Maja Stark and Linn Grant broke the unbeaten run of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, giving Team Europe a 7‑5 advantage over the United States after Saturday's foursomes session, even as Charley Hull and Lottie Woad endured a record‑tying drubbing. The opening day at Bernardus Golf had been perfectly balanced, with both morning and afternoon sessions ending in a tie – only the second instance of such parity in Solheim Cup history.
Europe, however, seized the momentum on Saturday morning by securing three of the four points on offer, putting the hosts firmly in front. Korda and Corpuz entered the match with a flawless 100‑percent record in foursomes, having won five consecutive matches together. Their streak was snapped by the Swedish pair of Stark and Grant, who opened the day for Europe with a decisive 3&2 victory.
The win set the tone for the morning, as the Europeans demonstrated composure and aggressive play. Anna Nordqvist’s highly anticipated partnership of Charley Hull and Lottie Woad failed to deliver once again. Their opponents, Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin, produced a commanding 6&5 triumph – the joint‑largest margin ever recorded in Solheim Cup foursomes. Lee, riding the wave of her third straight session win, paired with Coughlin to dominate from the fourth hole onward, stringing together four consecutive winning holes.
In another highlight, rookie duo Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud continued their flawless start by defeating Andrea Lee and Austom Kim 4&3. Their performance marked the first time a rookie pair had won two matches together in a single Solheim Cup, and they did so with the widest winning margin ever recorded for a debutant pairing in foursomes.
Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit clinched the final point of the session with a dramatic finish. After a tightly contested series of holes, the pair secured a win on the eighteenth, ensuring Europe walked away with the session victory. Their success was built on a series of birdies that kept the pressure on the Americans throughout the back nine. Nordqvist’s decision to field an all‑Swedish pairing paid immediate dividends.
The Swedish duo opened strong, matching an American birdie on the second hole and then responding to a lost third hole with a birdie of their own, never relinquishing the lead. Their momentum continued when they captured the seventh with another birdie and extended their advantage further when Stark chipped in for an eagle just off the eighth green. A steady par on the ninth gave them a three‑hole lead at the turn. Korda and Corpuz attempted a late rally, winning back‑to‑back holes from the tenth onward to halve the deficit.
However, Stark’s eight‑foot birdie putt on the sixteenth hole sealed the end of the Americans’ perfect foursomes record, cementing Europe’s lead. "It’s the best feeling ever," Stark said after her victory. "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 early when Lee and Coughlin captured four straight holes starting at the fourth. Woad managed a close‑range birdie on the eighth to level the match temporarily, but Lee and Coughlin responded with consecutive birdies on the back nine, sealing an emphatic win with a par on the thirteenth.
"I feel like we both just hit it so solid," Lee remarked after securing her third point of the week. "All I had to do was sit back and watch Lauren [Coughlin] play. She hit some incredible shots into the green and made some amazing putts." Rhodes and Nadaud’s performance was historic. They became the first rookie pair to notch two victories together in a single Solheim Cup, and they never trailed during their match, achieving the largest margin of victory ever for a debutant foursomes team.
"We didn’t really expect to play this morning," Nadaud admitted. "Yesterday was a great surprise. We played very sensibly – we hit lots of fairways and held the greens, giving ourselves plenty of chances." Another volatile match saw the American duo of Kupcho and Zhang surge two up after six holes, only for Henseleit to miss three short putts from inside five feet. Maguire and Henseleit rebounded, winning three of the first four holes on the back nine to retake the lead.
Team USA fought back, taking successive holes from the fourteenth onward, but Maguire leveled the match on the sixteenth. Europe ultimately clinched the point when Zhang’s approach clipped the lip of a bunker on the last 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 ten, eleven and twelve were key turning points." The Solheim Cup now heads into its final day, with the singles matches set to begin at 10:10 a.m.
on Sunday. Fans can watch the decisive action live on Sky Sports Golf from 9 a.m., or stream without a contract via NOW. The tournament’s outcome remains wide open, promising an exciting climax to one of women’s golf’s most prestigious events.