Europe Wins Solheim Cup 15-13 as Nordqvist Caps Career With Triumphant Captaincy

Q: What sparked the stunning late comebacks that neutralized Europe's fierce early dominance at Bernardus Golf?

The late swing was sparked by a surge of clutch U.S. shot-making and Europe’s inability to close out matches it had controlled early. As Europe built leads across the board at Bernardus Golf, the Americans stayed alive in the tighter matches and then flipped them with decisive moments on the back nine. Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee erased Charley Hull and Lottie Woad’s advantage, with Noh’s eagle at the par-4 eighth and birdie at the ninth changing the match’s direction before the U.S. pair closed out a 1-up win. Rose Zhang and Auston Kim also seized control early and never trailed in their 3-and-2 victory. The biggest momentum shift came from Jennifer Kupcho. With Europe seemingly set to bank another point, Kupcho holed a stunning putt of about 91 to 93 feet on the 17th to square the match, then poured in another long birdie putt on the 18th to steal a 1-up win alongside Lindy Duncan. That finish effectively silenced the home crowd and wiped out much of Europe’s earlier command. Europe’s own players pointed to the other key factor: missed putts. Lottie Woad said Europe “didn’t hole many putts,” while their opponents were converting from mid-range. Captain Anna Nordqvist also acknowledged that the Americans’ clutch putts were hard to counter. So the comebacks were driven less by a single collapse than by a combination of U.S. resilience, back-nine birdies and eagles, and extraordinary pressure putting—especially from Kupcho—that turned Europe’s fast start into a level contest.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 14

An 8-8 deadlock turned into a 15-13 European victory after a dominant Sunday singles session, giving Anna Nordqvist a winning Solheim Cup captaincy weeks after retiring from competitive golf.
Lottie Woad’s 2-up win over Auston Kim moved Europe to 14 points, and Carlota Ciganda’s lead over Jennifer Kupcho made the decisive 14½ inevitable before Ciganda closed out her own match.
Charley Hull set the tone with a 3&2 win over Megan Khang, while Linn Grant, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Nastasia Nadaud and Julia López Ramírez added key blue points for an underdog European side with four rookies.
The U.S. wait for a Solheim Cup win on foreign soil stretched back to 2015 despite Alison Lee’s historic comeback over Esther Henseleit, and captain Angela Stanford suggested she may not return for 2028.