Team Europe entered the Sunday singles of the Solheim Cup dead‑locked with Team USA at 8‑8, thanks to another flawless performance from Maja Stark and Linn Grant, while the pairing of Charley Hull and Lottie Woad once again fell short. The weekend’s drama unfolded over two days of intense match play, with each side trading leads and setting up a decisive final day. On Friday, Anna Nordqvist’s squad split the morning sessions evenly before seizing three of the four points available in the morning foursomes.
That surge gave Europe a slim edge, but the United States answered in the afternoon four‑ball matches, narrowing the gap and ensuring that the competition would head into the final day with the scores level. Stark and Grant continued their unbeaten run, posting a commanding 2&1 victory over the previously unbeaten duo of Megan Khang and Lauren Coughlin. It marked their third straight win together, underscoring the chemistry they have built since the start of the event. In contrast, Hull and Woad suffered a heartbreaking loss on the final hole to the Korean‑American pair of Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee.
Hull and Woad made history by becoming the first partnership to compete in all four sessions of a Solheim Cup, yet they returned only half a point to their team. Their struggle was compounded when Rose Zhang and Auston Kim further widened the United States’ lead by defeating Leona Maguire and Nastasia Nadaud 3&2.
The drama intensified on Friday afternoon when Carlota Ciganda secured a dramatic half‑point with the final putt of the four‑ball session. She was then thrust back onto the 18th green in the bottom match, where a spectacular 90‑foot birdie by Jennifer Kupcho on the par‑four 17th forced a tie with Lindy Duncan. Kupcho’s clutch performance didn’t stop there; she holed a 20‑plus‑foot putt on the 18th to clinch a 1‑up win over Ciganda and Celine Bouter, prompting exuberant celebrations on the final green. That stunning finish left Team USA needing six points on Sunday to retain the Cup, two years after their home‑soil triumph in Virginia.
Europe, on the other hand, required 6.5 points for an outright victory – the first such win since 2021. The Swedish stars were again the first to tee off on Saturday, having already broken the perfect foursomes record of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz earlier in the day. Stark produced an extraordinary shot, holing out from the first fairway for her second eagle of the tournament.
Lauren Coughlin responded with a run of birdies beginning on the third hole, briefly putting the United States ahead. The teams then traded holes until Grant seized the 11th and 12th with consecutive birdies, re‑establishing Europe’s momentum.
Stark added to the excitement by holing a 20‑foot putt on the 13th, extending the lead to two points. Coughlin answered on the 16th with a long‑range birdie, completing Europe’s third win of the week. The defeat was especially painful for Khang, who suffered her first loss in ten Solheim Cup appearances, ending a six‑match winning streak that fell just short of the all‑time record. Coughlin’s loss also marked the first ever defeat for Team USA in a Solheim Cup match.
"We really turned it on during the back nine," Grant reflected. "We got our things together and started playing the way we wanted to. It was a great match – they were right on our heels." Hull and Woad’s partnership remains unique: they are the first duo to compete in all four opening sessions without securing at least one point, and they never led a match where Noh produced an eagle and four birdies on the front nine to go two up.
Europe captured the opening hole of the back‑nine but surrendered the 13th to an Andrea Lee birdie. Hull matched Lee’s birdie on the 15th and added another on the 17th, yet the United States closed the match with a par on the final hole, securing the point. Nastasia Nadaud, who had teamed with Mimi Rhodes for two earlier sessions, was paired with Leona Maguire in the third match.
Maguire chipped in for an eagle on the eighth and birdied the ninth, but the Americans responded with a three‑hole surge that ultimately gave them the win. In the concluding stages, both teams fought fiercely. Ciganda won back‑to‑back holes from the 13th, only for Duncan to claim the next, while Kupcho delivered a spectacular birdie on the 17th and capped it with another dramatic putt on the 18th.
The United States triumphed in the four‑ball session 3‑1, leaving the overall score tied after two days – the third consecutive Solheim Cup on European soil to end in a dead heat. "That was huge," USA captain Angela Stanford exclaimed.
"It completely turned the tide. Jennifer doesn’t give up; she’s a fighter.
Her teammates saw that in person today." Sunday’s singles will begin at 11:10 a.m. local time (10:10 BST), with heavy rain forecast for much of the day. Historically, the last three Solheim Cups that were tied heading into the final day have produced European victories on home ground. Golf fans can watch the decisive matches live on Sky Sports Golf from 9 a.m., with the opening singles tee‑off at 10:10 a.m., or stream the action on NOW without a contract.