Solheim Cup Review

America regained the Solheim Cup with a stunning comeback to win 14 & a half – 13 & a half in a session marred by a controversial decision over whether or not a putt had been conceded.

Resuming 10-6 down going into the singles, American captain Juli Inkster inspired their comeback win on the back of an unsavoury incident that saw Europe gain a point after accusing the US of picking up a ball that had not been conceded.

Day One

Day One Foursomes

In the first match of the Solheim Cup, the American pairing of Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer proved too strong for Anna Nordqvist and Suzann Petterson, winning the match 3&2 to put the Americans in the lead. However, the Europeans fought back, with English pairing Charley Hull and Melissa Reid beating Michelle Wie and Brittany Lincicome 2&1 to level the scores up at 1-1.

In the third match of the morning the Americans retook the lead, with Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson beating Karine Icher and Azahara Munoz 2&1 to give the Americans the initiative once again. However, Europe again responded with German Sandra Gal, playing in her home country, and Catriona Matthew beating Stacy Lewis and Lizette Salas 3&2. This meant that at the end of the first session of the tournament the scores were level at 2-2.

Day One Fourballs

In the first fourball match of the tournament, Europe emerged victorious with Nordqvist, now partnered with Caroline Hedwall, beat Pressel and Creamer 3&2 to put the Europeans 3-2 ahead. Europe mad it two wins from two when Hull secured her second point of the day alongside Gwladys Nocera as they beat Alison Lee and Angela Stanford 3&2 to give Europe a 4-2 lead.

Reid and Carlota Ciganda secured a draw with the American pairing of Kerr and Thompson, who had been victorious in their previous match earlier in the day. The final match of the day also ended all square, with the all German pairing of Gal and Caroline Masson securing another half-a-point against Gerina Pillar and Lang. This meant that Europe ended the first day in a strong position, leading America 5-3.

Day Two

Day Two Foursomes

In the first of the foursomes on the second day, the pairing of Reid and Cignada proved too strong for Lee and Wie, with Europe winning the match 4&3 to extend their lead. Europe also won the second match of the day, with Hull and Pettersen beating Pressel and Creamer, playing in their third consecutive match together 1 up to give Europe a 7-3 lead overall.

Gal and Matthew then beat Stanford and Lincicome 1 up to put Europe in a strong position with a lead of 8-3. The result meant that home favourite Gal had now won two-and-a-half points out of a possible three. In the final match of the morning the Americans finally made an impression on the scoreboard, with Lewis and Pillar beating Nordqvist and Hedwall 5&4 to give the Americans some hope going into the fourballs.

Day Two Fourballs

America got off to a good start in the fourballs, with Thompson and Kerr beating Munoz and Ciganda 3&2. In the next match, the experienced pairing of Icher and Matthew beat the Americans Salas and Lang to give the Europeans some breathing space going into the final two matches of the day, with Europe enjoying a comfortable lead going into the final two fourballs of the tournament.

Europe won the third fourball of the day, with the impressive Pettersen and Hull beating Lee and Lincicome by two holes, although the match was controversial after the Americans were penalised for picking up the ball when they though the putt had been conceded. The Americans gave themselves a glimmer of hope going into the singles as Lewis and Gerina Piller beat the two Caroline’s, Masson and Hedwall, by a single hole to restrict Europe’s lead to 10-6.

Day Three

Singles

The first of the single matches between Ciganda and Thompson was halved, while Pressel won the second match against Matthew to give the Americans hope of staging  comeback. These hopes were knocked when Icher beat Lincicome 3&2 before Reid beat Lang 3&2 to put the Europeans on the brink of victory.

However, the Americans refused to give in and after Lee beat Nocera 3&1, Piller beat Masson by one hole. The two results narrowed Europe’s lead and gave the Americans hope going into the final matches of the cup. Nordqvist beat Lewis 2&1 to put the Europeans on the brink of victory, before Salas beat Munoz 3&1 to keep the tournament alive.

With the Americans needing to win the last four matches to win the Solheim Cup, Stanford beat Pettersen 3&1 before Kerr beat Hull 3&2 to set up a dramatic finish. After Wie bate Hedwall 6&4, it all went down to final match, where Creamer beat Gal 4&3 to complete a stunning comeback from America.

The final score was 14 1/2 – 13 1/2 in America’s favour and they regained the title they last won in 2009. The comeback will go down in history as one of the finest in a golfing competition and the men will now be hoping to complete a double for America at the Ryder Cup next year.