Megan Khang has been a spark plug for Staff USA.
Scott Taetsch/Getty Pictures
Staff Europe did what they might Saturday on the Solheim Cup, splitting each the morning foursomes and afternoon fourballs 4-4. However on Sunday, the Solheim Cup can be Staff USA’s to lose.
A cut up in each classes means the People head into the ultimate day of competitors at Robert Trent Jones Golf Membership with a 10-6 lead over the visiting Europeans. To be able to at the very least retain the cup for the second consecutive 12 months, the Europeans must match the largest-ever comeback within the occasion, when the People got here again from down 10-6 in 2015.
The U.S. even managed to pull out the ultimate match of the day, Allisen Corpuz and Lillia Vu in opposition to Charley Hull and Georgia Corridor, all the way in which to the 18th gap, regardless of Hull and Corridor coming away with the win for the Europeans to maintain the matches inside attain.
“This was a fantastic day for us,” U.S. captain Stacy Lewis mentioned. “I believe it’s onerous, it’s like once you go shoot 62, the way you come again the following day. We had such a fantastic day yesterday. It was going to be onerous. The Europeans performed rather a lot higher at this time, and that confirmed, however actually, actually pleased with the day, and to maintain the identical lead.”
Whereas the U.S. didn’t pad their lead in any respect after a robust opening-day efficiency, it wasn’t for a scarcity of pleasure. Within the morning session, Nelly Korda and Corpuz continued their dominance in Solheim Cup play, notching their fourth consecutive win as a pairing, essentially the most of all time. They trailed Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda for a lot of the match till the 14th when Corpuz’s second skirted the sting of a pond and Korda sank the following putt for eagle to take their first lead.
For Staff Europe Hull and rookie Esther Henseleit got here away with a 1 Up victory too, dropping a as soon as 3 Up lead over Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho on the seventeenth gap with a double bogey solely to revive it with a birdie on 18.
Then within the afternoon, Alison Lee and Megan Khang bought their match with Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom off to a sizzling begin when Lee’s second on the 2nd gap discovered the underside of the cup, leading to a wild celebration throughout which their caddies each ripped off their shirts.
“It was fully surreal, undoubtedly one of many coolest moments of my life, of my profession,” Lee mentioned. “Bought to have one in every of my finest mates there with me and a pair nice caddies, and we celebrated simply the way in which we needed to. We had a variety of enjoyable.”
Solheim Cup caddies rip off their shirts after hole-out. Right here’s the rationale why
Khang made eagle on the on the 14th to mainly put the match out of attain for the Swedes. She’s been a sparkplug all week for the People, to the purpose the place she already had a horse voice by the tip of Saturday.
“I’ve had just a little an excessive amount of enjoyable. I suppose you may by no means have an excessive amount of enjoyable on this workforce,” she joked. “We’re simply right here having an excellent time and embracing the followers out right here.”
The pair went on to win 4 and three, however that wasn’t even the most important U.S. win of the day.
That honor went to Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee, who ended their match in opposition to Linn Grant and Celine Boutier on the 14th gap when Zhang caught a hybrid to 10 toes and made the putt for eagle for the 6 and 4 victory.
The ultimate two matches of the afternoon each went to Europe as Ciganda and Pedersen closed out Ewing and Lexi Thompson on 17 whereas Hull and Corridor went the space in opposition to Vu and Corpuz after Corpuz holed an extended birdie putt on 17 to maintain the match alive.
Even with the late factors, European assistant captain Laura Davies was portray a glum image for Sunday.
‘Triage mode’: LPGA commish addresses Solheim Cup shuttle fiasco
“The People have performed unbelievable,” she mentioned simply earlier than the final two matches completed. “I don’t know what number of eagles they’ve had. It looks like they’ve had double figures. They’ve simply performed nice golf. Outputted us in the intervening time. Deep squad of gamers. We’ll by no means say by no means, however it’s going to be very, very troublesome to get the Cup again.”
However Ciganda, the hero of Europe’s retention of the cup in a 14-14 tie final 12 months in her house nation of Spain, was extra optimistic.
“I believe we’ve an opportunity for positive. You may have 12 factors. I don’t know the ultimate rating what it’s going to be, however 12 factors, we will win all of them. That’s what we’re going attempt to do, everybody give attention to their match, and why not?” she mentioned earlier than alluding to a well-known European Ryder Cup victory. “Medinah, the ‘Miracle of Medinah,’ it’s coming.”
Ciganda was alluding to the 2012 Ryder Cup matches, held at Medinah, exterior Chicago. There, the Europeans confronted the same 10-6 deficit to the People and stormed again on the ultimate day to win 8 and a half factors in singles and win the Cup, the biggest comeback by the away workforce in occasion historical past.
Ciganda and the European girls could have the possibility to match that Sunday, however their work is lower out for them.
