Key events
Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud were the only Europeans to win a match yesterday afternoon. The two debutants appear well in sync, and on 3, Nadaud crushes a drive down the middle, then Rhodes screeches her wedge to a couple of feet. A real possibility of a third birdie in three holes.
Rose Zhang makes another putt, this time from distance on 3, and the USA take some blue off the board. But Nastasia Nadaud throws similar shapes on 2, doubling Europe’s lead in the third match, while Maja Stark and Linn Grant carefully take two putts on 4 to re-establish their advantage in the lead match. There’s nothing between these two teams at the moment, and there’s a real sense of to-and-fro that could go on for quite a while. The distance, perhaps.
1UP Stark/Grant v Corpuz/Korda (4)
Maguire/Henseleit A/S Kupcho/Zhang (3)
2UP Rhodes/Nadaud v An. Lee/Kim (2)
Hull/Woad A/S Al. Lee/Coughlin (1)
Nelly Korda chops an awful tee shot wide right of the par-three 4th green. Team USA’s ball in deep heather. A big problem for Allisen Corpuz, who decides to punch out and hope the back-stop will bring her ball back towards the flag. But she knifes it through the green, and the ball stops inches short of a bunker on the other side. It might have been better going in. Korda can’t get close with her chip, and Europe will have two putts for the hole. Meanwhile the anchor match halves the 1st.
Jennifer Kupcho goes close with her approach at 2; Esther Henseleit goes even closer. That’s a gimme for Europe, so Rose Zhang does well to hold her nerve and make the putt from six feet to secure the half. Meanwhile Allisen Corpuz sinks a ten-footer on 3 to level the lead match, while Charley Hull and Alison Lee get the anchor game underway by trading fairway finders. It’s all happening now.
Stark/Grant A/S Corpuz/Korda (3)
1UP Maguire/Henseleit v Kupcho/Zhang (2)
1UP Rhodes/Nadaud v An. Lee/Kim (1)
Hull/Woad v Al. Lee/Coughlin
Auston Kim has to hack out sideways from the bush down the right of 1. It puts the American pairing on the back foot, and though Andrea Lee sends a decent third into the heart of the green, it’s all a waste of time, because Nastasia Nadaud drains a 20-footer for birdie – Europe’s third out of three attempts on this hole this morning – and the hosts are off to a flyer.
1UP Stark/Grant v Corpuz/Korda (2)
1UP Maguire/Henseleit v Kupcho/Zhang (1)
1UP Rhodes/Nadaud v An. Lee/Kim (1)
Hull/Woad v Al. Lee/Coughlin
No Sun Ra, I was wide of the mark there. I’ll make it up to you. Meanwhile the third match takes to the tee, and Andrea Lee sends a wild drive down the right towards a bush. It’s not been a banner start for Team USA, but then there was a lot of blue on the board early on yesterday morning, and it didn’t quite pan out in the way Europe desired. Meanwhile the first match ties the 2nd in birdie.
1UP Stark/Grant v Corpuz/Korda (2)
1UP Maguire/Henseleit v Kupcho/Zhang (1)
Rhodes/Nadaud v An. Lee/Kim
Eye of the Tiger now on the wheels of steel. It’s a sonic smorgasbord. Esther Henseleit and Jennifer Kupcho take turns to throw darts at the pin on 1. Putting competition coming up. And Leona Maguire wins it! It’s foggy early in the Netherlands, but sunny for Europe. As for the music, if we’re skipping back through the decades in any sort of regimented order, the next track will be something from the 1950s. I’m going with something from Jazz in Silhouette by Sun Ra and his Arkestra.
1UP Stark/Grant v Corpuz/Korda (1)
1UP Maguire/Henseleit v Kupcho/Zhang (1)
Rhodes/Nadaud v An. Lee/Kim
Corpuz’s opening putt is uncharacteristically off-beam. Wide right and four feet past. It’s still the USA’s turn. Korda tidies up for par. But the damage has already been done. Stark makes the birdie putt, and Europe put some blue on the board in short order. Meanwhile back on the tee, Rose Zhang splits the fairway to get the second match underway, and Leona Maguire does likewise. Why stand Maguire down yesterday afternoon? Not sure. Not sure.
1UP Stark/Grant v Corpuz/Korda (1)
Maguire/Henseleit v Kupcho/Zhang
As they’ve been doing all week, the DJ is making a right old racket. LIV Golf has so much to answer for. Taylor Swift getting an airing in the cool morning breeze. Nevertheless, the players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and Nelly Korda finds the centre of the green. A decent start for the USA, but Linn Grant takes it up a notch by screeching her approach to three feet. Very early advantage to the hosts!
One stat that most certainly benefits Team USA: Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda have an all-time five-and-zero record as a partnership in the foursomes, the most winningest (let’s hold hands across the ocean) pairing in Solheim Cup history. Corpuz blasts the first tee shot of day two down the fairway, and Maja Stark wastes little time in following her. It’s happening again, my golf-crazed friends!
… and so it begins again. The teams are level after slugging it out on day one, and the USA as holders have the tie in their pocket, but there is one way in which Europe have the advantage. Every player has seen some action already, and only two Europeans are pointless: Celine Boutier and Nanna Madsen, who were strangely sent out for a second match yesterday afternoon after their out-of-sorts display in the morning. The USA have five players still to make their mark, and four of them – Jennifer Kupcho, Rose Zhang, Andrea Lee and Auston Kim – will play in these upcoming foursomes. Again, good luck guessing how this is going to go.
Day two preamble: Europe 4-4 USA
It looked like Team USA would take a one-point lead into Saturday when Nelly Korda and Lauren Coughlin found the 18th green in regulation, while Carlota Ciganda was wandering off piste down the 1st as part of an ersatz tribute to the more outré work of Severiano Ballesteros and Jordan Spieth. But in the classic matchplay style, Korda and Coughlin missed their birdie putts, while Ciganda got up and down from nowhere to somehow secure a half for Europe. And now here we are …
… and this is the order in which the Saturday foursomes will go out this morning. Friday was so much fun, and if today is even halfway as entertaining, we’ll be in for a wild and wonderful treat. Good luck confidently predicting the winner of any of these matches, or indeed the whole thing itself. Solheim Cup fever is raging; won’t somebody please call Dr Golf?! It’s on.
6.40am (BST): Maja Stark and Linn Grant v Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda
6.52am: Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit v Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang
7.04am: Mimi Rhodes and Natasia Nadaud v Andrea Lee and Auston Kim
7.16am: Charley Hull and Lottie Woad v Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin