Team Europe and Team USA will go into the singles locked together at 8-8
Saturday 14 September 2019 20:59, UK
A match-by-match review of the second day of the 16th Solheim Cup at Gleneagles as Team Europe and Team USA finished locked together at 8-8 ahead of Sunday's singles.
Anna Nordqvist & Anne van Dam lost to Morgan Pressel & Marina Alex 2&1
A dramatic collapse from the European pair saw the Americans snatch a victory in the top match that appeared highly unlikely when they were four down after six holes.
A par at the second was good enough to put Europe ahead and Nordqvist then birdied the third before a poor par putt from Alex at the fifth saw USA slip three down.
A superb tee shot from Van Dam enabled Europe to go four up at the sixth, but the turning point came at the seventh when the home side looked set to go five up, only for Alex to hole a par putt from the edge of the green before Europe three-putted after Van Dam hesitated over her shortish par putt due to an oscillating ball.
The hosts' lead was down to two after Van Dam found water with her second shot at the ninth and an excellent tee shot to eight feet from Alex at the 10th meant the USA were only one down.
It was all-square after the 11th after Europe failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker and the Americans were remarkably ahead thanks to their fourth successive birdie at the 12th. They doubled their advantage immediately at the 13th and a par at the 15th took them three up, before Europe briefly stopped the rot by winning the 16th.
However, a par at the 17th proved to be enough to seal a memorable success for Pressel and Alex.
Georgia Hall & Celine Boutier bt Lizette Salas & Ally McDonald 3&2
Hall and Boutier made it two wins out of two in the foursomes with a comfortable victory in a match that failed to spark.
Salas, wrapped in several layers in a bid to combat the cold, handed Europe an early advantage at the third when she failed to salvage par and Hall holed out to go one up.
Neither pairing made a birdie on the front nine as nine of the first 10 holes were halved, but Europe made the decisive move thanks to back-to-back birdies at the 11th and 12th, the first from Boutier and the second courtesy of a perfectly-judged putt by Hall.
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Hall missed a tiddler at the 13th to give the Americans a glimmer of hope, but she made amends at the 14th to restore the Anglo-French combination's three-hole cushion, which they maintained as they wrapped it up at the 16th.
Charley Hull & Azahara Munoz bt Danielle Kang & Megan Khang 4&3
Hall and Munoz put the disappointment of their late collapse in Friday's fourballs behind them with another comfortable success after taking a firm grip on the contest early on, going three up after three holes.
Khang missed a par putt on the first after Hull had managed to make her four and Munoz then holed from six feet to win the second for Europe, with a par at the third good enough to take them further clear.
The Anglo-Spanish pairing went four up with a bogey at the eighth after Kang failed to get out of a bunker and Hull sneaked in a putt at the 10th to put them five ahead.
Khang missed a six-footer for a half at the 11th, although she made amends by chipping in at the 12th to give the USA their first hole of the match.
The Americans were only four down when Hull misread a par putt at the 14th but there was to be no more late misery this time as a par at the 14th secured them the victory.
Carlota Ciganda & Bronte Law lost to Jessica Korda & Nelly Korda 6&5
The Korda sisters continued their unstoppable form in the foursomes as they put an out-of-sorts Ciganda and Law to the sword.
Missed putts from Law at the opening two holes allowed the Americans to take command, although Ciganda halved the deficit by holing a 15-footer at the fourth, only to miss from four feet as the fifth was halved in bogeys.
Law spurned another opportunity to level at the sixth and that was more-or-less the end of the Europeans' challenge as the Kordas went two up at the seventh after Ciganda missed a 20-footer for the half.
Further wins at the eighth, 11th and 12th saw the Kordas move five up and a birdie from Jessica at the 13th gave them a 6&5 victory.
Suzann Pettersen & Anne van Dam lost to Brittany Altomare & Annie Park 1 up
Pettersen and Van Dam were unable to repeat Friday's victory after a see-saw contest in the top match.
A birdie from Park at the second gave the Americans an early advantage but Pettersen parred the next to level before the visitors went two up thanks to birdies from Altomare at the fifth and sixth.
It was then Pettersen's turn to make back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth and, after the USA had won the 10th, the Norwegian's fifth birdie in six holes at the 11th levelled the match once more.
They traded birdies at the 13th and 14th, but the 16th proved to be the decisive hole as Pettersen and Van Dam both made bogeys to hand the USA a one-hole advantage which they did not relinquish.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff & Caroline Masson halved with Lexi Thompson & Marina Alex
A hard-fought contest which probably got the result it deserved, although Masson almost snatched it on the last.
A short missed putt from Thompson gifted Europe the lead on the third but she made amends on the next to level before Alex's par at the eighth put the Americans in front, Masson making her fifth successive bogey during a bad run.
The German bounced back with back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th, the second to win the hole, and a 15-footer at the 13th edged Europe back in front.
Alex birdied the 16th to level it up again and it stayed that way with Thompson and then Masson both missing shortish putts for a winning birdie at the 18th.
Georgia Hall & Celine Boutier bt Ally McDonald & Angel Yin 2 up
A crucial comeback by Europe who were four down after seven and three down after 13.
McDonald was the star of the show for the USA early on with some superb putting as they won five of the first seven holes, Europe's only joy coming at the fifth through a Hall par.
Another par from Hall at the eighth and a birdie at the ninth reduced the deficit to two, but the contest looked over when McDonald holed a tricky birdie putt to win the 13th.
But Boutier then took centre stage with an eagle-two at the 14th after driving the green, with Hall winning the next in par before the Frenchwoman holed another lengthy putt to birdie the 16th to level it up.
An excellent tee shot at the 17th by Hall set up a par which was enough to put Europe ahead and Boutier then birdied the last to seal a remarkable victory.
Carlota Ciganda & Azahara Munoz lost to Lizette Salas & Danielle Kang 2&1
Spanish duo Ciganda and Munoz started well by going two up after three holes, but they then came up against a stubborn American pair who defied the cold to snatch an important point which ensured the two sides go into the singles level at 8-8.
Salas made the only birdie of the day at the par-three fourth to win the hole and then followed that with another two at the sixth where she holed a monster putt.
She was able to two-putt for par at the seventh to put the USA ahead and Kang's par at the eighth was enough to double their advantage.
Munoz birdied the 12th to keep Europe in it but some solid golf kept Salas and Kang in front before the latter birdied the 17th to secure the win.
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