DEN BOSCH, Netherlands — Team Europe finally took down the record-setting U.S. partnership of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz at the Solheim Cup on Saturday on the way to winning the morning foursomes and building a 7-5 lead after three sessions.
The top-ranked Korda and Corpuz had won their first five matches as a team dating to 2023 — an unprecedented feat in the Solheim Cup — but were beaten, 3 and 2, by Swedish pair Maja Stark and Linn Grant in the lead match at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands early on Day 2.
It set the tone for a big session by the Europeans, who got another point from Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud as they became the first rookie duo to win two matches at a single Solheim Cup.
Then, in a significant late-morning rally, Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit won two of the final three holes to beat Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, 1 up, in the final match of the session. It was the only one that went to No. 18.
The only negative on a big morning for Europe was another setback for its star English pairing of Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, who were thrashed 6 and 5 by Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin in a result that tied the record margin of victory in a Solheim Cup foursomes match.
Hull and Woad, the only European players in the world’s top 10, have contributed just a half-point from three outings together so far this week but have been retained as a pair by captain Anna Nordqvist for the afternoon four-balls.
Korda, meanwhile, was rested by U.S. captain Angela Stanford. Coughlin, still unbeaten in the Solheim Cup (5-0-2), will go out again and be the only American to play five matches.
After back-to-back split sessions on Day 1, there was finally separation between the teams, and history suggests that is a big deal. Since 1998, the team that held a lead at the end of the third session has gone on to win 11 of those 13 occasions.
The United States, which has an 11-7-1 advantage in a series that dates to 1990, is the defending champion and needs 14 points to retain the crystal trophy.
Short-game magic from Henseleit
In the last match on the course, Maguire and Henseleit were 1 down and in trouble on the 16th hole, with Maguire having pushed a wild second shot near to the grandstand. Henseleit chipped along a bank and down to 6 feet, with Maguire making the hole-winning birdie putt to tie the match.
There was more short-game magic to come from Henseleit, whose chip from left of the green on No. 18 settled inside 2 feet to ensure a par. Kupcho and Zhang couldn't match it, with Zhang putting the face of a fairway bunker with her second shot.
“A little short game master class from Esther,” said Maguire, who has reached 10 points in the Solheim Cup quicker — in 14 matches — than any other player in history.
Indeed, it was quite the final hour for Henseleit, who removed her shoes and socks, put on some wet-gear and stepped into a stream beside the 15th green in an attempt to hack out a second shot after Maguire hit a drive that dribbled into the water. It was all in vain — Henseleit's recovery shot plopped straight up and down off the bank and rolled back into the water.
Rookies thriving for Europe
“Why not?”
That was the reaction from Nordqvist when she was asked what made her throw together Nadaud and Rhodes in their first Solheim Cup.
Nordqvist could see they had great on-course chemistry and it's delivered two points already, first in the Friday four-balls with a 2-and-1 win over Corpuz and Auston Kim and on Saturday against Kim and Andrea Lee.
“I have to say we didn’t really expect to play this morning foursomes,” Nadaud said. “It was a great surprise.”
Pairings for afternoon four-balls
1:05 p.m. (7:05 a.m. EDT/1105 GMT) — Megan Khang and Lauren Coughlin, United States, vs. Maja Stark and Linn Grant, Europe.
1:20 p.m. (7:20 a.m. EDT/1120 GMT) — Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee, United States, vs. Lottie Woad and Charley Hull, Europe.
1:35 p.m. (7:35 a.m. EDT/1135 GMT) — Rose Zhang and Auston Kim, United States, vs. Nastasia Nadaud and Leona Maguire, Europe.
1:50 p.m. (7:50 a.m. EDT/1150 GMT) — Jennifer Kupcho and Lindy Duncan, United States, vs. Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier, Europe.
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