The Solheim Cup
Golf Club St. Leon-Rot
St. Leon-Rot, Germany
September 19, 2015

After finishing up Friday’s two remaining four-ball matches early on Saturday morning by earning two halves, the United States appeared to be riding a wave of momentum into the morning foursomes matches. Instead, the Europeans found momentum of their own late in the matches to take a commanding 8-4 lead entering Saturday afternoon’s four-ball matches.

Early on it looked like the morning foursomes would perhaps end in a down-the-middle split as both the U.S. and Europe raced out to big leads in two matches each. Melissa Reid and Carlota Ciganda were able to hold onto the early lead that they built against Michelle Wie and Alison Lee, capturing a 4&3 victory. And Stacy Lewis found a pairing she really liked with Gerina Piller as the two handed Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall their first ever loss together in team play, as the U.S. recorded a 5&4 win.

But the biggest swing of the day came in the match featuring Americans Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel against Europeans Suzann Pettersen and Charley Hull. Creamer and Pressel stormed out to a commanding early lead, as they were 4 UP through 11. After chipping into the American lead with a birdie on the 12th, Pettersen and Hull delivered a comeback that will live in the Solheim Cup record books as they finished the round with four straight birdies to defeat Creamer and Pressel 1 UP.

Afterwards, both Hull and Pettersen were both buzzing as they celebrated among their teammates. “I told Charley, let’s throw darts at the pins, stay aggressive. This was a robbery. This one was a robbery.” Pettersen said of the win.

The Europeans then put a stamp on the morning with a 1 UP victory by Sandra Gal and Catriona Matthew over Angela Stanford and Brittany Lincicome. Gal and Matthew had led 3 UP at the turn but Lincicome and Stanford kept trying to chip away at that lead. A birdie by the American duo at the 16th put the Europeans up just 1 with two holes to play. But after exchanging birdies on the 17th, Lincicome couldn’t convert a birdie putt that would have secured a half point for the U.S. and the Europeans earned their third point of the morning matches.

FRIDAY FOUR-BALL FINISH
Saturday at The Solheim Cup got off to a dramatic start with two matches from Friday afternoon’s four-ball matches still in progress after they were suspended on Friday night due to darkness. Match No. 7 started and ended on the par-4 18th hole with Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr vs. Mel Reid and Carlota Ciganda all square. The Americans hoped the suspension of play would take the wind out of the Europeans’ sails and it turned out to pay off. Reid and Thompson were both set up for birdie putts and Reid stepped up to sink her 10-footer to put the pressure on Thompson. But Thompson answered making her 8-foot putt to halve the match and salvaged a half point, the first for the Americans for the four-ball session.

Gerina Piller turned out to be the star of the final match of Piller/Brittany Lang vs. Sandra Gal/Caroline
Masson. Starting on the 16th hole, Piller sank a 50-foot bomb to get the Americans all square then birdied No. 17 to go 1 UP. But a spectacular approach shot on the par-4 18th hole by Gal left her with 2 feet for birdie while Piller had 15 feet. Piller narrowly missed and the Americans conceded Gal’s putt to halve the match.

After the completion of the foursomes matches: EUROPE-5 USA-3

Match 9
Carlota Ciganda/Mel Reid win 4&3 over Michelle Wie/Alison Lee
The duo of Carlota Ciganda and Mel Reid turned around from their halved four-ball match early this morning and
continued their momentum right into their foursomes match vs. Michelle Wie and Alison Lee. Birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 got the Europeans off to a quick start and went 4 UP through seven holes with a birdie on No. 6 and a par on the 7th when Wie missed her par putt to lose the hole. The Americans would win the first of only two holes in the match on No. 8 when Ciganda missed a short par putt of her own. But she would respond with a lengthy putt from the fringe on the 11th hole to set Reid up for birdie to go 4 UP with seven holes to play. The Americans won the 12th hole with a par to cut the lead to three but Wie missed a four-foot par putt on the 15th hole to secure the 4&3 win for the Europeans.

“I don’t know. She’s a great girl. She hits it a mile. It’s a lot easier when I’ve got one foot or less to the hole. I don’t have any stress with Carlota. If I hit off her, I have absolute faith in her. She’s just a -- she’s a Spaniard, she’s a Sergio, a Seve, an incredible player.” - Mel Reid

Match 10

Match 10
Charley Hull/Suzann Pettersen win 1 UP over Morgan Pressel/Paula Creamer
The Creamer-Pressel duo got off to a dazzling start, winning four holes on the front nine and made the turn 3 UP. They looked to have their match nearly locked up when Pressel hit her approach shot on the par-5 11th hole to six inches to go 4 UP with seven holes to play. But Pettersen and Hull pulled of an amazing comeback that included four
consecutive birdies on the final four holes to win 1 UP and to give the Europeans their second point of the foursomes session. The momentum change came on the par-3 15th hole when Hull nearly holed out in front of a packed
grandstand full of European supporters. Hull had a hole-in-one on the 15th in a practice round earlier this week.

QUOTEABLE
“I was just buzzing. I felt like I just needed to get a kick start. We made some birdies and it just got to me on the 17th hole. Nearly having that hole-in-one on the 15th was just fantastic and then holing a putt, and Suzann holed a great putt on the last, I was just buzzing.” - Charley Hull

Match 11
Sandra Gal/Catriona Matthew win 1 UP over Angela Stanford/Brittany Lincicome
The duo of Sandra Gal and Catriona Matthew got off to a fast start thanks to Germany native Sandra Gal’s two birdies on holes 1 and 2. The Europeans made the turn all smiles and 3 UP before Lincicome and Stanford attempted a comeback they just were not able to complete. The Americans cut the lead to 1 on the 12th hole and hung on after a clutch tee shot by Gal on the 15th hole put them just eight feet from the hole and resulted in yet another birdie and win for Team Europe. Again, the lead was cut to 1 UP after a huge birdie putt by Stanford on 16. On 17, both sides found themselves with tap-in birdies with the Americans needing to win the 18th to halve the match. Lincicome left her birdie chance short on 18, giving Gal a five-footer for the par and Europe another point.

QUOTABLE
“It’s hard to describe. On 15, we were completely surrounded by crowds. It’s just so special, the energy in the air. You just feed off it, literally. I think they make us hit the shots.” - Sandra Gal on the European fan support

Match 12

Match 12
Stacy Lewis/Gerina Piller win 5&4 over Anna Nordqvist/Caroline Hedwall
Stacy Lewis has struggled to find success in The Solheim Cup but she appeared to find the right partner with Gerina Piller and the two put on a dominant display in the final match of Saturday’s morning foursomes. Lewis and Piller partnered together for the first time in Solheim Cup play and found magic against a difficult opponent in Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall. The Swedish duo had been previously undefeated in their three matches together but this match was all Lewis and Piller. They never trailed in the match and after falling to all square after the European’s birdie on the 6th, the Americans rolled off five birdies in the next seven holes en route to closing out a 5&4 victory.

Solheim Cup Saturday Morning Breakdown

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