CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — For the first time in Solheim Cup history, both sessions on the first day ended in 2-2 ties.
Europe, hosting the 20th edition of the tournament at Bernardus Golf, and the United States could not be separated after a first day filled with chanting, fancy dress and 1,447 bicycles ridden by spectators to the course.
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Friday began with a Dutch orange sunrise lighting up thousands of noisy fans on the first tee grandstand. It ended with the sun setting on more European raucousness as Spaniard Carlota Ciganda, in her eighth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance, pulled out an incredible putt to salvage half a point with the final shot of the day.
At 4-4, it is finely poised heading into Saturday.
It is Europe who will feel spurred on by Ciganda’s save in her match, particularly after two wayward approach shots on the 18th hole left her playing her ball up the first fairway instead.
European captain Anna Nordqvist ran right out onto the 18th hole to congratulate Ciganda, who profited from world No. 1 Nelly Korda and her U.S. team-mate Lauren Coughlin each failing to nail down a birdie putt.
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Ciganda, who was playing alongside compatriot and rookie Julia López Ramírez, gave it a big “vamos” after holing a 15-footer of her own for par to finish the day. It looked like Korda might make it two points out of two after a storming morning match in the rain with playing partner Allisen Corpuz. The duo, the first Solheim Cup pair to win five consecutive matches, finished it out on the 15th hole to get a 4&3 win against two of Europe’s best players, Charley Hull and Lottie Woad.
Many wondered whether Nordqvist’s plan of placing two of the top 10 players in the world in the same group was the right move. Europe has only done this three times previously in Solheim history, and it was always going to be a gamble.
It initially proved a shrewd move as the crowd was fired up, singing “No Charley, no party”. There was even a rendition of Happy Birthday for Hull’s Australian caddie Adam Woodward by the Guardians of the Cup, a yellow-and-blue-dressed fan group known for their avid support at Ryder Cups.
When Woad got them 1 up with a big putt on the first, the Englishwomen felt like the perfect match. But they came undone on the back nine.
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“I think once you lose momentum, it can be tough to come back,” Woad said after the morning session.
Nordqvist sent them right back out in the afternoon, and momentum was more on the duo’s side as they were 3 up twice against Angel Yin and Yealimi Noh. But it fell apart as Noh, who picked up a third-place finish at the AIG Women’s Open last month, put in an incredible solo finish which included winning three holes and going all square in six of the last 10 holes. Hull and Woad had to hold on for a half-point.
Stanford described Noh’s birdie on 17 as one of the best she has ever seen and felt Yin’s tears at the 18th were an “unloading of emotion” after a testing couple of months.
Yin was touch and go as to whether she would play for the U.S. team following a two-month absence from golf — Lilia Vu was brought to the Netherlands as an alternate, just in case. Yin, 27, spent two months away from golf dealing with a stomach issue which caused her to be hospitalized for almost a week and led to her dropping 35lbs. She played in one tournament since June, August’s FM Championship, and shot an 81-76 to miss the cut.
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While Yin is being rested on Saturday morning after being a factor in only one of the final 10 holes Friday, Woad and Hull will get another crack at it for Europe. They will be the last group on the tee in Saturday morning’s foursomes, pitted against Alison Lee and Coughlin, who won a foursomes match together Friday. Lee won both her matches on Friday; the other point was with Megan Khang, whose outgoing energy was always going to be a bonus to her team. Khang came out dancing in a cowboy hat on the first tee, with the U.S. team really leaning into Stanford’s Texas background.
That is why “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé was playing as Stanford made her way onto the first tee as an outnumbered but loud group of U.S. fans tried to make themselves known amid the inventive chants of the Europeans.
Stanford quickly found this ain’t Texas, as Europe blasted out of the gates. But she said she was prepared for that and was happy with how her team dug in as they seek to retain the cup.
“I expected them to throw the kitchen sink at us right off the bat and they did. And I thought we held up pretty well,” Stanford said. “Playing on the road, fans were loud, they’re great out there, all the different elements. I’m really proud of where we are and how we fought.”
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Stanford, whose team has another 4am wake-up call ahead of them, pulled her players into a huddle on the 18th after it was over, and after a short speech, enjoyed a group “Yee-haw”.
There will be even more hooting and hollering come Saturday as both teams look to keep sight of each other ahead of Sunday’s all-important singles matches.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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