this week. Kim could be paired with veteran Jennifer Kupcho in foursomes considering Kupcho has played with three different partners in that format, none of whom are on this year’s team.
“To just be standing in the same fairway and watch one of her golf balls take off, your like, ‘Wow, that’s different,’” Stanford said of Kim.
While Stanford can lean on history for roughly half of her partnerships the first two days, Nordqvist could go back to what worked in 2023, particularly revolving around Linn Grant, who went 2-0 with Carlota Ciganda in four-balls and 1-1 with Maja Stark in foursomes. Hull and Leona Maguire also earned a four-ball point that week.
But that’s it. With four rookies in the fold, Nordqvist will surely lean on the newbies, especially Lottie Woad, the highest-ranked player on the squad at No. 7 in the world. The other three rookies – Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mimi Rhodes and Natasia Nadaud – all played alongside Ciganda on Wednesday.
“Lottie is going to be a rookie this week, but she certainly doesn’t play like one or feel like on,” Nordqvist said. “Nastasia is a player that she grew a lot on us in the whole qualifying period. She makes a ton of birdies. Mimi, solid player, has done well on Curtis Cups. And then Julia … I know a lot of people are going to be amazed when she pulls the driver out because she has some speed that not many people have in the women’s game.”
Could Ciganda draw her long-hitting countrywoman Lopez Ramirez, whom she also practiced with on Tuesday, in foursomes? Only seven of her 25 career Solheim matches have come in that format, though Ciganda has linked with two other bombers in recent editions, Grant and Emily Kristine Pedersen.
“I think that you might see some new pairings,” Ciganda said. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen yet, but we’re going to be ready on Friday, and we’re going to put a good fight.”
