Suzann Pettersen is handed the Solheim Cup and hoists it powerfully towards the Spanish sun. Then she passes it to her team, who all have a go at lifting it. Every single one of them deserves the moment. Heroes every one, though special mention must go to Caroline Hedwall for that never-say-die comeback against Ally Ewing; Emily Pedersen for becoming only the second player in Solheim Cup history (after her captain) to make a hole in one; Leona Maguire for yet another relentless contribution; Carlota Ciganda for all the aforementioned reasons; and of course … altogether now … ♫ Maja Stark, doo doo doo doo doo doooo, doo doo doo doo doo doooo, doo doo doo doo doo doooo, MA-JA STARK! ♪♫
What a team! What an event. Roll on Virginia 2024!
Grant v Khang 1UP
4&3 Maguire v Zhang
Hull v Kang 4&2
2&1 Nordqvist v Kupcho
Hall A/S Lee
Dryburgh A/S Knight
Boutier v Yin 2&1
2UP Hedwall v Ewing
Sagstrom v Vu 4&3
2&1 Stark v Corpuz
2&1 Ciganda v Korda
Pedersen v Thompson 2&1 Europe 14-14 USA
Carlota Ciganda is understandably the focus of the celebrations. She’s the home hero, she won all four of her matches this week, and she struck the decisive blow to ensure the retention of the cup. She speaks to Sky. “An amazing week … I love my team-mates, I love Europe, I love Suzann and the vice-captains … it’s a team effort … it was special for me to play in Spain in front of my home crowd, but this is a team effort and I am just so proud of everyone!” It’s also lovely to see Georgia Hall, who had looked a little upset earlier, perhaps contemplating her missed putt on 17 as the USA threatened to win the trophy, smiling broadly and enjoying the moment. The team announce they’re going off to drink, dance and eat pizza. They deserve to have a whale of a time; they’ve certainly provided us with one. They’ve served up wonderful entertainment.
Who’d have thought Europe could retain their trophy after losing the opening session four-zip? Not too many. Suzann Pettersen did, though, promising that having been “knocked down” her European team would “stand back up and go out there again … it ain’t over yet.” Well, they did, and it wasn’t. Europe cavort around, the sparkling wine already flowing!
Suzann Pettersen has a quick natter with Sky Sports. “I think it was meant to be … it came down to Carlota in Spain … Hedwall getting her point … it was going down to the wire … we had the best team.” How are you going to celebrate? “The Spanish way.” Olé!
… and in it goes. She pumps the air with a fist of relief more than celebration, and the spoils are shared! That seems about right. It’s been an absolute riot of entertaining golf, and it’s quite right that nobody goes home a loser. Europe will feel a little better, though, as it looked for a while that the cup would slip through their fingers, and they’ll get to keep hold of it for the next couple of years. Next year’s edition at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia can’t come soon enough!
Thompson bashes out of the sand but the ball takes a big bounce to the right and down the green. She’s 15 feet away with plenty of work to do for par. But it’s a makeable putt, and so Pedersen can’t assume two putts will be enough to win the hole. She goes for it, uphill from 25 feet … and a fantastic left-to-right slider looks like dropping only to do most of the full 360 around the lip before staying out, the spherical rotter. Lexi with a chance for the half and the win…
Emily Pedersen finds the heart of the 17th green. Lexi Thompson doesn’t, though. She dunks her tee shot into the bunker to the left. She’s got a long history of suffering the jitters on Sundays – she’d have won plenty more than the one major otherwise – and you can be sure the nerves are jangling now.
The 17th green is flooded with European well-wishers. Carlota Ciganda, who secured a share of the cup for Europe on her home soil, disappears into the melee. Sheer Euro-relief, because for a while the USA looked like outright winners! But Caroline Hedwall, Maja Stark and Ciganda came on strong late to ensure the hosts at least retain possession of the cup. They still could win it, too, though it’ll take Emily Pedersen winning the last two holes against Lexi Thompson, the pair having just halved 16. It takes a while for the green to be cleared. Here we go, then!
Nelly Korda gives her chip every chance of dropping. A sensational, delicate, brilliant wedge that lands softly on the green and runs out towards the hole. In the crowd, a Spanish gentlemen can be heard screaming “No no no no no no no NO!” with, in pure comedic terms, perfect rising intonation. But it shaves past the hole and stops five feet away. Korda cleans up for par, but it’s not enough, and Ciganda rolls in the putt that ensures Europe will keep the Solheim Cup in their possession! Carlota Ciganda beats Nelly Korda 2&1.
Europe retain the Solheim Cup! Photograph: Bernat Armangué/AP
This is astonishing! The home hero Carlota Ciganda sends a heatseeker straight at the flag on the par-three 17th. It stops three feet from the flag. Nelly Korda, rattled, pulls her tee shot long and off the back of the green to the left. She’ll almost certainly have to hole her chip if she’s to take this match down 18!
A star is born. Alissen Corpuz can’t make her long par putt, and Maja Stark has two for the par and the win. She cradles her first effort to a couple of feet … and doesn’t need to take her second. It’s conceded, and altogether now: ♫ Maja Stark, doo doo doo doo doo doooo, doo doo doo doo doo doooo, doo doo doo doo doo doooo, MA-JA STARK! ♪♫ Maja Stark beats Alissen Corpuz 2&1.
Maja Stark puts Europe on the brink of retaining the cup. Photograph: Ángel Martínez/Getty Images
Now then! Nelly Korda’s struggles with her putter are well known, and her downhill tickle for birdie from four feet on 16 never threatens to trouble the hole! Carlota Ciganda will have a tiddler to regain the lead. And in it goes! And up goes the gallery, all the way to the sky! Meanwhile Lexi Thompson pulls a short par putt on 15, having been placed under serious pressure by Emily Pedersen, who steered in a tricky downhill curler for her par from eight feet. Dreams of an outright European win aren’t over yet!
1UP Stark v Corpuz (17)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (16)
Pedersen v Thompson 2UP (15) Europe 12-13 USA
Corpuz splashes out aggressively, and the ball catches the slope of the green, taking it 20 feet away from the pin. She’s probably still outside Stark, but let’s wait to see for sure. Meanwhile serious drama elsewhere! Nelly Korda throws a dart at 16, four feet over the flag. Big pressure on Carlota Ciganda, who replies by landing her approach pin high to three! What a back and forth!
Alissen Corpuz pulls her tee shot at 17 into sand miles left. Door open for Maja Stark, who carefully sends her iron into the meatiest portion of the green, sensibly refusing to go straight for the flag and taking out the bunker. Serious advantage here for Europe. Corpuz will need some magic with the sand wedge.
I think that Hedwall comeback qualifies as a Golf, Eh? Bloody Hell! moment. Whether it’ll end up being the pivotal moment in Europe’s retention of the trophy remains to be seen. It deserves to. But it most likely will not. Carlota Ciganda went off for a stroll in the forest down 15. Double bogey, and from a position of three holes down, Nelly Korda is now level. Meanwhile Maja Stark, having seen her arrow towards the flag at 16 skip 20 feet past, skips in irritation as her left-to-right swinging birdie effort shaves the hole but stubbornly refuses to drop.
1UP Stark v Corpuz (16)
Ciganda A/S Korda (15)
Pedersen v Thompson 3UP (14) Europe 12-13 USA
Caroline Hedwall is on the 18th in two. Ally Ewing in a greenside bunker. Advantage Hedwall … especially so when she blades her sand shot through the green and down a swale. She’s lucky a cart is parked at the bottom, because it stops her ball disappearing into a thicket. Still, she realistically needs to hole the chip that’s left if she’s to win the hole. She hoicks it miles over the flag, and that’s a quite outrageous victory for Caroline Hedwall, who has justified her captain’s pick and then some! She’s won five of the last six holes! Caroline Hedwall beats Ally Ewing 2UP.
Caroline Hedwall wins the point and Europe are back in it! Photograph: Bernat Armangué/AP
Emily Pedersen trundles her eagle putt on 14 four feet past the hole. That’s a bit careless with two putts more likely than not to do the trick. Lexi Thompson rolls up from the fringe to a couple of feet. Pressure on Pedersen, but she walks in the putt and cuts the deficit to three holes. Not done yet!
1UP Hedwall v Ewing (17)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (15)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (14)
Pedersen v Thompson 3UP (14) Europe 11-13 USA
Trouble for Maja Stark on 15. Caught in some filthy nonsense above a greenside bunker, she can only attempt to punch out sideways … and can’t even achieve that, so gnarly is the Bermuda. She picks up and her lead over Alissen Corpuz is down to one. Meanwhile Emily Pedersen isn’t giving up quite yet. She drives the par-four 14th green, while Lexi Thompson skulls a chip from dirty rough clean through it.
The USA only need one-and-a-half points for victory … but now the possibility of Europe forcing a tie is on! Because Caroline Hedwall isn’t in the mood to gift the Americans anything they need, and she makes another huge birdie putt, this time on 17, another downhill tickler from 15 feet that catches the right-hand edge of the cup just in time and topples in! That’s four birdies in five holes from the irrepressible Swede, and this Solheim Cup is still in the balance!
1UP Hedwall v Ewing (17)
2UP Stark v Corpuz (14)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (13)
Pedersen v Thompson 4UP (13) Europe 11-13 USA
The momentum has been with USA … though nothing’s inevitable. On 16, Caroline Hedwall rolls in a snaky downhill dribbler for birdie on 16, squaring her match against Ally Ewing. She’s won three of the last four holes, some comeback! However that’s the end of the good news for Europe. Lexi Thompson birdies 13 to move four holes clear of Emily Pedersen, while Gemma Dryburgh’s birdie attempt on 18 sails by on the low side, and having been three up early in the match against Cheyenne Knight, the Scot has to settle for a half. Gemma Dryburgh ties with Cheyenne Knight.
Cheyenne Knight and Gemma Dryburgh share the point. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Angel Yin single-handedly won a point for USA with some momentum-defying brilliance on the back nine yesterday. She’s done it again today! She’s outside Celine Boutier on 17, but steers in a big left-to-right slider and pumps the air in the celebratory style. Boutier can’t respond from 12 feet, and that’s another point on the board for the Americans, who can begin to taste impending victory! Angel Yin beats Celine Boutier 2&1
Angel Yin wins a point for USA as they stretch their lead over Europe. Photograph: Ángel Martínez/Getty Images
Madelene Sagstrom did her best to delay the inevitable. But she misses a short putt at 15 and Lilia Vu, who won the first four holes with a birdie blitz, secures a point for the USA! Lilia Vu beats Madelene Sagstrom 4&3.
Lilia Vu wins her match against Madelene Sagstrom. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Andrea Lee is up first at 18. She’s 25 feet from the flag. An uphill putt with some left-to-right break. She strokes a beautiful effort that looks like toppling into the cup, but skirts it agonisingly and stops just behind. That’s a par. Georgia Hall has a chance to win the hole and the match with a fairly straight 20-footer across the green. But it dies to the left and was never reaching anyway. The first tied match of the day, but it’s one Europe threw away on the 17th. Georgia Hall ties with Andrea Lee.
Georgia Hall and Andrea Lee share the point. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Neither Dryburgh nor Knight go close with their tee shots at 17. A low-quality putting contest ensues. The birdie efforts from 30 feet never look like dropping. A pair of two-putt pars and they go down the last tied. Meanwhile on 18, Hall and Lee make it to the green in regulation. Neither close. Nerves are beginning to win out over quality at the moment.
That is a quite astonishing turnaround, and the entire property has fallen eerily silent as a result. Birdie for Angel Yin on 16 as she once again takes charge of her match against Celine Boutier. Someone in Europe needs to leaven the mood soon, before it’s too late. Allisen Corpuz does her best to help by yipping a tiddler on 13 to gift a hole to Maja Stark.
Hall A/S Lee (17)
Dryburgh A/S Knight (16)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (16)
Hedwall v Ewing 1UP (14)
Sagstrom v Vu 3UP (14)
2UP Stark v Corpuz (13)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (12)
Pedersen v Thompson 2UP (11) Europe 10-10 USA
… and things turn the wrong way for Europe over on 16 as well! With the stunned yelps of the gallery at 17 ringing in the background, Gemma Dryburgh pulls a short par putt wide to hand the hole to Cheyenne Knight! That match is tied now too, and the scoreboard has turned in the USA’s favour quicksmart!
Hall A/S Lee (17)
Dryburgh A/S Knight (16)
Boutier A/S Yin (15)
Hedwall v Ewing 1UP (14)
Sagstrom v Vu 3UP (14)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (12)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (12)
Pedersen v Thompson 2UP (11) Europe 10-10 USA
The to-and-fro nature of the Yin-Boutier match shows no sign whatsoever of abating. Two putts from the fringe at the back of 15, and par’s enough for the Evian champion to tie things up again. Meanwhile turns out Andrea Lee was inside Georgia Hall at 17. Hall goes first, and rolls her birdie effort a couple of feet past. It’s not conceded, though, and nor should it be. Lee pushes her birdie putt wide right … and then Hall pulls her tiddler to the left! A huge turn of events as the gallery gasps as one, and Hall walks off with her head hanging low. She’ll have to get her chin back up quicksmart.
An outstanding tee shot by Andrea Lee on 17. She creams it to ten feet, flinging the gauntlet down at Georgia Hall’s feet. But Hall’s up to the challenge! She cracks hers to eight feet, and a humungous putting competition is about to take place! Meanwhile on 14, Caroline Hedwall guides a big left-to-right swinger into the cup from 20 feet, pressurising Ally Ewing into lipping out from six. Ewing’s lead is now down to one, and this Solheim Cup is all over the place, gloriously so!
1UP Hall v Lee (16)
1UP Dryburgh v Knight (15)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (14)
Hedwall v Ewing 1UP (14)
Sagstrom v Vu 3UP (13)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (12)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (11)
Pedersen v Thompson 2UP (10) Europe 10-10 USA
Andrea Lee on the 17th. Photograph: David Cannon/Getty Images
Georgia Hall and Andrea Lee both struggle their way up 16. Lee is forced to hack out of thick Bermuda rough, Hall sends her approach down a swale to the right of the green. Both have looks at par from ten feet; neither can make their putt. Hall remains one up with two to play. Meanwhile back on 13, Madelene Sagstrom snatches back another hole and, well, now has a sliver of a chance at just three down with five to play. Lilia Vu still very much in the box seat.
Gemma Dryburgh needs to make a 20-foot left-to-right par slider from the back of 15. She can’t hole it, and Cheyenne Knight cuts her lead to just the one hole. The momentum is certainly with USA now … and Stacy Lewis has loaded her team’s tail with some serious talent. It’s not looking ominous for Europe exactly … but you can bet a fair few of their fans are beginning to worry about the general direction of travel.
1UP Hall v Lee (15)
1UP Dryburgh v Knight (15)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (14)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (13)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (12)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (11)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (10)
Pedersen v Thompson 2UP (9) Europe 10-10 USA
A sensational drive by Angel Yin at the short par-four 14! She sends her tee shot pin high and will have a look at eagle from 15 feet. She drains it, and for the second afternoon in a row, is causing Europe all sorts of problems on the back nine. A proper back-and-forth tussle with Celine Boutier there. Meanwhile bogey for Carlota Ciganda at 10 gifts the hole to Nelly Korda, who is suddenly on the charge; Lexi Thompson goes two up on Emily Pedersen after bogey proves enough at 9; and Georgia Hall’s lead is cut in half after she goes on safari down 15. A huge few moments for the USA, only partly offset by Caroline Hedwall draining a monster on 13 to reduce Ally Ewing’s lead to two.
1UP Hall v Lee (15)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (14)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (14)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (13)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (12)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (11)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (10)
Pedersen v Thompson 2UP (9) Europe 10-10 USA
Par is enough for Angel Yin on 13 to level up her game with Celine Boutier. Europe are currently on course to win the Solheim Cup … but none of their leads are particularly comfortable, if such a thing can ever be said on Solheim Sunday, whereas a couple of the American leads look more secure, if such a thing etc., and so on, and so forth. The short version: don’t go anywhere.
2UP Hall v Lee (14)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (14)
Boutier A/S Yin (13)
Hedwall v Ewing 3UP (12)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (11)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (10)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (9)
Pedersen v Thompson 1UP (8) Europe 10-10 USA
Jennifer Kupcho’s 40-foot attempt to sicken Anna Nordqvist misses by four feet to the left. Anna Nordqvist has two putts for the half and the win, and though she trundles her 20-footer a couple of feet past, Kupcho is further away and doesn’t ask to see it. They shake and embrace, and the teams are level again! Anna Nordqvist beats Jennifer Kupcho 2&1.
Anna Nordqvist levels it up for Europe at 10-10. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Anna Nordqvist does what’s required at the par-three 17th, pinging her iron pin high, 25 feet to the right. Jennifer Kupcho also finds the dancefloor, but nowhere near the flag. One suspects she’ll need to rake in a long birdie putt to stay alive. Meanwhile some better news for the USA as Lilia Vu restores her four-hole lead over Madelene Sagstrom, par enough at 11 as her opponent double bogeys. And par’s enough for Ally Ewing, too, as she stretches her lead over Caroline Hedwall to three.
Georgia Hall splashes out from greenside sand at 14 to a couple of feet. What a bunker shot. Andrea Lee can’t make her birdie putt from 12 feet, and Hall doubles her lead. So does Anna Nordqvist, rolling in a birdie putt from eight feet on 16 after Jennifer Kupcho narrowly failed to steer in a curly 20-footer. She’s dormie two. Europe are looking good right now, but there’s still so far to travel, a point emphasised by Nelly Korda, who cuts into Carlota Ciganda’s lead after sending her second into 9 to four feet.
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (16)
2UP Hall v Lee (14)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (13)
1UP Boutier v Yin (12)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (11)
Sagstrom v Vu 3UP (10)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (10)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (9)
Pedersen v Thompson 1UP (8) Europe 9-10 USA
Lexi Thompson knocks her approach into 8 stone dead. Emily Pedersen still has a great opportunity to match her birdie, but from five feet she pushes her putt wide right. Thompson, two down after three holes, is now one up.
Gemma Dryburgh and Cheyenne Knight trade 20-foot birdie putts on 13! The Scot remains two up. Dryburgh having made hers first, that was staunch work by Knight, who would have been in a world of trouble had she gone three holes adrift. Meanwhile Madelene Sagstrom isn’t done yet. She wins the 10th with birdie to reduce Lilia Vu’s lead to three holes.
Nelly Korda has a long look at birdie on 8. It’s never dropping, and it really needed to, because Carlota Ciganda will putt for hers from eight feet. In that plops, and the Spaniard goes three up. Meanwhile Celine Boutier follows up birdie at 11 with par at 12, and that’s good enough for back-to-back wins and from two down through 7 she’s now leading by one.
While those matches were being closed out, Jennifer Kupcho was draining a 25-footer for birdie across 14. Three down not so long ago, the deficit is now just the one. But there’s better news for Europe as Celine Boutier birdies 11 to tie up her match against Angel Yin. As things stand, Europe will win the Solheim Cup, but let’s face facts, there’s a whole lot of to-ing and fro-ing to go. Strap yourself in!
1UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (14)
1UP Hall v Lee (13)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (12)
Boutier A/S Yin (11)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (10)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (9)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (8)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (7)
Pedersen A/S Thompson (7) Europe 9-10 USA
Charley Hull’s never really been in it against Danielle Kang. Off the front of the green at 16 with her opponent close in two, Hull has to chip in. She clanks it miles past the flag, and in the blink of an eye, the USA retake the lead! That’s a magnificent performance by Kang, who has showcased her steely brilliance all week. Danielle Kang beats Charley Hull 4&2.
Danielle Kang wins her match to put USA ahead again. Photograph: David Cannon/Getty Images
Linn Grant’s putt is always dying off to the right. It’s almost perfectly paced, mind, and will be a surefire birdie. But it’s over to Megan Khang to seal the deal. A short one, but a nervy one too. A three-footer that means so much to both teams. So she takes her time. She stands over it. She half-steps away. She’s clearly shaky. But she holds her nerve! Into the centre of the cup it goes, and Khang has secured a point for the USA with a pair of sensational up-and-downs on 17 and 18! Megan Khang beats Linn Grant 1UP.
Megan Khang draws USA level at 9-9. Photograph: Ángel Martínez/Getty Images
Yes she can! She delicately lobs up to six feet, and rolls out to three. That’s two stunning clutch chips in a row by Megan Khang! Linn Grant will still have an eagle putt to win the hole and halve the match, but it’s an outside chance now.
Megan Khang’s second into 18 stops just short of the green. She smiles nervously, and no wonder, because Linn Grant has the firepower to reach easily. She absolutely wallops her fairway wood into the heart of the green and sets up an eagle chance from 20 feet. Snatching half a point is very much on now! But can Khang conjure up some more wedge magic?
Charley Hull is properly up against it on 15. Three holes down, she needs to make a right-to-left 12-foot slider for a par to tie the hole and stay alive. But she nails it! What moxie. However the hole’s tied and Danielle Kang is dormie three. Meanwhile Maja Stark breaks a run of tied holes against Allisen Corpuz with birdie at 7 to hit the lead, while a Lilia Vu bogey at 8 hands a hole back to Madelene Sagstrom. This is heating up all right! Super shootout Sunday, right about now!
Grant v Khang 1UP (17)
Hull v Kang 3UP (15)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (13)
1UP Hall v Lee (12)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (1!)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (10)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (9)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (9)
1UP Stark v Corpuz (7)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (7)
Pedersen A/S Thompson (6) Europe 9-8 USA
Linn Grant is well inside Megan Khang at 17. But Khang, on the fringe near the front with the flag at the back, opts to chip instead of putt. Great decision, because from 50 feet, she clips crisply to kick-in distance! That turns the pressure up on Grant, who nearly makes her putt from 20 feet, but the spoils are shared and Khang will go down 18 holding on to her one-hole lead. Meanwhile Nelly Korda has a putt to win 7, but her ball lips out from six feet. She can’t buy a putt at the moment, and remains two holes adrift of Carlota Ciganda.
Another birdie for Lexi Thompson at 6. It’s her third in a row, and in a very short space of time, she’s wiped out Emily Pedersen’s two-hole lead. Her flagstick-bothering chip at 4 has been a huge momentum-shifter! Meanwhile par is enough for Jennifer Kupcho at 13, and the 2019 Augusta National winner and 2022 Chevron champion isn’t done yet against the erstwhile PGA, British Open and Evian champ.
Grant v Khang 1UP (16)
4&3 Maguire v Zhang (F)
Hull v Kang 3UP (14)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (13)
Hall A/S Lee (11)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (10)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (10)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (9)
Sagstrom v Vu 5UP (7)
Stark A/S Corpuz (6)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (6)
Pedersen A/S Thompson (6) Europe 9-8 USA
Leona Maguire rolls her long birdie putt on 15 close, and now Rose Zhang has to make hers to snatch the hole and stay alive. But she can’t make it, the 20-footer always staying wide right, and Europe lead for the first time this week! Leona Maguire beats Rose Zhang 4&3
Leona Maguire puts Europe ahead! Photograph: Martin Siras Lima/INPHO/Shutterstock
Megan Khang has a birdie putt across 16 that could potentially win her match. If it goes in, she’ll force Linn Grant to make her eight-foot right-to-left slider to stay alive. Khang’s 15-footer horseshoes out. Then Grant holes hers, and suddenly she’s just one down with two to play! What a turnaround! The slim margins of matchplay golf, right there.
Lexi Thompson builds on the stroke of good fortune that helped her scramble a half on 4 with birdie at 5. She halves Emily Pedersen’s lead. Meanwhile Leona Maguire and Rose Zhang both find the 15th green in regulation. Two putts from Maguire should seal the deal, unless Zhang is able to steer home a 20-footer for birdie. But let’s see.
Anna Nordqvist is bringing her A-game as well. Having witnessed Jennifer Kupcho sending her tee shot at the par-three 12th down a big swale to the right of the green, she sticks her one dead. Kupcho can’t chip in, and Nordqvist is now three up again. This is great fun.
Leona Maguire is a special, special player! We knew this already, of course, but she demonstrates it yet again on the short par-four 14th. She creams her drive into the heart of the green, then drains an eagle putt from 70 feet! She punches the air in delight, an uncharacteristic show of excitement, as well she might! That is outrageous! Poor Rose Zhang, who nearly responds with an eagle of her own, going very close to chipping in from the front, but finds herself dormie four!
An uncharacteristically timid three-putt on 8 by Angel Yin, and her lead over Celine Boutier is halved. Meanwhile Emily Pedersen waits to make a six-foot birdie putt on 4 with Lexi Thompson in trouble to the right of the green. But Thompson’s overhit chip clatters the flagstick and stops by the hole. That’s conceded, and so it’s to Pedersen’s credit that she holds her nerve and makes the putt for the half.
Grant v Khang 2UP (14)
3UP Maguire v Zhang (13)
Hull v Kang 3UP (12)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (10)
Hall A/S Lee (9)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (9)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (8)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (7)
Sagstrom v Vu 5UP (6)
Stark A/S Corpuz (6)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (5)
2UP Pedersen v Thompson (4)
Danielle Kang goes very close to acing 12, a dart thrown straight at the flag. She taps in for her birdie, and Charley Hull, who had briefly threatened a comeback, is in all sorts of trouble again. Meanwhile Rose Zhang immediately slips back to three down as well, having dumped her second at 13 into the ravine running across the fairway, then over-clubbing her fourth into the green, landing at the back with the pin at the front. She’s got to drain her long bogey putt if she’s to see Maguire’s par effort, but that doesn’t happen when she woefully misreads that as well. All best forgotten for the 20-year-old rookie.
Grant v Khang 2UP (14)
3UP Maguire v Zhang (13)
Hull v Kang 3UP (12)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (10)
Hall A/S Lee (8)
2UP Dryburgh v Knight (8)
Boutier v Yin 2UP (7)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (6)
Sagstrom v Vu 5UP (6)
Stark A/S Corpuz (4)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (3)
2UP Pedersen v Thompson (3)
Another birdie for Lilia Vu, and this is turning into a complete nightmare for Madelene Sagstrom. The Swede hasn’t done too much wrong – she may be wearing a bucket hat, but she’s not exactly in Maurice Flitcroft mode – and yet she now finds herself five down after 6. Meanwhile poor Linn Grant drives the green at 14, and her 25-foot eagle putt stops one dimple shy of dropping. So close to halving her two-hole deficit against Megan Khang, but it’s not to be.
Cheyenne Knight needs something to happen for her, three down against Gemma Dryburgh. And on 8, it does. She rakes in a 30-foot birdie putt, turning the heat up on the Scot, who was just 12 feet away. Dryburgh can’t make her birdie, and that’s a classic matchplay blow landed by the Texan, who is suddenly back in it. Doesn’t take much.
Cheyenne Knight fights back against Gemma Dryburgh. Photograph: John Walton/PA
Megan Khang is this close to re-establishing her two-hole lead at 13. A 15-foot birdie putt that stops a dimple short. But she eventually gets her reward anyway, all tied up in a shiny bow by Linn Grant, who carelessly three putts. Meanwhile Rose Zhang wins a scrambling competition at 12 with Leona Maguire and the Irish lead is now only two holes; par at 8 is enough for Andrea Lee to tie up her match against Georgia Hall; and par’s also all that’s needed for Ally Ewing to double her lead over Caroline Hedwall at 6. It is, to borrow a quote from Billy Liar’s favourite light-entertainment star Danny Boon, all ‘appening.
Grant v Khang 2UP (13)
2UP Maguire v Zhang (12)
Hull v Kang 2UP (10)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (9)
Hall A/S Lee (8)
3UP Dryburgh v Knight (7)
Boutier v Yin 2UP (7)
Hedwall v Ewing 2UP (6)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (5)
Stark A/S Corpuz (4)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (3)
1UP Pedersen v Thompson (2)
Leona Maguire close again at 11. Rose Zhang misses her birdie effort from eight feet, and with the pair both a couple of feet away, the American concedes. “I don’t know if I’d give that one away if I was playing my buddy at home for a dollar,” says the 1989 Open champion Mark Calcavecchia on Sky commentary. Meanwhile Charley Hull wins 10 in par to eat into Danielle Kang’s lead. Just the two holes in that one now. And there’s a birdie for Linn Grant at 12, and she halves Megan Khang’s lead.
Grant v Khang 1UP (12)
3UP Maguire v Zhang (11)
Hull v Kang 2UP (10)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (9)
1UP Hall v Lee (7)
3UP Dryburgh v Knight (7)
Boutier v Yin 2UP (7)
Hedwall v Ewing 1UP (5)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (5)
Stark A/S Corpuz (4)
2UP Ciganda v Korda (3)
1UP Pedersen v Thompson (2)
… and speaking of not faffing about, here’s Lilia Vu, who makes it four holes, four birdies! Poor Madelene Sagstrom is being totally blown away. Meanwhile birdie for Carlota Ciganda on 4 to Nelly Korda’s bogey. Tortoise beating Hare right now.
Grant v Khang 2UP (12)
2UP Maguire v Zhang (10)
Hull v Kang 3UP (9)
2UP Nordqvist v Kupcho (8)
1UP Hall v Lee (7)
3UP Dryburgh v Knight (7)
Boutier v Yin 1UP (6)
Hedwall v Ewing 1UP (5)
Sagstrom v Vu 4UP (4)
Stark A/S Corpuz (3)
1UP Ciganda v Korda (2)
1UP Pedersen v Thompson (1)
