Europe fight back to level Solheim Cup against US

7 months ago 146

Maja Stark and Linn Grant at the Solheim Cup

Swedish pair Stark and Grant never trailed in a sensational Solheim Cup match on Saturday

The United States will take a 7-5 lead over Europe into Saturday's afternoon session after an enthralling morning in the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin.

The scoreboard fluctuated throughout with both sides having spells in the ascendency before emerging with a 2-2 draw from the four matches.

Spain's Carlota Ciganda delighted her home fans by holing the winning putt on the 17th in the top match.

And Swedish rookies Maja Stark and Linn Grant won a feisty battle in the last.

Follow day two live

Five times the Europeans led by one and five times they were pegged back by Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee, whose celebrations became increasingly intense as the match reached its closing stages.

But Europe took the lead for a sixth and final time when Stark rattled in a 20-footer on the 17th, punching the air in delight as the fans packed round the green gave the loudest roar of the week.

And Grant held her nerve to hole a 10-foot putt on the last to secure what felt like a crucial point, given it kept Europe within two.

In between those matches, the US picked up their two wins with Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang edging a terrific battle with Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire on the last, while Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz crushed Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier 5&3.

"We did a good job of getting our energy levels up about half way through those matches and had a really good rally and it's about keeping that energy level up," said US captain Stacy Lewis.

England's Hall and Boutier of France were unbeaten when paired together in the two previous Solheim Cups. Hall said earlier in the week she was keen to rekindle their partnership but, after a narrow defeat in Friday morning's foursomes, they were soundly beaten on Saturday.

Boutier, who won her first major at the Evian Championship in late July, missed a short putt to halve the first hole and that set the tone for the match.

The US were three clear after seven and that increased to five when Hall failed to hole short putts on the 11th and 13th holes. World number three Korda then drained a 20-footer to close out the match on the 15th.

In the second match out, Khang and Thompson, who came into the Solheim Cup under intense scrutiny after an indifferent year, sneaked a point on the last.

Maguire and Nordqvist looked in good shape when they won three of the first seven holes to lead by two but Maguire missed a short putt on the ninth and two longer ones on the 10th and 11th as the US won three holes on the trot to turn the match red.

Nordqvist squared it with a birdie on the 14th but they lost the 17th to par to gift the Americans a one-hole lead going up the last.

Europe had a chance to win the 18th and halve the match but Sweden's Nordqvist, playing in her eighth Solheim Cup, raced a 15-foot putt past the hole.

Earlier, Ciganda and Emily Pedersen emerged victorious from a tough tussle with a misfiring Jennifer Kupcho and Lilia Vu.

The Americans struggled on the greens after three-putting the first from 20 feet to hand Europe the early initiative.

A clumsy chip from Kupcho on the fifth and a poor putt from six feet on the next contributed to Europe going two clear. But Kupcho atoned for her earlier errors with a delicate bunker shot to gimme range to win the seventh and they were back level on the next after a wild Ciganda shot from the fairway careered into the undergrowth.

Europe's two-hole advantage was restored by the 13th after more American putting errors, and when Kupcho missed another on the 16th, Europe were two up with two to play. It was fitting that Ciganda, whose name had been chanted all around the course, holed the winning putt on the 17th.

Across the BBC banner