2017 SOLHEIM CUP
Des Moines Golf & Country Club
West Des Moines, Iowa
Saturday’s television times (all times Eastern)
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Golf Channel
4-6 p.m. - NBC
Transcripts is available at https://asaptext.com/orgs/lpga/210/
An Digital Media Kit is available at https://app.box.com/s/bj12mtbvnl54eftq2uoc5m83ht5krj61
FRIDAY RESULTS – USA 5.5, EUROPE 2.5
FOURSOMES – EUROPE 2.5, USA 1.5
Mel Reid and Charley Hull (EUR) halved with Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson (USA)
Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson (EUR), 1 up
Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall (EUR) def. Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst (USA), 3 and 1
Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew (EUR) def. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA), 1 up
FOUR-BALLS – USA 4, EUROPE 0
Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie (USA) def. Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom (EUR), 3 and 1
Lizette Salas and Angel Yin (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen (EUR), 6 and 5
Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome (USA) def. Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker (EUR), 3 and 2
Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA) def. Georgia Hall and Charley Hull (EUR), 2 and 1
SATURDAY MORNING FOURSOMES SCHEDULE
7:10 a.m. – Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Caroline Masson (EUR) v. Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson (USA)
7:22 a.m. – Mel Reid and Emily Pedersen (EUR) v. Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst (USA)
7:34 a.m. – Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall (EUR) v. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA)
7:46 a.m. – Catriona Matthew and Karine Icher (EUR) v. Michelle Wie and Danielle Kang (USA)
USA LEADS EUROPE, 5.5 TO 2.5, AFTER DAY ONE OF THE 2017 SOLHEIM CUP
For the first time in history, Team USA swept an entire session of play and holds a 5.5 to 2.5 lead over Team Europe after the first day at the 2017 Solheim Cup.
The Americans won the afternoon's four-ball matches, and never trailed for a single hole in any of the four matches. Team USA was led by a runaway 6-and-5 win by Lizette Salas and Angel Yin over Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen. Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie won the last two straight holes for a 3-and-1 win over Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom, while Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome earned a 3-and-2 victory over Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker. And in the afternoon's tightest match, Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller eked out a 2-and-1 win over Georgia Hall and Charley Hull.
The morning's foursomes saw Europe emerge with 2.5 points to the USA's 1.5. Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson staged a stirring comeback from 2 down with two to play and halve the opening match with Mel Reid and Charley Hull. Match two went to the Americans, with Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas never trailed en route to a 1-up win over Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson. The final two matches were both won by Team Europe, with Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall taking a 3-and-1 win over Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst, while Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew staged their own rousing comeback for a 1-up win over Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller.
CAPTAIN QUOTES
AMERICAN CAPTAIN JULI INKSTER
"I'll tell (my players), but I think they know that this is a distance run. It's a marathon. It's not a sprint. We have to do the work. We have to do the process. We gotta go out there, and 36 holes, we got 8 points out there tomorrow. That's a lot of points and we need to get a lot of those. And that's what I'm going to tell them.
"I know Annika. Annika has some good pairings out there tomorrow. But I also have some good pairings. So we're going to have to match up. We're going to have to play some good golf. The golf course is playing phenomenal. I think it's playing tough. The greens are tough. So it will be fun."
EUROPEAN CAPTAIN ANNIKA SORENSTAM
"It wasn't the afternoon we had wished for, but the players fought very hard. I must say the U.S. team played very well They made a lot of birdies. They made a lot of putts. And we just didn't have the same flow. So overall, just still feel pretty happy how we had the setup. And like I said, the girls fought to the end. It's just one of those days in golf."
NUMBERS TO KNOW AFTER FRIDAY AT THE SOLHEIM CUP
0 – Number of points earned by Team Europe in the afternoon four-balls
3 – Lead that Team USA holds over Team Europe, which ties 1998 for the largest lead after the first day for the Americans
4 – Number of points earned by Team USA in the afternoon four-balls, the first time in Solheim Cup history that the USA has swept a single session
18 – Career number of points at the Solheim Cup for Cristie Kerr, putting her one point behind Juli Inkster for the most points in USA history
STATS TO KNOW AFTER FRIDAY AT THE SOLHEIM CUP
Seven players made their debut in the 2017 Solheim Cup, which is tied for the fifth most in the history of the event.
Most Player Debuts by Year
1990 – 16
2002 – 11
2013 – 10
1992, 2011 – 8
2000, 2007, 2017 – 7
The three rookies for the United States finished with a 3-1-0 record in their matches on Friday, while the European team’s four rookies only won one of five.
Danielle Kang becomes the 11th American rookie to win their first two matches in the Solheim Cup; 53 American players have competed in the event. Kang joins Beth Daniel (1990), Betsy King (1990), Patty Sheehan (1990), Meg Mallon (1992), Donna Andrews (1994), Pat Hurst (1998), Emilee Klein (2002), Wendy Ward (2002), Stacy Prammanasudh (2007) and Ryann O’Toole (2011).
Angel Yin is the youngest American rookie to win her first match. In 2013, Lexi Thompson lost in her debut four-ball match with Stacy Lewis against Suzann Pettersen and Carlota Ciganda.
This is the second time in the history of the Solheim Cup that six of the first eight matches played were not decided until the 17th or 18th holes. In 1992, seven went the distance at 18 holes, except for the foursome match won by Liselotte Neumann and Helen Alfredsson against Pat Bradley and Dottie Pepper that ended at the 17th hole.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOUR-BALL RECAPS - EUROPE 0, USA 4
Match 5 - Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie (USA) def. Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom (EUR), 3 and 1
Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie led for the duration of their 3-and-1 win over Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Madelene Sagstrom. Wie, who sat out the morning foursomes, captured the first hole with a birdie to immediately kickstart the American campaign, and both players birdied the second hole to go 2 up through two holes.
Kang and Wie, long-time best friends, carried that 2-up lead through the front nine, but Ewart Shadoff birdied the par-4 10th to pull within one. From there, it was the Kang show, as the rookie made consecutive clutch putts on holes 14 and 15 to maintain their slim lead.
Kang, making her Solheim Cup debut this week, again rose to the occasion at No. 16, nailing a 7-foot birdie to go 2 up. And fittingly, the match ended when Kang stuffed her approach at the par-3 17th to 3 feet for a conceded birdie and the victory.
"I've been really comfortable all day. I think my partners are helping me to be comfortable," said Kang. "And they've been just fantastic to play with. And I never feel like – I never knew what it felt like to have a team. And I wished they were my teammates all day, every week."
Match 6 - Lizette Salas and Angel Yin (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen (EUR), 6 and 5
In the day's most lopsided match, Lizette Salas and Angel Yin only needed 13 holes to beat Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen by a 6-and-5 margin. It is the largest margin of victory in a four-ball match since 1998, and is only the fifth time a four-ball match has finished by that margin or better.
The American duo both birdied the par-4 first hole to immediately grab a 1-up lead and never looked back, winning the next three holes to build a 3-up lead through three holes. Salas' fifth birdie of the front nine extended their lead to 4 up through nine holes, and the duo went dormie-6 when Yin converted a 6-foot birdie at No. 12.
The Americans ultimately took the victory when Salas drained her par putt to halve the 13th hole.
"It's incredible how much talent she has," said Salas of Yin, who is 10 years her junior. "And she's fearless. And I think that rubbed off on me a little bit to be a little more aggressive when my confidence was up. And she was just a great partner today. She kept me laughing, and we made fun of each other. And just talked about non-golf stuff that really helped us, kept it enjoyable and less stressful."
Match 7 - Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome (USA) def. Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker (EUR), 3 and 2
The success of close American friends Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Lang in four-ball matches continued on Friday afternoon as they brought their record as a pair in this format to 3-0 with a 3-and-2 victory over Europe’s Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker. It took until the fifth hole for the match to break from all square, but Lincicome’s 12-foot eagle putt dropped to give the U.S. a 1-up lead and the pair never looked back.
The Americans never trailed in the match, increasing their lead to 4 up with four to play before a birdie by Masson on the 15th kept the European hopes alive. However the two sides halved the 16th with pars to give Team USA their third point of the afternoon four-ball matches.
"It seemed like everyone was playing really, really well," said Lincicome. "We just have to go out and do what we can for our team. Keep two balls in play the whole day is what we tried to do."
Match 8 - Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA) def. Georgia Hall and Charley Hull (EUR), 2 and 1
Gerina Piller and Stacy Lewis defeated Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, 2 and 1, in a back-and-forth match. After halving the first five holes, the U.S. squad struck first with back-to-back birdies on the par-4 sixth and the par-4 seventh to take a 2-up lead.
A Hall birdie on the par-3 eighth drew the Europeans within one, where they remained until a 15-footer from Lewis on the par-4 12th pushed the American advantage back up to 2 up. Once again, the Europeans quickly responded, as Hull casually tapped in a par on 13.
After another bomb from Lewis on 14 pushed the lead back to 2 up, the Europeans yet again bounced back when Hull holed out a chip for eagle. The teams halved the next two holes with pars before Team USA sealed the victory on the par-3 17th. Lewis stuffed her tee shot to 3 feet and calmly knocked in the putt for the victory, sealing the USA sweep in the afternoon four-ball session.
“We were definitely both very disappointed with the finish (of our morning match)," said Lewis. "I couldn’t get it out of my head and had a little chat with Juli, and kind of was able to turn things around. Gerina carried me on the front and I played well here on the back. Just really ham-and-egged it pretty good today. It feels great to finish out a good day today.”
FRIDAY MORNING FOURSOMES RECAPS - EUROPE 2.5, USA 1.5
Match 1 - Mel Reid and Charley Hull (EUR) halved with Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson (USA)
The Americans got off to a quick start, with Lexi Thompson's bomb of a tee shot at the drivable par-4 first hole leading to a Cristie Kerr birdie that immediately electrified the Des Moines crowd. The Europeans battled back to take the first lead at the par-5 fifth, where Kerr was forced to make a scary punch-out from behind a tree and a nice approach from Mel Reid led to a winning birdie from Charley Hull.
The Europeans extended their lead to 2 up through 16 when Hull converted a masterful chip-in for birdie at the par-4 16th. But Team USA took the 17th with a par from Thompson, and in her signature style, Kerr walked in her birdie at the 18th to secure the halved point.
'We made a huge par on 17, and sometimes all you need in this format is just a little bit of momentum," said Kerr. "And then we played a perfect hole on 18 to get the halve and it was very necessary."
Match 2 - Danielle Kang and Lizette Salas (USA) def. Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson (EUR), 1 up
Danielle Kang took her opening tee shot among rowdy American cheers, pumping up the crowd for her first shot as a Solheim Cup player. Kang and Lizette Salas rode that momentum to a winning birdie at the first hole. Another birdie, this time from Salas, at No. 5 extended the American advance to 2 up over Carlota Ciganda and Caroline Masson.
The Europeans stayed close, with Masson's 20-foot birdie at No. 11 cutting the American lead to 1 up. At the par-3 14th, Salas' tee shot went over the hole and they could not convert the up and down.
With the match now all square, Europe found trouble off the 15th tee and needed a TV crane moved to hit their second shot. Ciganda eventually power-lipped out a short par attempt and the USA regained a 1-up lead. Salas' superb chip from the right rough at the par-4 16th led to Kang's hole-winning 4-foot birdie putt. That putt turned out to be the winning shot, as although the Europeans won the 17th to take the match to No. 18, the Americans ultimately prevailed, 1 up.
"It's my first full point in alternate shot, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner – for alternate shot or just Solheim Cup in general," said Salas. "So I'm really proud of us. And really proud of her for stepping it up and carrying me, inspiring me and pushing me through it. It was tough coming down the stretch, and, for me and -- but we did it."
Match 3 - Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall (EUR) def. Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst (USA), 3 and 1
In a match that featured two seasoned veterans and two Solheim Cup rookies, it was the European duo of Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall that never trailed en route to a 3-and-1 win over Paula Creamer and Austin Ernst of the USA. The European side took the early lead when the Americans bogeyed the par-4 second hole. Nordqvist and Hall extended the advantage to 2 up on several occasions, although Creamer and Ernst kept the match close through 15 holes.
But at the par-4 16th, Creamer's tee shot found the left gallery and led to bogey. And when the Americans could not convert par at No. 17, they conceded the European par and victory.
"Georgia is a rookie but she certainly didn't play like one," said Nordqvist. "I'm very happy to be her partner today, and she played great. And made a few putts in there, too."
Match 4 - Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew (EUR) def. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller (USA), 1 up
The Americans were seemingly well on their way to victory after Gerina Piller's 8-foot birdie at the par-3 third hole and a 12-footer from Stacy Lewis at the par-5 fourth. The American duo held a 2-up advantage over Karine Icher and Catriona Matthew through 12 holes.
But from there the match quickly turned, thanks to Icher's hot putting hand. Her 40-footer for birdie at No. 13 cut the American lead to 1 up, and another Icher birdie at No. 14 squared the match. The Europeans took their first lead at the 16th hole, when Icher made a short par putt and Lewis and Piller both missed their putts. Finally on 18, Lewis blasted her 30-foot birdie 8 feet past the hole, and Piller's comeback attempt came up just short.
"It was a tough game at the beginning; they gave nothing," said Icher. "They played great. They are both really, really good players. So obviously it's not easy to beat them. We're not the favorites. But the door opened on the 13 and 14, and we took it, yeah. It's a great feeling now."
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