United States surge to huge 6-2 early lead over Europe at Solheim Cup

GAINESVILLE – A United States team eager to end a seven-year Solheim Cup title drought enjoyed a dream start on the opening day on Sept 13 in Virginia, taking a 6-2 lead over Europe behind the sensational play of Nelly Korda, Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and others.

The US won three of their four foursome matches in the morning to take a 3-1 lead and stretched the advantage to 6-2 in the afternoon four-ball session for the largest lead ever recorded after the first day of the team event.

“It has been a really good day,” said US captain Stacy Lewis.

“Things played out the way we were hoping. I’m really happy with the pairings I was able to put out, and the players produced some great shots, some great scores and got us a ton of points.”

World No. 1 Korda came skipping out of the tunnel to the first tee and never put a foot wrong all day.

Alongside partner Allisen Corpuz, the duo notched a 3&2 victory over Esther Henseleit and Charley Hull in the opening foursome match of the day to grab the early momentum for the home side.

Korda and Khang then proceeded to crush Georgia Hall and Leona Maguire 6&4 in the opening four-ball match of the afternoon, thanks to some blistering drives by Korda as the pair feasted on the course’s par-fives.

“When you have a teammate who is so pure off the tee you never have to worry, you just have to send it,” said Korda, who teed off first for the pair on every hole.

“That was the motto. I was going to go first and send it and if I sent it in the wrong direction, I knew I had a really good partner who would go next,” she said with a laugh.

“Nelly doesn’t miss it often,” Khang noted.

Korda pumped her fist after guiding an eagle putt into the hole on No. 14 to seal the 6&4 win and put the US up 4-1.

Europe scored an important point when Cup veteran Anna Nordqvist’s birdie on the 13th hole delivered a 6&5 victory for her and partner Madelene Sagstrom over Lexi Thompson and Alison Lee to cut the Americans’ lead to 4-2. But that would be the last highlight of the day for the visitors.

Zhang and Andrea Lee overcame a slow start, but played the last six holes at eight-under par for a convincing 5&4 win over Europe’s Linn Grant and Hull.

The American rookie duo of Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel both looked comfortable on the biggest stage in women’s team golf, Coughlin nailing a long birdie putt to beat Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark 3&2 for the 6-2 overnight lead.

The US, who lead the series 10-7 with one draw, are looking to win the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017. Europe retained the trophy for a third consecutive time in 2023, when they clawed their way back from an early deficit for a 14-14 tie in Spain.

Team Europe face a steep climb in their bid for an unprecedented four-peat, but returning captain Suzann Pettersen said her side would keep the faith.

“We’ve done it before, we can do it again,” she said.

“It’s going to take a massive effort, but I know we can do it. Today’s play is history now. The Americans played great and we have a massive job ahead of us, but anything is possible. Come back tomorrow morning ready to fight again.”

Pettersen, a two-time Major winner, added that her side did not play badly, though the 43-year-old Norwegian felt that she “didn’t get any luck with finding the right combo”.

“We gave it a good effort. The Americans played great. They had all the putts rolling their way. I just don’t feel like we’ve had any momentum... I don’t feel like we’re playing poorly,” she said.

The Sept 14 morning foursome pairings will send Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Dane Pedersen against Korda and Corpuz, followed by Hull and Germany’s Henseleit against Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing.

Sweden’s Stark and Hall of England will meet Thompson and Coughlin, while France’s Celine Boutier and Swede Nordqvist face Lilia Vu and Schmelzel.

The tournament concludes with the singles on Sept 15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. REUTERS, AFP