The chant "They drink on Saturday, we drink on Sunday!" reverberated through the Team Europe bus on Sunday night after a dramatic home‑soil victory that saw Anna Nordqvist defeat Team USA on the final day and reclaim the Solheim Cup. The match had been delicately balanced heading into a rain‑soaked singles session at Bernardus Golf, with the Americans appearing to have the edge after a thrilling Saturday four‑ball round that forced the score back to an 8‑8 tie.
Jennifer Kupcho produced a spectacular finish, holing a 110‑foot putt on her last two holes to secure a win alongside Lindy Duncan over Carlota Ciganda and Céline Boutier. Team USA captain Angela Stanford hailed the comeback as a tide‑turning moment for the United States.
Yet a video that surfaced later, showing the American squad raising beers on their bus that evening, turned out to be a premature celebration. The footage gave Team Europe an extra boost of motivation, and they responded by winning six of the eight singles matches, ultimately seizing control of the contest. Lottie Woad’s decisive point will be remembered as the match‑winning moment that pushed Europe to 14 points, with Ciganda already assured of at least a half‑point.
It was Ciganda, however, who sealed the victory with a confident finish, confirming Europe’s triumph. The celebrations continued long after the final putt, with a viral clip of Dame Laura Davies handing out beers to the European team on the bus, underscoring the festive atmosphere that lingered well into the night. The final tally of 15‑13 does not fully convey the dominance displayed by Nordqvist’s side on the last day. Team USA’s top order, apart from Nelly Korda and Alison Lee, failed to sustain the momentum generated the night before, allowing Europe to apply steady pressure.
Few players have embraced the Solheim Cup as passionately as Carlota Ciganda. She began the event cheering from the first tee for Europe and later delivered a series of clutch performances throughout the week.
Ciganda was Europe’s hero on Friday when a dramatic final‑hole par, shared with Julia Lopez Ramirez, earned them a crucial half‑point that prevented the United States from leading after day one. The following day she fell victim to Kupcho’s birdie‑birdie finish, but she exacted revenge in the singles, becoming only the second player in Solheim Cup history to secure the clinching point in two different editions. "I was really happy to see that I was playing against Kupcho," Ciganda said after her win. "She’s a fighter, I’m a fighter.
I knew she had no chance. I was like, ‘I want to kill you,’ so I kept that image in my mind." Charley Hull and Lottie Woad made history by becoming the first pair to play together in all four sessions of a Solheim Cup. Despite a shaky start that saw them lose 6&5 in the Saturday morning foursomes, they eventually turned the tide, each contributing a half‑point and later securing singles victories that rescued their campaign from an early slump. Nordqvist faced criticism for not rotating her pairings on day two and for placing Hull in the singles lineup—a decision she described as a "no‑brainer" after watching the 30‑year‑old earn Europe’s first point of the day.
Hull admitted the week was "frustrating," noting that both she and Woad struggled with putting until their singles matches, where they finally found the back of the net. "Being the leader of this team, we knew she [Hull] was going to deliver," Nordqvist explained.
"It was blue on the board early. Lottie has been very steady this week – it was nice to see her finally hole some putts." The standout performer for Europe was Linn Grant, who transformed a scoreless showing in the previous Solheim Cup into a four‑point haul this time around.
Grant joined an elite group as only the ninth player to finish a Solheim Cup 4‑0 or better, winning three matches with Maja Stark before delivering a commanding 4&3 victory over Angel Yin in the singles. Grant’s resurgence was remarkable given her pre‑event form—she had missed five of six cuts on the Ladies European Tour. Her partnership with Stark, another Swede, echoed the successful all‑Swedish pairing from the 2023 edition and highlighted the depth of European talent.
Stark praised Grant’s reliability, saying, "It’s a great feeling to have someone you know so well on the team; you can just go out and trust their game." All of Europe’s captain’s picks contributed at least 1.5 points each. Leona Maguire, in particular, set a new record by becoming the quickest player to reach ten Solheim Cup match wins, achieving the milestone in just 14 matches—one fewer than the previous record holder. Although she briefly held the highest winning percentage in Cup history, a loss alongside Céline Boutier in the four‑balls ended that streak.
Meanwhile, Julia Lopez Ramirez, left out of the Saturday line‑up, finished unbeaten in her two matches, underscoring the depth of the European bench. Team USA captain Angela Stanford defended her selections, noting that her three picks delivered five points and that the course required high‑ball hitters—a need her picks fulfilled.
The final round of the AIG Women’s Open earlier in the month had also shaped the roster, with players like Emily Rhodes emerging as strong candidates for future Solheim Cups. Rhodes, who qualified after a runner‑up finish at Royal Lytham, seized her opportunity, forming a winning partnership with Nastasia Nadaud—the first rookie duo to win two matches together at a Solheim Cup. Nordqvist explained her bold decision: "A lot of people questioned why we would send out two rookies, but I said why not?
And they delivered. I never felt like they were rookies." Nadaud, who was ranked outside the world’s top 150 just a year ago, made an immediate impact, posting a 3&2 singles win over Andrea Lee when Team USA threatened to claw back control. She reflected, "Getting three points for Europe is just absolutely crazy – I have no words. Everything happened so fast!" Looking ahead, Europe’s core of twelve players is likely to stay together for the next edition, especially since seven of them will still be under 30 by the 2028 Solheim Cup in Virginia.
The strong showing of four rookies underscores the depth of European talent, particularly as the home victory came without recent regulars such as Georgia Hall, Emily Kristine Pedersen, and Madelene Sagstrom. This was also the first Solheim Cup since 2007 in which Anna Nordqvist did not play, having announced her mid‑season retirement and ruling herself out of a captain’s pick. When asked if she would consider returning as captain in 2028, Nordqvist replied, "You never say never. I don’t know what my future holds." When Europe last won on home soil in 2019, Catriona Matthew captained the team to another victory on foreign ground the following year.
Whether Nordqvist will be at the helm in Virginia or another leader will take charge, the goal remains the same: to bring the Cup back to Europe. The next Solheim Cup is scheduled for September 8‑10, 2028, at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky.