After Team USA held off a Team Europe final-day fightback to regain the Solheim Cup, we look at which players starred and who struggled through the week; as well as those who were surprisingly overlooked…
Team Europe
Charley Hull – 3 points from five matches – 8.5/10
Charley Hull dominated Nelly Korda 6&4 to post the first point of the day for Europe in the Solheim Cup as they attempted to mount a comeback during the Sunday singles
Charley Hull’s score is as high as it is purely because of her sensational 6&4 demolition of world No 1 Nelly Korda in the opening Sunday singles match.
Hull was on fire with her putter and gave Korda no room for error, setting up the miracle that nearly was for Team Europe.
The win was Hull’s largest victory in the Solheim Cup, her next best coming over 10 years ago in 2013.
She did suffer losses in the Friday foursomes and fourballs but came up against the unbeaten partnership of Korda and Allisen Corpuz while helping rookie Esther Henseleit along the way.
Madelene Sagstrom – 2 points from three matches – 7/10
Alison Lee holed out for eagle on the second hole and sent the Solheim Cup crowd wild prompting the Team USA caddies to join in shirtless!
Madelene Sagstrom’s first appearance at the 2024 Solheim Cup was in the Friday fourballs and she delivered, her and Anna Nordqvist’s 6&5 demolition of Alison Lee and Lexi Thompson picking up Europe’s only point of the afternoon session.
She could not add another point in her Saturday fourballs but was up against the pretty unplayable Alison Lee and Megan Khang. However she came out on top in the Sunday singles with a point that could have been crucial if Europe had been able to turn a few halves into full points.
Megan Khang’s putt on the 11th hole took a full 10 seconds to drop in the hole for birdie as she kept her two-up lead over Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom
Celine Boutier – 2 points from four matches – 6.5/10
Celine Boutier beat Lexi Thompson on the 18th hole to claim a vital point for Europe in the Solheim Cup in Virginia
It is fair to say Celine Boutier had a mixed weekend at the Solheim Cup. She lost a foursomes and a fourballs match, picking up a win in another, then coming up clutch in her singles match against the retiring Thompson.
Rose Zhang, in particular, had the better of her across the weekend but when a huge point was on the line, Boutier stayed calm, did not falter under the pressure, and gave Team Europe a big slice of hope with a birdie putt for a full point on the 18th.
Georgia Hall – 2 points from four matches – 6.5/10
Georgia Hall beat Alison Lee 4&3 to secure Europe’s eighth point of the Solheim Cup and reduce the gap to 11-8
Georgia Hall is another plyer who had a very mixed Solheim Cup while being trusted to compete across a lot of the weekend.
She lost a fourballs and a foursomes match but then came out on top when paired with Hull in the Saturday fourballs.
In a crucial singles match she then delivered, beating Alison Lee in strong fashion to join Hull in putting a point on the board early.
Hall showed her class under pressure but, like a lot of Team Europe, left it too late.
Anna Nordqvist – 2 points from four matches – 7/10
Anna Nordqvist holed out for an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole at the Solheim Cup to cut the deficit to just one hole against Allisen Corpuz
If there is someone who showed how experience can work wonders it was Anna Nordqvist who was competing in her ninth Solheim Cup.
The Swede was on fire with the putter all weekend, particularly in her demolition job in Friday’s fourballs, but then fell short in Saturday’s fourballs and in the singles.
She was in a key match against Corpuz and just could not find the rhythm she had earlier in the weekend, Corpuz clinching a vital point as Team USA edged towards victory.
Emily Pedersen – 2 points from five matches – 5/10
Emily Pedersen closed out her match against Lexi Thompson and Ally Ewing with a stunning approach shot to the 17th green to win Europe a point and close the gap to 10-5 in the Solheim Cup
A fourballs loss, a fourballs win, a foursomes loss, a foursomes win and a singles loss. Talk about a mixed bag!
Emily Pedersen was really missing consistency across the Solheim Cup, all her victories being pretty tight, and then it came home to roost as she went out second on Sunday and could not deliver against Khang.
She was thoroughly beaten and was unable to follow Hull in keeping Europe’s momentum going as they hunted for a miracle.
Esther Henseleit – 1.5 points from three matches – 6/10
Esther Henseleit, playing alongside Charley Hull, hit a clutch pitch shot on the 18th hole to claim a vital point for Europe against Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho at the Solheim Cup
Rookie Esther Henseleit came up with some really pivotal moments for Team Europe, especially her pitch shot on the 18th in Saturday’s foursomes, adding a crucial point when Europe were floundering.
However, the pressure cooker of the singles was tough and what could have been a full point was halved as Andrea Lee kept coming at her and it finally paid dividends on the 18th, her shot this time not the best.
A solid enough weekend for a first Solheim Cup.
Esther Henseleit and Andrea Lee tied their Solheim Cup match after a series of putt offs over the last three holes
Maja Stark – 1.5 points from four matches – 6/10
Lauren Coughlin and Lexi Thompson win 4&3 in the Solheim Cup to claim the USA’s seventh point in Virginia
Maja Stark was part of the pairing with Pedersen that picked up Europe’s only point in the opening session on Friday but then could not add a full point from then on.
She did have opportunities to win her singles match against Team USA rookie Lauren Coughlin but credit has to be given for her insanely pressurised putt for par on the 18th that halved the match and kept the Solheim Cup going.
Leona Maguire – 1 point from two matches – 7/10
It was a very quiet Solheim Cup for Leona Maguire and she has made no secret of the fact she would have liked to have played more.
Maguire and Hall suffered a heavy loss to Korda and Khang in Friday’s fourballs and then we did not see Maguire again until Sunday’s singles where she showed her class and experience to secure a big point for Team Europe against Ally Ewing in the penultimate match.
She made her point with her point.
Carlota Ciganda – 1 point from four matches – 5/10
Rose Zhang holed two monster putts for Team USA in the afternoon fourball match against Charley Hull and Linn Grant at the Solheim Cup
Carlota Ciganda loves matchplay golf, especially the Solheim Cup, and was the hero in 2023 on home soil but could not find those breakthrough moments in 2024.
She helped pick up a big point in the Saturday fourballs as her and Pedersen defeated Ewing and Thompson 2&1 but was then beaten very convincingly by Zhang in the singles as Team USA moved 1.5 points away from their first win since 2017.
Albane Valenzuela – 0.5 points from two matches – 6/10
World No 2 Lilia Vu birdied the 18th hole to claim a half-point that secured Team USA the Solheim Cup in Virginia
Like Maguire, it was a quiet weekend for rookie Albane Valenzuela.
She lost alongside Boutier in the Friday foursomes and then we did not see her again until the singles in which she battled really hard for half a point but did not have the ability to close the door when she went ahead.
A tough moment for her though as Lilia Vu’s experience showed as she kept bringing herself back in the match and then ultimately was the player to hole the putt for victory for her country.
Linn Grant – 0 points from four matches – 3/10
Andrea Lee holed out from the bunker on the 13th hole to put Team USA five up with five to play at the Solheim Cup
It certainly was a weekend to forget for Linn Grant who could not get a point on the board for Team Europe.
Grant was trusted across the majority of the weekend but could not deliver, losing in both fourballs and foursomes on Friday, fourballs again on Saturday, then singles against Jennifer Kupcho on Sunday in the anchor match.
There was a scenario that could have unfolded where, if some ties were turned into full points, Grant’s singles match would have been crucial and her role as the anchor would have potentially been put under the microscope.
How did Team USA fare?
Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz finish one up in their match against Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda to claim the eighth point for Team USA
Overall, it was an absolutely phenomenal weekend for Team USA, getting themselves ahead early and then bringing it home when the pressure started to boil over.
It was only the second time in Solheim Cup history that four USA players went undefeated, Zhang (4-0-0), Khang (3-0-0), Coughlin (3-0-1) and Andrea Lee (2-0-1) delivering in particular.
Nelly Korda posted four birdies and two eagles as Team USA continued to dominate the Solheim Cup on Friday afternoon in Virginia
Korda also had a weekend to shine despite her singles defeat to Hull, leading her team out in every session and bringing the atmosphere at the first tee, her undefeated partnership with Corpuz still one to be reckoned with.
Even those who struggled in certain aspects of the weekend performed when it mattered, Vu keeping herself in her singles match then slotting home the winning putt.
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