As if the momentum wasn’t already with the Europeans after posting the first two points of the afternoon matches, Carlota Ciganda put an emphatic stamp on day one for the Europeans by holing out her second shot into the par-4 17th – the last shot of the day due to a suspension from darkness – to tie up a match in which Ciganda and Melissa Reid had trailed Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr all day.

Reid had already grabbed the momentum the hole before when she holed a 30-foot bomb from the front of the green and watched as the Americans missed their birdie chances to cut the lead to 1 UP with two to play. Now, when play resumes at 7:45 AM local time (1:45 AM EST), the only afternoon match of the day that the Americans seemingly had control in is in major doubt with the match being all square heading into the 18th, and the Europeans owning a 4-2 lead overall. Play had to be suspended due to darkness because of a delay midway through the afternoon matches due to lightning in the area.

“Very crazy,” said U.S. Team Captain Juli Inkster on how the day finished up for her team. “We got smoked the first two matches. And we’re looking pretty good in that third match, and then Melissa makes a good putt on 16 and we miss ours. And then Carlota holes it out on 17. That’s the beauty of match play. It’s the beauty of golf. Good thing is we’ve got one more hole to play and then we have three more holes with that other one. We’re going to have to do a little rallying tomorrow morning early.”

The European’s afternoon dominance stole all the American’s good vibes that came from a 2-2 morning foursomes record, a format they typically struggle in. Instead of building off the morning, the Europeans seized control with dominant victories in the first two matches out in the afternoon and the Americans don’t lead in either of the two remaining matches on the golf course.

Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall got the afternoon started right for the Europeans and remain undefeated as a pairing (3-0) after atoning for Nordqvist’s morning loss to Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer with a dominant 4&3 afternoon victory. Nordqvist was stellar from the outset with six birdies in her first 11 holes to seize an early 5-up lead for Europe in that match.

Charley Hull, easily the star of day one with two wins for the Europeans, poured in six birdies of her own with Gwladys Nocera in four-ball to hand Alison Lee and Angela Stanford a 3&2 loss in the second match out.

“I feel great,” European Team Captain Carin Koch said of how her team fared after play was halted for the day. “They were all so confident and comfortable on the course. I told them last night to just go out and enjoy the crowds and enjoy the fans and the stage they’re on this week. And I think they all did that. It looked like they were having a lot of fun all day, really. Yeah, I couldn’t be more pleased with them.”

Caroline Masson and Sandra Gal, the two Germans playing at home, lead Gerina Piller and Brittany Lang 1 UP through 15 holes and will return to the 16th tee when play begins Saturday. Gal and Piller have carried their respective teams in that match with five birdies a piece, but the difference in the match has been Lang only has one birdie to Masson’s two.

Pairings for Saturday’s morning foursomes will be submitted an hour in advance of the third round’s 9:15 AM local time (3:15 AM EST) start.

Solheim Cup Friday Four-Ball News and Notes

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