Team Europe poses for a group photo with the Solheim Cup after defeating Team USA during day 3 of the Solheim Cup
As mentioned last week in India Golf Weekly, the Women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup between teams of 12 each from USA and Europe is called the Solheim Cup, named after Karsten Solheim who founded the equipment band PING.
Last week the match was played in Spain and turned out to be one of the most dramatic and sensational of all the Solheim Cup’s played since 1990.
The event is played over five sessions over three days. On day one and two , the morning sessions are played in alternate shot or foursomes format while the afternoon sessions are played in four ball better ball format. The fifth and final session is played in 12 singles matches, exactly like the Ryder Cup, the President’s Cup and many other team events.
The European team bounced back from a 4-0 whitewash in the opening session on Friday to retain the Solheim Cup over the United States with a dramatic 14-14 tie at the Finca Cortesin in Andalusia, southern Spain. In the case of a tie, the team that last won the cup gets to keep it.
Watching Hedwall hole these two putts on repeat #TeamEurope | #SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/Ar39bG7n0v
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) September 25, 2023
“I wonder if it was almost a nice wakeup call for all of us,” European captain Suzanne
Pettersen of Sweden said about the Friday morning session “We have all been on a high for a few years now and maybe that was good. I believe in fate, so maybe that was meant to happen.”
When you wake up and remember you’ve retained the cup #TeamEurope | #SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/OJqN5rjAXN
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) September 25, 2023
Here are IGW’s four takeaways from the 2023 Solheim Cup:
Europeans make history without quite making history
Having won the Cup in 2019 and 2021, the European team was attempting to win three consecutive cups for the first time ever. They didn’t quite manage that since the event ended in a tie, but they did manage to retain the cup for a historic third consecutive time.
They did it the hard way too. The Europeans never led at the end of a single session of play. They trailed 4-0 and 5-3 after the first two sessions on Friday. After the morning foursomes on Saturday the U.S. led 7-5 before the Europeans pulled even at 8-8 by going 3-1 in the afternoon fourballs.
The teams then split the singles 6-6. Somehow the United States team went home empty handed despite never trailing in the event.
“Does it get any better than this? This is a dream come true,” European captain Suzanne Pettersen said. “We had a massive challenge ahead of us. We have created history yet again in the Solheim Cup. These girls are legends.”
A dream event for Spain’s Carlota Ciganda
The moment of a lifetime for Carlota Ciganda #SolheimCup2023 pic.twitter.com/w77BzvVqYu
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 24, 2023
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, the home country favourite, had an inauspicious start to the event when she was left out of the Friday morning foursomes. In hindsight, that might have been a stroke of good fortune as the Europeans were blitzed 4-0.
Ciganda played in the next four sessions and went a perfect 4-0, winning the most points on either side.
The Spaniard put the icing on the cake by earning the point in the Sunday singles that retained the cup for Europe. Playing in the penultimate singles match, Ciganda had taken a 3-up lead over World No. 3 Nelly Korda after eight holes. Korda then fought back to tie the match after 15 holes. With Lexi Thompson holding a comfortable lead in the final match, all Korda needed was a half point to win the cup for the United States. It seemed like momentum was on her side too but Ciganda was not to be denied. She birdied the 16 after hitting her approach to three feet and closed out the match with another birdie on the par-3 17th.
You couldn’t have written a better script.
“It’s amazing,” Ciganda said afterwards. “All the support from my family, friends. I have a lot of people here. To play in Spain is always special. To play a Solheim Cup here has been just an unbelievable week. There is nothing like this. To play in Spain in front of your home crowd, and to have my name being chanted was really amazing, very special. It is something that I won’t ever forget.”
Europe’s Captain’s picks and rookies delivered
The rookies on the European team didn’t play like rookies. Sweden’s Linn Grant played in all five matches and won 3 points. Her compatriot and fellow rookie Maja Stark earned 2.5 points out of a possible 4 and won a crucial point in the singles by beating 2023 U.S. Open champion Allisen Corpuz 2 & 1.
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, another captain’s pick, was three down to Ally Ewing after 12 holes in the singles but played the last six holes in an astounding six under par with four birdies and an eagle on the 18 th to win her match 2-up. She birdied the 13th , 14th , 16th, and 17th before Ewing conceded her eagle putt on the last hole. Had Hedwall lost, or even tied with Ewing, the United States would have won the cup.
A tie was the fairest outcome
The United States team led for most of the event. The Europeans showed grit and determination after being behind most of the way.
Both teams were under additional pressure beyond the usual nerves that come with playing in the Solheim Cup. The Europeans were trying to make history by winning the cup three straight times; the United States was trying to prevent it.
Players from both sides produced some spectacular golf. There were eagles on par- 4s, birdies galore, and even a hole-in-one by Emily Pedersen.
On both sides you got unexpected performances. Lexi Thompson, who endured a horrendous LPGA season and seemed to be the weakest link on the U.S. team, won three of her four matches. Spain’s Ciganda won all four of her matches on home soil while Megan Khang, who had won just one match in her previous two cups, also went unbeaten, leading the Americans with 3.5 points from her four matches.
On balance, neither team deserved to lose and Europe did enough to deserve keeping the cup.
The United States won’t have to wait long to try and get it back though. The Solheim Cup will be played again next year as it moves to even numbered years to avoid clashing with the Ryder Cup. Being played in an odd year was forced by the Covid disruption, like so many events including the Asian Games and Tokyo Olympics.
Credits:-
Photo – LPGA