In the afternoon, the European team recovered part of what it had lost in the morning, to make the score 3-5 at the beginning of the tournament being played at the Finca Cortesín course in Malaga.
At 1:40 p.m. on Friday, September 22, 2023, came another historic milestone of the 2023 Solheim Cup: the packed stands on the tee of hole 1 at Finca Cortesín roared, really roared, as Carlota Ciganda had wanted since before the start of the competition.
It had already done so, it is true, early in the morning, when the first group of players seeking victory in the Solheim Cup 2023 to be held at Finca Cortesin faced the pairs matches.
However, the hustle and bustle of that iconic place of any Solheim Cup, where so many passions are concentrated as the starting point of so many feats, was waiting for the special moment to roar, to really roar, the moment when Carlota Ciganda, local idol, hit the ball with the intention of taking it to the green, 240 meters, several bunkers and a lot of water beyond.
The Navarre golfer, the only Spanish representative in the most important women’s golf tournament in the world, a 100% Solheim Cup player, who transforms herself, who gets involved, who generates and spreads passions, was in action.
She, along with seven other European teammates, was facing the enormous challenge of righting an adverse situation of historic connotations. In the morning, during the Foursomes, the United States had inflicted a never-before-seen 0-4 result, reflecting their overwhelming superiority.
And the morning day only had the color of the stars and stripes of the American team, a well-oiled machine that quickly resolved the duel between Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight -victory on the 14th hole by 5/4- before quelling any attempt of reaction in the other three clashes, one of them on the 17th hole and two more on the 18th.
With such a complicated situation Carlota Ciganda started the day with her partner Linn Grant and the rest of the European representatives in action, the new proposal of the captain Suzzane Pettersen to minimize a bleeding that needed urgent healing.
Carlota Ciganda was in it with all her strength, author of a spectacular birdie on hole 1 that allowed them to take the lead. The spectators, again, roared with the Navarre golfer, aware that the European team needed a great boost to counteract such a delicate situation.
Shaken by the need for a reaction, the duel between Europeans and Americans entered a phase of tremendous equality, where every hit and every miss generated sharp but small differences in the balance of the scales, which went from equilibrium to advantage by a hole on the part of one team or the other.
The Spanish fans -and many European fans- focused their attention on the match between Carlota Ciganda and the Swedish Linn Grant, 2 up on hole 4 thanks to another birdie by the Spaniard, 1 up on hole 6 thanks to another birdie by the American Yin.
Elsewhere, in other parts of the course, an incredible hole-in-1 of 163 meters by Denmark’s Emily Pedersen on the 12th hole; an approach from 60 meters by Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh on the 14th; a wonderful chip by England’s Georgia Hall on the 18th… breathed additional energy into a European team that needed all kinds of successes and motivation to overcome its tough final.
Partial scores of 0-8 in favor of the United States or a tie at 4, everything was possible, such was the accumulated uncertainty, when both teams faced the last holes of the course, a final stretch where an American victory and two ties took place, one of them after a wonderful putt by Sweden’s Maja Stark.
Because before that, Carlota Ciganda and her partner Linn Grant had already achieved their victory, the only resounding victory of the afternoon, by 4/2, the palpable confirmation that the Spaniard is a 100% Solheim player, who transforms herself, who gets involved, who generates and spreads passions.
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MATCH BY MATCH: Evening reaction gives Europe some breathing space
The large U.S. morning gain was minimized by the afternoon
The U.S. had a large and historic lead at the start of the competition, a 4-0 lead that forced the European team to stage a remarkable comeback in the afternoon’s Fourballs. The Americans had clearly dominated the last game in the morning and controlled the rest of the game well in the decisive moment. Already in the afternoon, Carlota Ciganda and Linn Grant led the long-awaited reaction that gives air to Europe facing the second and third day.
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FRIDAY MORNING FOURSOMES: United States, 4 – Europe, 0
Lexi Thompson – Meghan Kang (USA) beat Meja Stark – Linn Grant (Europe) 2/1
The Swedish pair, the bet of captain Suzzane Petersen to start the competition, two players with no previous experience in the Solheim Cup, offered a good image, but could not avoid defeat before the success of two veterans in these matters. The Americans swept their opponents in the first three holes, taking advantage of two bogeys by the Europeans. From then on, the Swedish pair gradually closed the gap with patience, taking advantage of a couple of mistakes to be 1 down on the 11th hole and tie, with a birdie, on the 13th. It was a mirage because, at the moment of truth, in the final holes, the value of veteran experience imposed its law.
Andrea Lee – Danielle Kang (USA) defeated Celine Boutier – Georgia Hall (Europe) by 1up.
An opening birdie allowed the American pair to take the lead in a match characterized by equality. Very brave, Celine Boutier and Georgia Hall took the lead on the 6th hole, the starting point of several alternatives that generated advantages in favor of both sides as a result of a very showy aggressive game. A great birdie by Georgia Hall on the 12th brought the match back to a draw, a parity that was maintained until the 16th. It was then, on the following hole, when a timely birdie by Andrea Lee was the final straw for the Europeans.
Nelly Korda – Allisen Corpuz (USA) beat Leona Maguire – Anna Nordqvist (EUR) by 1up
The point escaped one of the most powerful couples of those arranged by Suzann Pettersen. Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, two world Top 10, won holes 3, 4 and 5 and only gave up the lead briefly after the two consecutive birdies c
onsecutivos Europe to 6 and 7. But Nelly Korda is much Nelly Korda, and his magic was felt on 9 and 11. The match tightened up on the 16th with a nice birdie finished off by Leona Maguire. With two holes to go to try to scratch half a point in a tough morning, the Europeans took a risk to avoid the 4-0, but Anna Nordqvist’s last putt, from about two meters, did not go in either.
Ally Ewing/Cheyenne Knight (USA) beat Charley Hull – Emily Kristine Pedersen (EUR) by 5/4
The match to forget was the one that closed the Foursomes this Friday. Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight, on fire all morning, have won unceremoniously to Charley Hull and Emily Kristine Pedersen by 5/4. The Americans practically sentenced the duel between holes 4 and 9, resolved with a partial five up. Europe did not ‘plug’ their first birdie until the 10th hole, when they lowered the score to 5up. It was only a mirage, because Hull and Pedersen did not make another birdie and the match ended on the 14th hole.
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FRIDAY EVENING FOURBALLS: Europe, 3 – United States, 1
Gemma Dryburgh – Madelene Sagstrom (EUR) tie Rose Zhang – Megan Khang (USA)
The first half point for Europe came from two veteran players, but with little experience in the Solheim world. It did not show on the green, because Gemma Dryburgh and Madelene Sagstrom knew how to control the Rose Zhang effect, even when the Americans were two up on the 10th hole. Europe equalized the duel on the 14th with a birdie by Sagstrom, and there was no more movement on the scoreboard. Rose Zhang had the last putt to win the match, from about ten feet, but it narrowly missed.
Leona Maguire – Georgia Hall (EUR) defeated Lexi Thompson – Lilia Vu (USA) by 1up.
Possibly the match of the afternoon. Europe had it under control, always by the minimum, between holes 4 and 13. On the 15th, Europe again gained a slight advantage, but Lilia Vu still had an ace up her sleeve: a wonderful putt to equalize the match on the 17th. With the tension sky-high, these four golfers stepped on the 18th tee. Hugs and more hugs, but it was not all sold out yet. Lexi Thompson had another approach to make it for birdie, but the shot was flawed. The tension? Maybe. That’s when half a point slipped away from the Americans in a magnificent duel.
Emily Pedersen – Maja Stark (EUR) tie Jennifer Kupcho – Allisen Corpuz (USA)
Half a point suffered and sweated by the European team. The United States dominated the scoreboard for the most part during the first eleven holes. The few birdies and a high dose of tension led the match with a minimal advantage of the foreign pair formed in which Jennifer Kupcho made her debut in the competition. Europe equalized the match on the 12th hole with the shot of the day, a monumental hole in one by Emily Kristine Pedersen leaning on the left front green that left without effect the strokes of her three partners in the match. The Dane needed a joy like that. However, one hole later the 1up came back to the American side with Kupcho’s birdie and Pedersen’s own tie. It was back to square one. The 18th was reached with a draw, and there a good putt for birdie by Maja Stark closed the day.
Linn Grant – Carlota Ciganda (EUR) beat Angel Yin – Ally Ewing (USA) 4/2
Carlota Ciganda’s individual participation in ‘her’ Solheim could not have started better. The Navarre has added a point that can be gold, Sunday will be seen, by the hand of Linn Grant. Both have controlled the match from the first hole, in which the Spanish, far from feeling any pressure, scored a good birdie. The advantage of the locals, supported by a human tide, ranged between 1up and 2up. Angel Yin and Ally Ewing, two experienced players, easily made birdie, but they had a wall in front of them, with special mention for Carlota Ciganda who made six birdies in sixteen holes. Precisely with Carlota’s birdie on the 14th -celebrated with her fist in the wind-, the match was practically sentenced. Linn Grant could have closed it on the 15th; she did not, but the match did not go beyond the 16th.
RESULT FRIDAY: Europe, 3 – United States, 5
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