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14 hours ago
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Charley Hull got the ball rolling as Europe's big names finally came to the fore in Sunday's singles as they wrested the Solheim Cup back from the USA with a 15-13 victory in the Netherlands.
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 on Sunday and claimed a 3&2 win over American livewire Megan Khang.
It delivered an immediate boost to Anna Nordqvist's team in the singles format that they have been unbeaten in since their last home defeat in 2015.
Woad, who alongside Hull is ranked among the top 10 players in the world, also delivered, with her 2&1 win over fellow debutant Auston Kim sparking wild celebrations on the 17th green at Bernardus Golf Club.
With Carlota Ciganda three holes up heading on to the 16th, it assured the hosts of reaching the 14½-point tally required to triumph in the biggest team competition in women's golf.
"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.
"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.
And Hull was one of the first on the scene to congratulate Woad, with the quip, "finally got our points didn't we Lottie".
Veteran Ciganda officially carrying her side over the winning line by beating Jennifer Kupcho could not have been more fitting as she became just the second player to secure the decisive point twice - having done so in 2023 - joining Catriona Matthew who did the same for Europe in both 2003 and 2013.
On Saturday evening Kupcho had hushed the crowd and yelled "vamos" as she drained a 91-foot putt on the 17th and then knocked in a 30-footer on the 18th green to steal a point from the Spaniard in the fourballs.
It felt like a moment that had turned the momentum of the match towards Angela Stanford's team but fewer then 24 hours later, Kupcho and her US team-mates had little to cheer with all the euphoria draped around those wearing blue and yellow.
"I was really happy to see that I was playing against Kupcho," said Ciganda. "She's a fighter, I'm a fighter, and what she did was amazing on 17 and 18.
"But [on Sunday] I knew she had no chance. I was like, I want to kill you," joked the Spaniard.
