Solheim Cup 2024: day one – live

Ewan Murray on a difficult start to the Solheim Cup on the course for Europe and off the course for the organisers.

Day One: USA 6 Europe 2

A tough day for Europe. An excellent one for Nelly Korda.

Suzann Pettersen initially looked a little shell-shocked talking to television but also perked up a bit as she voiced the task. “We have a big task ahead of us,” she said. “Today is history. The Americans played well. We’ve played decent but some semi-poor decisions along the way. We need to roll up our sleeves. We need to find some power within you. This will have to come from the players. I need to find the right words for them tonight. But I will.” The notion that errors have been made by the players and that drive must come from within them is interesting.

European vice captain Mel Reid on the mood in the camp: “Emotions are high but the spirits are not down. We’ve come up against a very good side. The Americans holed everything and can’t do that all week. Suzann has a few points to make about improving strategy. At times we were a little independent with team play. We made some silly mistakes. Suzann made a very fine speech last night. We do believe that we can still win this, though. We have to go out strong tomorrow.”

Nelly Korda is not alone in going 2&0 on day one. Rose Zhang, Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel have also won two points.

An appropriate image to remember this day. Nelly Korda enjoyed a wonderful start. She was clearly enjoying herself, her driving was long and straight, her iron approaches set up birdie and eagle opportunities, and her putter converted plenty of them. This could be a defining week for the world number one.

America has a record lead. No Solheim Cup team has ever led 6-2 after the first day. Europe was in a difficult spot when trailing 4-0 after last year’s first session, but this year it will be tougher still. On the Friday night 12 months ago Suzann Pettersen admitted: “It would probably not be appropriate to repeat what I said to my team. But I think it was needed. They got the message.” Can she repeat the dose of whatever nuclear invective she delivered? And if she can, will it work again?

Day one fourballs: results

It’s been quite the day for Solheim Cup rookie and Virginia native Lauren Coughlin. Take a bow.

USA 6 Europe 2

The last remaining match of the day has reached the par-3 16th green. Lauren Coughlin has 35 feet birdie … and drains it for the win!

US captain Stacy Lewis speaks to TV: “It’s been a really good day. It’s played out how we hoped it would. The players got us a ton of points. We’ve had more balance in the fourballs (this year). I put extra focus on that. Last year we got flat. This year I got energy.” In her little backpack, with her ear piece in, and flinty eyes, Lewis looks a little like a store detective. Europe probably wishes she’d spent the last 12 months chasing shoplifters.

How close was Andrea Lee to closing out her match with an albatross?! This close.

TV says that Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee played the last six holes of their match in 8-under! “We had so much fun,” says Zhang. “We ham and egged it so well. It was nice to see some putts go in.” Lee adds: “I got off to a slow start but Rose was solid. I was glad to make a run from the 9th hole. Rose had a couple of 40 foot bombs drop.”

USA 5 Europe 2

Andrea Lee inches from an albatross! Her approach to the par-five 14th from 180 yards shaves the hole. A wonderful blow. It essentially secures another point for USA.

We’ve got noise now, by the way. The last two matches out are reaching the well-populated areas. Much more like it. Emily Pedersen makes a very fine up-and-down from the greenside bunker to secure a birdie-4 at 14. Coughlin has not been conceded but her partner Sarah Schmelzel knocks in her birdie putt to earn a half. The American pair head up 15 three up.

Now Lauren Coughlin almost holes out from the fairway, about 50 yards short of the par-5 14th green. What a day, what a summer, what a year the 31-year-old has enjoyed. She’s a Virginian native, too! How could she possibly have dreamt this on New Year’s Eve?

Now it is Andrea Lee’s turn. US captain Stacy Lewis, watching with a little rucksack on her back, fist pumps as Rose Zhang’s partner drops a 20 foot birdie. Linn Grant follows her in from a little closer to halve the hole. The US team remains four up with just five to play.

It’s beginning to look a lot like an unlucky Friday the 13th for Europe. The current state of affairs:

6&4 Korda/Khang v Hall/Maguire (F)
Lee (Alison)/Thompson v Norqvist/Sagstrom 6&5 (F)
Coughlin/Schmelzel 3UP v Pedersen/Stark (13)
Lee (Andrea)/Zhang 4UP v Grant/Hull (12)

Birdie for Sarah Schmelzel at 13 takes her and Lauren Coughlin three up on Maja Stark and Emily Pedersen. It’s almost impossible to see Europe doing anything other than sleeping on a four point deficit. They need something special.

There’s a slightly odd and flat atmosphere out there. Surely there should be more noise, not least from the American galleries? It’s maybe that the fans are all congregated in the wrong part of the course? It has, by the way, been notable there has been very little noise made by any European fans today – and not just because the golf hasn’t prompted it yet. They just don’t seem to be there, which tallies with the feelings (and fears) of Ladies European Tour staff ahead of the week.

Rose Zhang repeats her Jordan Spieth impression again! It’s remarkable. From 25 feet this time, at 12, for a winning eagle-3. She and Andrea Lee now lead four up with six to play. Opponent Linn Grant is wearing a shirt with no arms. It looks a little like she has rolled her sleeves up. Metaphorically and literally she needs exactly that and more.

Bucket hat brilliance from the Swedes this afternoon.

Anna Nordqvist on her win this afternoon: “We had a lot of fun out there.” Her partner Madelene Sagstrom: “Suzann believed in us. I said to Anna I am so excited to play with her. That first tee was electric.”

Nordqvist on the rest of the match: “I believe in the team. There is a lot of golf left.”

USA 4 Europe 2

And now Roze Zhang reminds us she can putt. It always feels as if she’s more dangerous from distance than close to the hole. A touch of early years Jordan Spieth about her this afternoon/evening. Her latest effort takes her and Andrea Lee three up on Linn Grant and Charley Hull through 11. The match was tied through eight. The European pair resemble a dinghy out on the lake that is springing leaks.

Lots for Nelly Korda to smile about today.

Elsewhere there is good news for Europe … and more bad news. A huge winning putt from Madelene Sagstrom at 12 takes her and Anna Nordqvist five up in match two. But Europe trails two down in both the bottom two matches.

USA 4 Europe 1

Oh yikes. Linn Grant misses from three feet at 10. That hurts. She and Charley Hull lose the hole and trail two down in the last match.

The US rookies are rock solid so far. Sarah Schmelzel drains from 12 feet at 11 to go two up with Lauren Coughlin in the third match.

Another par-5, another Nelly Korda masterclass. A 4-hybrid into the 14th green has left her about 15 feet for eagle. On TV, the ever-astute Karen Stupples notes that in winning 3&2 this morning and being on the brink of a second victory now, Korda has garnered two points and not over-exerted herself. That doesn’t factor in emotional fatigue, of course, but physically she ought to be up to five matches if Lewis wants.

There are few finer sights in golf than the recoil of a Charley Hull drive. The follow through is like a medieval trebuchet (a kind of catapult). Unfortunately, her drive at the short par-4 10th skittles through the galleries, across the 11th tee box and disappears into the long grass surrounding the lake like a water vole fleeing a predator.

A busy little period. Emily Pedersen finds the green at the 277 yard par-4 10th with a 3-wood and two putts for a winning birdie. She and Maja Stark now trail by only one hole. Europe could still win the afternoon session 3-1 but they need a good two hours.

Korda/Khang 5UP v Hall/Maguire (13)
Lee (Alison)/Thompson v Nordqvist/Sagstrom 4UP (11)
Coughlin/Schmelzel 1UP v Pedersen/Stark (10)
Lee (Andrea)/Zhang v Grant/Hull 1UP (9)

Back to the action. Nelly Korda and Meghan Khang are closing in on victory at the 13th green. Korda just comes up shy of birdie from 18 feet. Khang has a much shorter opportunity, about six feet, and also misses it. Maguire now has five feet for birdie and to extend the contest. In it goes.

Meanwhile Anna Nordqvist secures birdie at 11 from eight feet. She and Madelene Sagstrom lead in the second match four up.

We interrupt coverage of the 2024 Solheim Cup for Tiger Woods news. Yet more surgery for him. It seems to be a never-ending story.

We haven’t seen enough of the Lexi Thompson lean today. It’s a classic Solheim spot. Feet planted, swing completed, body hanging on to the club like someone who went fishing and caught something much, much bigger than they ever expected to land. She finds the green at the par-three 11th but Anna Nordqvist has a much shorter birdie putt coming up. Advantage Sweden in match two.

In the last few minutes Nelly Korda has reduced a par-4 to a par-3 and a par-5 to a par-4. “Rein back the ball,” chants no-one on the course today. Her eagle has been conceded. She and Meghan Khang now lead six up with six to play. Europe needs to close well in those bottom two matches.

Korda/Khang 6UP v Hall/Maguire (12)
Lee (Alison)/Thompson v Nordqvist/Sagstrom 3UP (10)
Coughlin/Schmelzel 2UP v Pedersen/Stark (9)
Lee (Andrea)/Zhang A/S Grant/Hull (8)

Oh Nelly Korda – that is world number one quality. The par-five 12th: she flushes a drive and has 5-iron to the green. She flushes that and now has four feet for an eagle-3. Partner Meghan Khang leads the choruses of “USA!”

Lauren Coughlin is utterly unflappable. A 12 foot birdie putt for the win at eight? Cow bells ringing in the gallery? Cup debut? No fuss. In it pops. She and Sarah Schmelzel lead two up on Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark.

Madelene Sagstrom has eight feet for birdie and the hole at 9. In it drops. She and Anna Nordqvist are two up on Alison Lee and Lexi Thompson.

Up ahead, Leona Maguire is in a pickle at 11. It’s a par-three, her ball came up just short of water, among mud, rocks and rooty strands of grass. He punch doesn’t find the green. Georgia Hall did, however, find the putting surface and has 18 feet for birdie and the win. Five down, she needs it … and it slips by. Nelly Korda and Meghan Khang are five up with seven to play. “Stay out there as long as you can,” says Cup veteran Karen Stupples on TV.

The Swedish bucket hats are working. Anna Nordqvist drains a 30 foot birdie putt to go one up with Madelene Sagstrom in the second match out. It’s a good few minutes for Swedish putting. Linn Grant’s birdie at seven gets her and Charley Hull all square in the last match. Europe can still change the complexion of the contest this afternoon.

The green at 10 is perched on a bluff that overhangs the lake at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. The hopes of Georgia Hall and Leona Maguire are hanging over a big drop, too. The gutsy Hall drained a 45 foot putt for par but Nelly Korda secures birdie. She and Meghan Khang lead five up with eight to play.

Sarah Schmelzel drains a 15 foot birdie putt at seven and the pressure is rising for Europe. The rookie’s blow moves herself and Lauren Coughlin one up through seven in match three. USA lead in three matches and is all square in the other. It gets worse. Korda was two inches from finding the green at 10 in one blow; her opponents have failed to hit it in two.

Andrea Lee has been quiet so far but taps in for birdie at six. It wins the hole for her and Rose Zhang. They lead Linn Grant and Charley Hull 1 up.

Meanwhile at 10, set up as a driveable par-4 this session, Nelly Korda hits an imperious blow that finishes inches off the green. Advantage USA.

Korda/Khang 4UP v Hall/Maguire (9)
Lee (Alison)/Thompson A/S Nordqvist/Sagstrom (7)
Coughlin/Schmelzel A/S Pedersen/Stark (6)
Lee (Andrea)/Zhang 1UP Grant/Hull (6)

Georgia Hall makes a birdie! Phew. Instantly the 2018 AIG Women’s Open champion looks less downbeat. It wins her and Leona Maguire the ninth and the Europeans are now “only” four down. Their opponent Meghan Khang, by the way, is wearing socks that look like football socks but they are short so only cover the ankle and some of the calf. The effect is rather like a 1970s footballer without the shinpads. Hall has aimed a little kick in their direction with that putt.

A taste of Rose Zhang’s electric putting this afternoon.

We mentioned earlier that Lauren Coughlin had just three top 10s on the LPGA (not one a top five) ahead of this year and that in 2024 she’s had eight top 10s, two of them wins. Her fellow rookie and current partner Sarah Schmelzel is similar. She’d recorded eight top 10s on the LPGA ahead of this year and has added another seven already. They’re both in their 30s, slow learners, but looking very solid today. They both won this morning and are all square with Europe’s only winners Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark through six.

Korda/Khang 5UP v Hall/Maguire (8)
Lee (Alison)/Thompson A/S Nordqvist/Sagstrom (7)
Coughlin/Schmelzel A/S Pedersen/Stark (6)
Lee (Andrea)/Zhang A/S Grant/Hull (5)

Meghan Khang converts another short birdie putt. She and Nelly Korda now lead in the top match 5 up through eight. The out of form Georgia Hall and Leona Maguire are not being revived by their past Solheim Cup glory. Both have top-scored for Europe but look deflated today.

Another huge putt drops for Rose Zhang. Such a delicate shot, with perfect speed and a superb read. A birdie at five, Charley Hull can’t equal it from 15 feet – the bottom match is back to all square.

Not that the Swedes Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom would know it, but there is a definite Bazball vibe going on with them. At least with their bucket hats. Not quite so frenetic with their golf. Sagstrom got married last weekend and her husband is on Nordqvist’s bag this week. Quite the honeymoon. They remain all square with Lexi Thompson and Alison Lee after all four players spurn birdie chances at six.