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 session. The victory came despite a record‑tying drubbing for Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, whose partnership could not find a foothold. The opening day at Bernardus Golf had been a picture‑perfect tie, marking only the second time in Solheim Cup history that the two sides were dead‑even after the first session. Europe, however, seized the initiative on Saturday morning by capturing three of the four points on offer, turning the tide in their favour.
Korda and Corpuz entered the day with a flawless 100‑percent record in foursomes, having won five consecutive matches together. Their streak was abruptly halted when Stark and Grant, leading the European side, produced a dominant 3&2 victory to claim the first point of the morning. The Swedes displayed confident, aggressive play, forcing the Americans into errors and never allowing a comeback. Anna Nordqvist’s highly anticipated pairing of Hull and Woad failed to deliver any momentum.
Instead, Alison Lee notched her third consecutive win, this time teamed with Lauren Coughlin, and the duo hammered a 6&5 triumph – the joint‑largest margin ever recorded in Solheim Cup foursomes. Their relentless string of birdies and precise iron play left the English pair scrambling for a response. The rookie duo of Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud continued their flawless start, dispatching Andrea Lee and Austom Kim 4&3. Their composure under pressure was evident; they never fell behind and capitalized on every scoring opportunity.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit secured a dramatic final‑hole win, ensuring that Europe swept the entire session. Nordqvist’s decision to field an all‑Swedish partnership was instantly vindicated.
The Swedes opened with a birdie, matched the Americans on the next hole, and after a brief setback, regained the lead with a decisive birdie on the third. They continued to dominate, taking the seventh hole with another birdie and extending the lead when Stark chipped in for an eagle from just off the eighth green.
A pars on the ninth kept the momentum rolling, giving Europe a four‑hole cushion at the turn. Korda and Corpuz attempted a comeback, winning back‑to‑back holes from the 10th onward to halve the deficit. Their effort was thwarted when Stark holed an eight‑foot birdie putt on the 16th, sealing the end of the Americans’ perfect foursomes record and cementing Europe’s advantage. "It’s the best feeling ever," Stark said after her decisive 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 left together despite a modest half‑point return from two matches on Friday. The English pair fell behind early as Lee and Coughlin seized four straight holes from the fourth onward.
Woad managed a close‑range birdie on the eighth to level temporarily, but the Americans responded with back‑to‑back birdies on the back nine, sealing an emphatic victory with a par on the 13th. "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] work her magic. She hit incredible shots into the green and made some spectacular putts." Rhodes and Nadaud made history as the first rookie duo to win two matches together in a single Solheim Cup. Their partnership never fell behind, and they recorded the largest margin of victory ever for a debutant pairing in a foursomes match. "We didn’t really expect to play this morning," Nadaud admitted.
"It was a great surprise yesterday. We played very sensible golf – hit lots of fairways and greens, and gave ourselves plenty of chances." In another thrilling encounter, the pairing of Kupcho and Zhang surged two up after six holes. Henseleit missed three short putts from inside five feet, but the European side rallied when she and Maguire claimed three of the first four holes on the back nine, pulling back into contention.
Team USA fought back, winning consecutive holes from the 14th onward. Maguire responded by leveling the match on the 16th, but Europe clinched the final point when Zhang’s approach clipped the lip of a bunker and resulted in a closing bogey. "We knew we weren’t doing anything fundamentally wrong," Maguire reflected.
"We got off to a great start, just like yesterday, and they hit back with a birdie on three. We had to stay patient and keep creating chances. Holes 10, 11 and 12 were pivotal turning points." As the competition heads toward the decisive final day, fans are eager to see which side will ultimately lift the Solheim Cup.
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