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The visiting team gained a notable advantage by winning the four matches that opened the 2023 Solheim Cup at the Finca Cortesín course in Costa del Sol.
The United States have taken a big lead at the start of the competition, 4-0 on the scoreboard, forcing the European team to stage a remarkable comeback in the afternoon’s Fourballs. The Americans clearly dominated the last game and controlled the rest of the game well in the decisive moment.
Friday Morning Foursomes: Estados Unidos, 4 – Europe, 0
Lexi Thompson – Meghan Kang (USA) beat Meja Stark – Linn Grant (Europe) 2/1
The Swedish pairing, captain Suzzane Petersen’s choice to start the competition, two players with no previous experience in the Solheim Cup, gave a good performance, but could not avoid defeat against the success of two veterans in these matters. The Americans swept their opponents in the first three holes, taking advantage of two bogeys by the Europeans. From then on, the Swedish pair gradually closed the gap with patience, taking advantage of a couple of mistakes to go 1 under on the 11th hole and draw level with a birdie on the 13th. It was a mirage because, at the moment of truth, on the final holes, the value of experience imposed its law.
Andrea Lee – Danielle Kang (USA) beat Celine Boutier – Georgia Hall (Europe) by 1up.
An opening birdie allowed the American pair to take the lead in a match characterized by equality. Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall were very brave and even took the lead on the 6th hole, the starting point of several alternatives that generated advantages in favour of both sides as a result of an aggressive and very colourful game. A great birdie by Georgia Hall on the 12th brought the match back to a draw, a parity that was maintained until the 16th. It was then, on the following hole, when a timely birdie by Andrea Lee was the final straw for the Europeans.
Nelly Korda – Allisen Corpuz (USA) beat Leona Maguire – Anna Nordqvist (EUR) by 1up.
One of Suzann Pettersen’s strongest pairings just missed out on a point. Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist and Ireland’s Leona Maguire got off to the best possible start, taking the lead on the 1st. Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, two world top 10 players, won holes 3, 4 and 5 and only gave up the lead briefly after Europe’s two consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th.
But Nelly Korda is a lot of Nelly Korda, and her magic came to the fore on the 9th and 11th. Again, 2up for Stacey Lewis’s team. The match tightened on the 16th with a good birdie finished off by Leona Maguire. With two holes to go to try to get half a point on a tough morning, the Europeans took their chances to avoid the 4-0 lead, but Anna Nordqvist’s last putt, from about two metres, didn’t go in either.
Ally Ewing / Cheyenne Knight (USA) beat Charley Hull – Emily Kristine Pedersen (EUR) by 5/4
The match to forget was the one that closed the Foursomes on Friday. Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight, on fire all morning, beat Charley Hull and Emily Kristine Pedersen by 5/4. The Americans practically sentenced the duel between holes 4 and 9, resolved with a partial five up. Europe did not ‘plug’ their first birdie until the 10th hole, when they reduced the score to 5up.It was only a mirage, because Hull and Pedersen did not make another birdie and the match was over on the 14th hole.
More information on the website www.solheimcup2023.eu, on the Twitter account @SolheimCup2023, on the Instagram account @solheimcup2023esp and on the Facebook page Solheim Cup 2023.
