Europe win three of the four matches during an unbeaten foursomes session at the Solheim Cup to move 3.5-0.5 ahead; Catriona Matthew's side off to a fast start as they chase back-to-back victories in the biennial contest
Saturday 4 September 2021 18:42, UK
Leona Maguire and Mel Reid upstaged world No 1 Nelly Korda and sister Jessica to help Team Europe move into an impressive lead after the opening session of the Solheim Cup.
The Korda sisters won their foursomes matches by 6&4 and 6&5 at Gleneagles in 2019 but were unable to replicate that winning partnership on Saturday morning at the Inverness Club, being beaten on the final hole as Catriona Matthew's side grabbed a 3.5-0.5 advantage.
Anna Nordqvist and Matilda Castren won Team Europe's first point of the tournament after seeing off Austin Ernst and Danielle Kang 1up, while Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall - who won all three matches together in Europe's victory two years ago - claimed the final two holes to snatch a half-point against Ally Ewing and Megan Khang.
Team USA looked set to win their first full point in the final match, when Lexi Thompson and Brittany Altomare went two ahead with four to play, only for Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen to win three of their last four holes to grab a 1up win and ensure an unbeaten session for the visitors on American soil.
Nordqvist and Castren def Kang and Ernst 1up
Castren hold a long-range eagle to match Kang's three at the par-five second, before a par was enough to win the third hole and Castren rolled in from 10 feet at the fourth to move the European pair two ahead.
Three bogeys in a four-hole stretch from the fifth by the Europeans saw Team USA take a 1up lead to the turn, only for Castren to impress with the putter again and nail a 30-footer at the 10th to level the contest.
Ernst moved the Americans back ahead by firing her tee shot at the par-three 12 to tap-in range, but the Europeans responded by winning the next three holes and secured their first point of the tournament on the final green.
Boutier and Hall halved with Khang and Ewing
The European pair opened with back-to-back bogeys and trailed throughout the contest, with another dropped shot at the 15th seeing them two behind with two to play and in danger of losing their unbeaten playing record together at Solheim Cups.
Hall holed from 15 feet for birdie to win the 17th and a par was good enough on the last to snatch half a point, when Ewing failed to hit the hole from three feet with a putt to win the match.
Maguire and Reid def Korda and Korda 1up
The Korda sisters looked nervous from the outset and gifted the European pair a two-hole lead with a bogey on the fourth and a double bogey on the sixth.
Jessica chipped in for birdie on the 13th to halve the deficit but Reid and Maguire, a rookie and the first Irish player to feature in the contest, held their nerve to see out a potentially significant win.
Hull and Pedersen def Thompson and Altomare 1up
The visitors won the opening hole and reached the turn with a slender lead, only to lose three of the next five holes on the back nine to fall two behind with four to play.
Hull and Pedersen combined to birdie the 15th, 16th and 18th, with Pedersen holding her nerve to hole the winning putt from five feet after a superb approach from Hull.
Watch the Solheim Cup throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Sunday from midday on Sky Sports Golf and - for free - on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel.
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