The United States team recovered this Sunday morning at the Solheim Women’s Golf Cup by getting three wins in the four games of ‘foursomes’ (alternating blows) to cut to a single point (5.5 to 6.5) the considerable advantage that the defending champion Europe built on day one.
Lexi Thompson’s twenty-foot birdie putt on par 4 of the 17 closed a 2-1 win for her and Brittany Altomare against Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen. Austin Ernst and Danielle Kang edged Georgia Hall and Madelene Sagstrom 1 up, and Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas edged Matilda Castren and Anna Nordqvist 3 and 1. The Europeans came to lead all four games. Only the team of Leona Maguire and Mel Reid held out. The two edged out world number one Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing by a resounding 5 and 4.
But Catriona Matthew’s men managed to stop the bleeding in the afternoon fourballs. Partly thanks to the Navarrese Carlota Ciganda, who this time played with the Norwegian Koerstz Madsen and added her first victory of the edition: one up against Jessica Korda and Megan Khang. The English Hull and the Swede Pedersen overflowed Kang and Ernst (3 & 2) and another English, Reid, and the Irish Maguire scratched a valuable last-minute draw against Kupcho and Salas, who were full in the morning. France’s Boutier and Germany’s Popov fell 3 & 1 to Harigae and Noh.