Maja Stark and Linn Grant broke the unbeaten run of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, propelling Team Europe to a 7-5 advantage over Team USA after Saturday's foursomes. Their victory came despite a record‑tying drubbing for Charley Hull and Lottie Woad.
The opening day at Bernardus Golf produced a dead‑heat, with both sessions ending in a tie – only the second time this has happened in Solheim Cup history. Europe, however, seized the momentum on Saturday morning by capturing three of the four points on offer. Korda and Corpuz entered the day with a flawless 100 percent record in foursomes, having won five straight matches together. Their streak was halted by Stark and Grant, who opened the European line‑up and secured the first point of the day with a convincing 3&2 win.
Anna Nordqvist’s much‑talked‑about partnership of Hull and Woad failed to deliver once again. Alison Lee notched her third consecutive session win, teaming with Lauren Coughlin to post a 6&5 triumph – the joint‑largest margin ever recorded in Solheim Cup foursomes. The rookie pair of Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud continued their flawless start, dispatching Andrea Lee and Austom Kim 4&3.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit clinched a dramatic final‑hole victory, ensuring Europe took the entire session. Nordqvist’s decision to field an all‑Swedish duo was instantly vindicated.
The Swedes won the first hole, matched the Americans’ birdie on the next, lost the third to a birdie, but then reclaimed control by winning the fourth and never looking back. They secured the seventh with another birdie and extended their lead when Stark executed a brilliant chip‑in for eagle from just off the eighth green. A pars on the ninth gave Europe a third straight hole and a four‑hole lead at the turn. Korda and Corpuz attempted a comeback, winning back‑to‑back holes from the 10th onward to halve the deficit.
Their hopes were dashed when Stark holed an eight‑foot birdie at the 16th, ending 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’re not 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 when Lee and Coughlin seized four consecutive holes starting at the fourth. Woad managed a close‑range birdie on the eighth to level, but Lee and Coughlin responded with back‑to‑back birdies on the back nine and sealed an emphatic victory with a par on the 13th.
"I feel like we both just hit it so solid," Lee remarked after claiming her third point of the week. "All I had to do was sit back and watch Lauren [Coughlin] play. She hit incredible shots into the green and made some amazing putts." Rhodes and Nadaud became the first rookie duo to win two matches together in a single Solheim Cup, never trailing en route to the largest margin of victory ever recorded by a debutant pairing in a foursomes match. "We didn’t really expect to play this morning," Nadaud admitted.
"Yesterday was a great surprise. We played very sensibly – we hit a lot of fairways and greens and gave ourselves chances." In another roller‑coaster match, Kupcho and Zhang surged two up after six holes. Henseleit missed three short putts, but Europe regained the lead when she and Maguire captured three of the first four holes on the back nine. Team USA fought back, winning successive holes from the 14th onward.
Maguire leveled the match at the 16th, but Europe clinched victory when Zhang’s approach clipped the bunker lip on the final hole and resulted 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 pivotal turning points." The Solheim Cup now heads into its decisive final day on Sunday. The opening singles match begins at 10:10 a.m., with live coverage on Sky Sports Golf from 9 a.m. Fans can also stream the action on NOW without a contract, and can take advantage of the latest Sky Sports deals.
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