Both teams claimed two points in the foursomes to leave Team USA 7-5 ahead over Team Europe; Carlota Ciganda partnered Emily Pedersen to victory while Linn Grant and Maja Stark won their match on the final hole
By Ali Stafford at Finca Cortesin
Swedish rookies Maja Stark and Linn Grant provided a crucial final-hole victory to ensure Team Europe stayed within two points of Team USA heading into the Saturday fourballs at the Solheim Cup.
Europe avoided a repeat of Friday’s foursomes session, where Team USA completed their first clean sweep in the format in the tournament’s history, as the hosts battled to ensure a share of the spoils and keep the deficit at two points.
Home favourite Carlota Ciganda led from the front to guide her and Emily Pedersen to an impressive 2&1 win victory over Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho, before Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz thrashed an out-of-sorts Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier 5&3.
Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang claimed a final-hole victory over Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire, before Stark and Grant prevented Team USA from extending their advantage by seeing off Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee by the same margin.
“I think we came out with a more aggressive mindset today,” Grant said. “Losing yesterday was not fun. Our first loss ever. So we kind of had a different view of it today and just went out and crushed it from the start.”
Play was stopped momentarily at the Solheim Cup in Spain as a greenside sprinkler was set off accidentally. A greenkeeper was forced to intervene so play could continue
Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda beat Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho 2&1
Ciganda rolled in a birdie at the fifth and Europe won the next when Vu failed to save par, before the hosts failed to get up and down from the sand to save par at the seventh and then also lost the next hole to leave the contest tied.
A dormie par won the tenth and a three-putt bogey from Team USA at the 13th doubled their advantage, with Pedersen holing a 10-foot birdie for a halve at the next before Vu fired her approach at the 15th to tap-in range.
Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen secured a point for Team Europe at the Solheim Cup with a 2&1 victory in the Saturday morning foursomes over Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho.
Europe restored their two-hole cushion by winning the 16th hole, before Ciganda slotted in a three-foot par at the next to secure her second point in as many sessions.
“It was great,” Pedersen told Sky Sports. “The crowds were amazing. Obviously we had Carlota out here so we have the whole nation here. It felt good to go out early. We wanted to go out early and get that one point.”
Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang beat Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire 1up
The European pair took advantage of the par-five second and responded to losing the par-five fourth with a bogey by Nordqvist birdieing the next and the pair winning the seventh.
Three consecutive bogeys from Europe around the turn saw USA win all those holes and edge ahead, before Nordqvist pulled the contest level with a birdie at the 15th.
Team USA’s Megan Khang shocked the commentary team at the Solheim Cup by missing a short two foot putt to gift Team Europe a hole during the second day of action in Spain.
Nordqvist scrambled a par at the 16th but hit a wayward tee shot at the next, seeing USA take the hole with a par after the Swede missed her putt, before a par at the last was enough to secure Thompson and Khang the point.
Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz beat Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier 5&3
The American pair never trailed and immediately won the first two holes with birdies, with pars then enough to claim back-to-back holes from the sixth. They also won the 11th with a birdie.
Team USA moved to the brink of victory when Europe failed to get up and down from the sand at the 13th to fall five behind, with Hall draining a 15-foot birdie on the next hole before Korda sealed the win with a long-range birdie at the 15th.
“Allisen and I just played really well the past two days,” Korda said. “I think we just bonded really well on the golf course. We didn’t make too many mistakes, especially today, and we rolled in a lot of putts.”
Maja Stark and Linn Grant beat Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee 1up
The Swedish pair grabbed the early advantage in a topsy-turvy contest with an opening birdie, before the Americans birdied the fourth and cancelled out Europe winning the eighth by taking the ninth with a birdie.
A par was enough for Europe to win the 11th and Kang rolled a long-range birdie at the 12th, before Team USA responded to Grant taking the 13th hole from close range by winning the next.
Lee levelled again by holing from 30 feet but Stark made one of her own from 25 feet for birdie at the 17th to move one ahead, with Grant then making the 10-foot birdie at the last to seal a dramatic win.
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