With the help of a hole-in-one, a hole-out from the fairway and a chip-in, Europe rallied on Friday against the United States, winning two of the afternoon fourballs (plus two halved matches) to reduce the Americans’ lead to 5-3 after being swept away in the opening foursomes.
Emily Pedersen made a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th to ignite the Europeans’ comeback after the US made their best-ever start, then Gemma Dryburgh holed out from the fairway on the 16th and Leona Maguire chipped in from off the green on the 18th to make it close again for Europe at Finca Cortesin in southern Spain.
The pairings for the Saturday morning foursomes (Europe names first, all times BST):
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7.10am Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda v Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho
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7.22am Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire v Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang
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7.34am Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier v Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz
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7.46am Maja Stark and Linn Grant v Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee
When is the Solheim Cup?
This year’s Solheim Cup started Yesterday (Friday), with the final day on Sunday, September 24.
The competition lasts three days, and comes after the major LPGA tournaments of the summer.
Where is it being held?
This year’s Solheim Cup is being held in Spain, the first time the country has hosted the competition.
The cup is going to take place at Finca Cortesin in Casares, a small town in Andalucia. The golf course is regarded as one of the best in Spain.
Carlota Ciganda is the only player from Team Europe to be playing on home soil this year.
How can I watch it on TV?
Sky Sports will be showing the competition live. The day’s matches get under way at 8.10am local time (7.10am BST) on Friday and Saturday, whilst the singles matches will commence at 11.10am local time (10.10am BST) on Sunday, Sept 24.
What is the Solheim Cup?
The Solheim Cup is a team matchplay competition in women’s professional golf that happens once every two years and involves Europe and the United States.
The competition derives its name from Karsten Solheim, a Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer who pioneered the idea in women’s golf. The format of the competition mirrors the men’s Ryder Cup, which starts a week after the Solheim Cup.
Team Europe are looking to achieve their first three-peat in Solheim Cup history after Catriona Matthew of Scotland led the team to victories over the Americans in 2019 and 2021.
The Solheim Cup was first held in 1990 in Florida and the US have won 10 of the 17 competitions to date.
Who are the Solheim Cup captains?
Team Europe will be led by Suzann Pettersen (Norway), flanked by vice-captains Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), Laura Davies (England) and Caroline Martens (Norway).
Team US will be led by Stacy Lewis. Her vice-captains are Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis and Angela Stanford.
Who are the players?
Team Europe
Celine Boutier (France) and Maja Stark (Sweden) qualified automatically via the LET Solheim Cup points list while Anna Nordqvist (a playing vice-captain), Charley Hull (England), Leona Maguire (Ireland), Linn Grant (Sweden), Georgia Hall (England) and Carlota Ciganda (Spain) secured their spots via the world rankings.
Suzann Pettersen’s four captain’s picks are: Gemma Dryburgh (Scotland), Caroline Hedwall (Sweden), Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark) and Madelene Sagstrom (Sweden).
Pettersen sees no reason to be shy about the quality of her team.
“I don’t think there’s anything to hide under a chair that if you look on paper, we have the strongest team that I’ve ever been a part of, and that’s based on great performances over the last few years from all the players,” said Pettersen, the Norwegian LPGA veteran serving as captain for the first time.
Team USA
The automatic qualifiers via the world rankings are Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang while Allisen Corpuz, Danielle Kang, Megan Khang, Nelly Korda, Jennifer Kupcho, Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu came through on the Solheim Cup points list.
Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin are the captain’s picks for Stacy Lewis.
What is the Solheim Cup format?
Over three days, 28 matches are played with those matches falling into three categories: foursomes, fourballs and singles.
There are 12 players on each team, and they compete as pairs or individuals.
Four foursomes and four fourballs matches are played on both Friday and Saturday. Each of these matches will see one pair from Europe compete with a pair from team USA.
In a foursome match, each team will alternate between shots and will use one ball between two players. In a fourballs match, each competitor will get to use their own ball.
Points are awarded to the team that scores the lowest on each hole. The match is won when the advantage one team has is bigger than the number of holes left to play on the course. If the result is drawn by the end of the match, the match is halved.
The first of the foursome matches begins at 8.10am local time (7.10am BST) on both Friday and Saturday. Fourballs matches will be played on Friday and Saturday afternoon, getting underway at 1.40pm local time (12.40pm BST).
On Sunday, all of the 24 competitors will get the chance to play in singles matches, with the first of these matches being played at 11.10am local time (10.10am BST).
There are 28 matches in total across the weekend, meaning 28 points are up for grabs. The team that reaches the 14-and-a-half point marker first will be victorious. Europe will retain the cup if the tournament ends in a draw.
What is the Solheim Cup schedule?
Saturday, Sept 23: Four foursomes matches in morning:
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7.10am Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda v Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho
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7.22am Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire v Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang
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7.34am Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier v Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz
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7.46am Maja Stark and Linn Grant v Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee
Four fourballs matches in afternoon: TBC
Sunday, Sept 24: 12 singles matches before closing ceremony.
How can I buy tickets?
General admission tickets are still available for all three days of the Solheim Cup, via the official website.
Access to all three days of the tournament will cost around £210 while individual day tickets are available from £70 for the Friday, £82 for the Saturday and £103 for the Sunday.
What are the best of the odds?
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Europe: 21/20
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USA: 11/10
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Draw: 12/1
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