Maja Stark and Linn Grant broke the unbeaten streak of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, propelling Team Europe to a 7‑5 advantage over Team USA after Saturday's foursomes matches. The breakthrough came despite a record‑tying drubbing for Charley Hull and Lottie Woad.
On the opening day at Bernardus Golf the two sides were dead‑locked, marking only the second time in Solheim Cup history that both sessions ended in a tie. Europe seized the momentum on Saturday morning by capturing three of the four available points, giving the hosts a narrow but important lead. Korda and Corpuz entered the day with a flawless 100‑percent record in foursomes, having won five consecutive matches together. Their run was halted when Stark and Grant, who opened the European line‑up, clinched the first point with a decisive 3&2 victory.
The Swedes displayed confidence and precision, pulling ahead early and never looking back. Anna Nordqvist’s much‑talked‑about partnership of Hull and Woad failed to deliver once more. Alison Lee, playing her third consecutive session, teamed up with Lauren Coughlin to post a 6&5 win – the joint‑largest margin ever recorded in Solheim Cup foursomes.
The English duo could not match the Americans’ firepower, and the match slipped away quickly. In another bout, rookie pair Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud continued their flawless start, beating Andrea Lee and Austom Kim 4&3. Their composure was evident as they never fell behind, and they secured a comfortable win that added another point to Europe’s tally.
Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit produced a dramatic finish, winning on the final hole to ensure Europe took the last point of the session. Their partnership illustrated the depth of the European roster, as they responded to a mid‑round setback with a series of birdies that swung the momentum back in their favor. Nordqvist’s decision to field an all‑Swedish pair was instantly vindicated. The Swedes opened strong, matching an American birdie on the second hole, losing the third to a birdie, then rebounding by taking the fourth and never relinquishing the lead.
They secured the seventh with another birdie, and Stark capped the stretch with an incredible chip‑in for eagle from just off the eighth green. A pars on the ninth gave Europe a third straight hole and a four‑point lead at the turn. Korda and Corpuz attempted a comeback, winning back‑to‑back holes from the 10th onward to halve the deficit. However, Stark answered with an eight‑foot birdie on the 16th, sealing the end of the Americans’ perfect foursomes record.
"It’s the best feeling ever," Stark said after the win. "We played solid golf both today and yesterday – it’s hard to beat when you aren’t making any bogeys." Hull and Woad were kept together despite only earning half a point from two matches on Friday. The English pair fell behind early when Lee and Coughlin captured four consecutive holes starting at the fourth.
Woad managed a close‑range birdie on the eighth to level the match briefly, but Lee and Coughlin responded with back‑to‑back birdies on the back nine and sealed the victory with a par on the 13th. "We both just hit it so solid," Lee remarked, celebrating her third point of the week. "All I had to do was watch Lauren [Coughlin] play.
She hit incredible shots into the green and made some amazing putts." Rhodes and Nadaud made history as the first rookie duo to win two matches together in a single Solheim Cup. Their partnership never trailed, and they posted the largest margin of victory ever for a debutant pair in a foursomes match.
"We didn’t expect to play this morning," Nadaud admitted. "Yesterday was a great surprise. We played very sensibly – we hit a lot of fairways and found the greens, giving ourselves plenty of chances." In a seesaw battle, Kupcho and Zhang surged two up after six holes, while Henseleit missed three short putts before regaining ground as she and Maguire captured three of the first four holes on the back nine.
Team USA fought back, taking successive holes from the 14th, but Maguire leveled the match on the 16th. Europe ultimately clinched the win when Zhang’s approach clipped the lip of the bunker on the final hole, resulting in a closing bogey. "We knew we weren’t doing anything terribly wrong," Maguire reflected.
"We got off to a great start, just like yesterday, and they answered with a birdie on three. We had to stay patient and keep creating chances. Holes 10, 11 and 12 were the turning points for us." The Solheim Cup now heads into its final day on Sunday, with the opening singles match slated for 10:10 am on Sky Sports Golf. Fans can follow the action live or stream via NOW without a contract.
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