Jennifer Kupcho holed birdie putts from 90 feet and 25 feet over the final two holes to give the United States an unlikely Solheim Cup fourball victory and leave the contest tied 8-8.
Kupcho and debutant Lindy Duncan defeated Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier 1 up in Saturday afternoon’s final match at Bernardus Golf. Their point completed a 3-1 session win for the Americans after Europe had built a 7-5 lead during the morning foursomes.
The United States needs six points from Sunday’s 12 singles matches to retain the trophy. Europe requires 6½ points to regain it.
Kupcho transforms the final match
Kupcho and Duncan reached the par-4 17th one down, with Ciganda and Boutier both inside 12 feet for birdie. Kupcho faced a putt of about 90 feet from beyond the back of the green, leaving Europe well placed to close out the match.
Her ball travelled down the putting surface and dropped for birdie, prompting Kupcho to shout, “Vamos! Let’s go!” as the American players celebrated beside the green.
Ciganda and Boutier then missed their birdie attempts, sending the match to the demanding closing hole all square.
Kupcho completed the turnaround by converting a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th, the final stroke of the match. She celebrated by cupping her ear towards the home galleries after securing the Americans’ third four-ball point.
“That was huge,” US captain Angela Stanford said. “It’s absolutely turned the tide.”
USA responds to Europe’s morning lead
The afternoon fourballs went the Americans’ way. Auston Kim chipped in at the 3rd while playing alongside Zhang, and Maguire later holed a pitch at the 8th in the same match. Stark also holed an approach for eagle during Europe’s only victory of the session, partnering Grant against Coughlin and Megan Khang.
Coughlin will now become the first American since Paula Creamer in 2011 to contest all five matches at a Solheim Cup. Her defeat alongside Khang was the first loss of her Solheim Cup career.
Sunday’s 12 singles will begin with neither team holding an advantage, matching the 4-4 position after Friday.
Saturday Fourballs 3-1 |
|||||
| USA | Europe | ||||
| Match | Player | Result | Player | ||
| 1 |
Megan Khang/Lauren Coughlin
|
2&1 | > |
Maja Stark/Linn Grant
|
|
| 2 | Yealimi Noh/Andrea Lee | < | 1 Up |
Lottie Woad/Charley Hull/
|
|
| 3 | Rose Zhang//Auston Kim | < | 3&2 |
Nastasia Nadaud/Leona Maguire
|
|
| 4 | Jennifer Kupcho/Lindy Duncan | < | 1 Up |
Carlota Ciganda/Celine Boutier
|
|
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Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.