NETHERLANDS — Charley Hull got the ball rolling as Europe's big names finally came to the fore in Sunday's singles to wrestle the Solheim Cup back from the USA with a 15-13 victory at Bernardus Golf Club. Starting the day level at 8-8, Anna Nordqvist's side reached the 14½ points required to win the biggest team competition in women's golf.
Hull, who had garnered just half a point across the first two days in an unprofitable partnership with fellow Englishwoman Lottie Woad, led Europe out again and delivered an immediate boost with a 3&2 win over American livewire Megan Khang. Woad, also ranked among the top 10 players in the world, followed with a 2&1 win over fellow debutant Auston Kim that sparked wild celebrations on the 17th green, while Carlota Ciganda stood three holes up heading onto the 16th against Jennifer Kupcho in the penultimate match. "It was the no-brainer to put Charley first," said Nordqvist. "We saw the stats and Charley and Lottie were actually top-four players that made the most birdies for the week. They just played really tough matches."
"People don't understand how good all these players are and how good the golf has been in the past three days," Nordqvist said. "So Charley was a no-brainer, and then finishing strong with Carlota. As we know, she's done it in the past." Any question marks over Nordqvist's captaincy had revolved around repeatedly pairing her two star English players together over the first two days. Hull was one of the first to congratulate Woad with the quip, "finally got our points didn't we Lottie," as Europe extended its unbeaten run in the singles format since its last home defeat in 2015.
Europe's quartet of rookies deserved huge credit after impressing in foursomes and fourballs. Spain's Julia Lopez Ramirez defeated Yealimi Noh 3&2, while France's Nastasia Nadaud always looked in control against Andrea Lee to win by the same scoreline. Mimi Rhodes, who had partnered Nadaud to two victories, was only downed by a superb performance from world number one Nelly Korda. Veteran Ciganda carrying her side over the winning line was fitting after Kupcho had hushed the crowd on Saturday evening, yelling "vamos" after draining a 91-foot putt on the 17th and then knocking in a 30-footer on the 18th to steal a point from the Spaniard in the fourballs.
The USA found intermittent splashes of red on Sunday's scoreboard but it was not enough. Lauren Coughlin, who had already earned two-and-a-half points this week, ended Leona Maguire's unbeaten singles record, Lindy Duncan beat Maja Stark, and Alison Lee came from four holes down to complete the biggest singles comeback in Solheim Cup history with a 1UP success over Esther Henseleit. Rose Zhang concluded her 2UP win against Celine Boutier in the last match on the course after the European party was already in full swing. "The Europeans played great today, and that's the way it goes," said Stanford. "Their backs were against the wall, they had nothing to lose, and that's exactly what they did, they came out and played well." The defeat means the USA's wait for a first win on European soil since 2015 continues.