It was a drama-filled Sunday at Finca Cortesin in Spain. Europe retained the Solheim Cup with a 14-14 tie against the United States. Fittingly, it was Spanish star Carlota Ciganda who on home soil holed the putt that secured the 14th point Europe needed to hoist the coveted trophy. Ciganda, aged 33, was unstoppable claiming the most points by any player with the undefeated record of four points from four starts. Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall’s heroics on Sunday will go down in Solheim Cup folklore after her explosive finish opened the door for Ciganda to shut out the United States bid to win the Cup for the first time since 2017.
After 28 matches over three days, the 14-14 result couldn’t have ended closer! In great contrast, the opening foursomes on Friday morning couldn’t have been more one-sided! Team USA claimed all four matches to bolt to a 4-0 lead. It was the first time in Solheim Cup history the United States claimed a clean sweep of a foursome session.
Europe needed to respond. Enter the arena world No. 28 Ciganda. With two LPGA wins and seven LET titles to her name, Ciganda paired with Sweden’s Linn Grant to crush Angel Yin and Ally Ewing 4&2. Europe also won the match between Ireland’s Leona Maguire and England’s Georgia Hall over Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu. The other two contests were halved. Sweden’s Emily Pedersen aced the 12th hole for just the second hole-in-one in Solheim Cup history. Day One ended with a significant momentum shift to Team Europe as they peeled back two points to head into Saturday trailing 3-5.
Day Two began with both teams sharing the morning foursomes sessions 2-2. The afternoon four-ball session fell heavily in Europe’s favour scoring a dominant 3-1 result to draw level with the US at 8-8 heading into Sunday’s 12 singles matches.
With the contest on the line, the final day looked destined to go down to the wire. Europe gained the ascendancy early with Maguire claiming the first point of the day over 20-year-old sensation Rose Zhang 4&3. It was the first time during the contest Europe moved ahead in the overall scoreline. Team USA would respond swiftly and took a 13-11 lead when Vu easily defeated Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom 4&3. The US seemed on track to reach at least 14.5 points needed for victory holding good leads in two of the four remaining matches. Europe needed to swing one of the contests they were trailing. Sweden’s Hedwall stepped up to the plate to deliver an unlikely victory from being 3-down with six holes to play to overcoming Ally Ewing at the final green. Hedwall remarkable finish to her round included a birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie and eagle run. Sweden’s Maja Stark overcame America’s Allisen Corpus to draw the contest level at 13-13. With the Solheim Cup being staged in Spain for the first time, the stage was now set for local hero Ciganda to deliver the final blow. She was matched against world No. 3 Nelly Korda. Ciganda held a 3-up lead after eight holes before Korda rallied to tie the match at the 15th hole. Ciganda fired flag seeking approach shots at the 16th and 17th holes to deliver back-to-back clutch birdies, a 2&1 victory and importantly score Europe’s 14th point. Thompson overcame Pedersen in the last game on the course to gather the 14th point for Team USA.
The 19th Solheim Cup will be staged on US soil next year at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
Europe 14 v USA 14
