OVERALL SCORE – EUROPE 8, USA 8
SATURDAY FOUR-BALL RESULTS – EUROPE 1.5, USA 2.5
Brittany Altomare/Annie Park (USA) def. Suzann Pettersen/Anne van Dam (EUR), 1 up
Jodi Ewart Shadoff/Caroline Masson (EUR) halved with Lexi Thompson/Marina Alex (USA)
Georgia Hall/Celine Boutier (EUR) def. Ally McDonald/Angel Yin (USA), 2 up
Lizette Salas/Danielle Kang (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda/Azahara Munoz (EUR), 2 and 1
SATURDAY FOURSOMES RESULTS – EUROPE 2, USA 2
Morgan Pressel/Marina Alex (USA) def. Anna Nordqvist/Anne van Dam (EUR), 2 and 1
Georgia Hall/Celine Boutier (EUR) def. Lizette Salas/Ally McDonald (USA), 3 and 2
Charley Hull/Azahara Munoz (EUR) def. Danielle Kang/Megan Khang (USA), 4 and 3
Jessica Korda/Nelly Korda (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda/Bronte Law (EUR), 6 and 5
FRIDAY FOUR-BALL RESULTS – EUROPE 2, USA 2
Suzann Pettersen/Anne van Dam (EUR) def. Danielle Kang/Lizette Salas (USA), 4 and 2
Ally McDonald/Angel Yin (USA) def. Anna Nordqvist/Caroline Hedwall (EUR), 7 and 5
Charley Hull/Azahara Munoz (EUR) halved with Nelly Korda/Brittany Altomare (USA)
Carlota Ciganda/Bronte Law (EUR) halved with Jessica Korda/Lexi Thompson (USA)
FRIDAY FOURSOMES RESULTS – EUROPE 2.5, USA 1.5
Carlota Ciganda/Bronte Law (EUR) halved with Morgan Pressel/Marina Alex (USA)
Georgia Hall/Celine Boutier (EUR) def. Lexi Thompson/Brittany Altomare (USA), 2 and 1
Jessica Korda/Nelly Korda (USA) def. Caroline Masson/Jodi Ewart Shadoff (EUR), 6 and 4
Charley Hull/Azahara Munoz (EUR) def. Megan Khang/Annie Park (USA), 2 and 1
SATURDAY FOUR-BALL RECAPS
Brittany Altomare/Annie Park (USA) def. Suzann Pettersen/Anne van Dam (EUR), 1 up
The USA’s Brittany Altomare and Annie Park never trailed in their 1-up win over the European squad of Suzann Pettersen and Anne van Dam. But it absolutely was not an easy victory, with challenges not only from a tenacious Team Europe but also from the wind and rain that whipped Gleneagles.
Altomare and Park took a 2-up advantage with back-to-back birdies at 5 and 6, their largest lead of the match. Pettersen then went on a tear, birdieing five of the next seven holes. But in the delicate balance that is match play, she also carded two bogeys and Team USA added two birdies of their own to remain 1 up through 13.
Van Dam made a short birdie at No. 14 to again square the match but Altomare promptly birdied the 15th to again pull one hole clear, a lead they ultimately carried to the win.
“It was tough out there. I'm so glad I played the Scottish Open, and it was like this, maybe even worse,” said Park. “But I'm glad that I got that practice out. And I was prepared for this one. And I think we both were.”
“It was really, really tough and it's just I mean you just try to control the ball coming down to the end and a few errors from both of us kind of let that slip away,” added Pettersen. “But you know what we made them work for it. We got them to 18 and you lose some and you win some. And I think we played pretty good. Very, very tough conditions.”
Jodi Ewart Shadoff/Caroline Masson (EUR) halved with Lexi Thompson/Marina Alex (USA)
With the match on the line, Caroline Masson’s 7-foot birdie putt at No. 18 hit the right edge of the hole and ricocheted past, stunning the gallery and giving Masson and Jodi Ewart Shadoff a halved point with Lexi Thompson and Marina Alex.
Neither side was able to pull ahead by more than a 1-up margin across their 18-hole battle. Masson made birdie at No. 13 to give Europe a 1-up lead that they held until the 16th hole, where Alex nailed a long birdie putt to square the match. They then proceeded all square to 18, where Masson missed her opportunity to take a full point.
“Half points are huge. As much as we want the full point we'll definitely take half,” said Thompson, now 5-3-5 all-time in Solheim Cup competition. “We're all going into tomorrow's singles match just focusing on our own games. We'll have a nice relaxing night tonight, talk about strategy going into tomorrow, but go out there, play our own game and hope the conditions are a little better and hope for the best golf.”
Georgia Hall/Celine Boutier (EUR) def. Ally McDonald/Angel Yin (USA), 2 up
As they did in their four-ball match on Friday, Ally McDonald and Angel Yin held a 4-up lead through seven holes on Saturday. But this time, it all fell apart. After Georgia Hall birdied No. 15, Celine Boutier drained an eagle putt on the par-5 14th, the only eagle this far in the 2019 Solheim Cup, to pull within two. A USA bogey at 16 pulled Europe even closer, and Boutier’s birdie at No. 17 brought the teams even for the first time in the match.
“I knew that they were going to make birdie on 14 so the only way to win the hole at that point was to make it,” Boutier of her eagle. “And since we were 4-down we were not going to have that many opportunities left. So I just tried to go for it and thankfully it went in.”
At 17, Yin’s par attempt went racing past the hole, giving Hall and Boutier a 1-up lead heading to the final hole. At 18, Hall clinched the 2-up win with a birdie and brought the pairing to 3-0-0 at this year’s Solheim Cup.
“Mine's and Celine's game gelled well for foursomes. She's a great putter and I hit, my iron shots are quite strong. So, we played really well both foursomes matches. We only had about 20 minutes to go and sit and have some lunch and warm, and then went back out and the weather was even worse,” said Hall. “And obviously it was a different format for us; first time playing fourballs this week. We didn't start off that great. The weather was horrendous. Could hardly stand up. And then, yeah, back nine we kind of switched on and played some really good golf so we're very happy.”
Lizette Salas/Danielle Kang (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda/Azahara Munoz (EUR), 2 and 1
After suffering the only defeat for the Americans in Friday’s four-ball session, Lizette Salas and Danielle Kang were sent out together in the anchor match on Saturday afternoon hoping to find redemption. They found exactly that with a 2-and-1 victory over the European’s pair of Spaniards, Azahara Munoz and Carlota Ciganda.
The U.S. duo found themselves 2 down after three holes but quickly rebounded with three straight birdies in very difficult windy conditions and the match was all square through six holes. Salas and Kang would never trail after that. Despite a birdie by Munoz on the 12th that cut the U.S. lead to 1 up, Kang was able to close out the match by draining her birdie putt on 17 to earn an all-important full point for Team USA.
“I'm at a loss for words. These are the toughest conditions I've ever played in. And we hung in there for each other,” said Salas. “We hung in there for our team. And we hung in there for the people at home watching. And it was just an awesome day, playing with my best friend, and getting that win for Team USA feels pretty incredible.”
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