Pair of 30-something American rookies dazzle, make Solheim Cup history

GAINESVILLE, Va. — Making a Solheim Cup debut after age 30 is a rarity. Sarah Schmelzel, 30, and Lauren Coughlin, 31, are the second and third 30-something American rookies over the past 20 years, joining only Mina Harigae's debut in 2021 on the shortlist.

But this year's American rookie tandem created a new list of their own with both going 2-0-0 on opening day at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Schmelzel and Coughlin are the first two American first-timers to score two points in a day, an accomplishment the Euros only accomplished once with Matilda Castren and Leona Maguire in 2021 sweeping the opening day at Inverness.

"I expected it, just knowing their personalities," U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis said. "They're gritty. They're fighters. That's the reason they're on their first Solheim Cup in their 30s."

Schmelzel earned a captain's nod thanks to earning five top-10s while battling endometriosis in the middle of the season. Coughlin, who lives 70 minutes from RTJ in Charlottesville, Va., charged into the Solheim Cup picture with her first two career victories. Even with their consistent success on the LPGA this year, the traditional Solheim Cup wisdom is to send rookies out with an experienced partner, having a shepherd through their first time in the high-energy gauntlet of the match play event.

Coughlin and Schmelzel got paired with one-time Solheim Cup competitors Rose Zhang and Lilia Vu in foursomes, as both wrestled with pre-debut jitters. Coughlin felt most nervous during her stretching routine Friday morning but started soothing them once she got into her routine with her family and coach. Schmelzel felt more nervous on the eve of competition Thursday than Friday, but the remedy for both was the same. Hit the first tee shot into the fairway.

"I think it just calmed your nerves," Schmelzel said. "There's so much anticipation of what it's going to feel like, how you're going to play. Obviously both of us settled in pretty well this morning."

The pair was sent out together in afternoon four-ball against Maja Stark and Emily Pedersen, the Euro's only winning group from the morning. Lewis's analytics pointed to the two being a strong pairing. They were friends and got along well. They both played well during and heading into the week.

But Lewis' gut flashed a warning sign: these are two rookies. Should they play together? She first went to Coughlin's caddie Terry McNamara and Schmelzel's looper Les Luark for their thoughts. They told the captain the rookies could work together.

"They both looked at me and were like, they'll be fine," Lewis said. "So it really was pretty easy.”

Lewis penciled them into her Friday afternoon four-ball plans, but the American leader's final check to send them out again was if they performed well in the foursomes session. Both played well as part of 3-and-2 victories, giving them the green light to play together in the third afternoon match.

They maintained a steady composure in a tight battle early against Pedersen and Stark. The rookies tied the first six holes before Coughlin drew first blood with a birdie on the seventh, then Schmelzel expanded the lead with a birdie on No. 8 to build a 2-up lead. The Euros would never tie the match again, as Coughlin buried the winning 20-footer on the 16th to secure each of their second 3-and-2 victory of the day.

"I just trusted everything that I've been doing in terms of my work with my putting and was super free and just did what I did," Coughlin said.

They each received a vote of confidence from Lewis and Nelly Korda by nodding their respective heads during the Friday post-match press conference when they were described as closer to 10-time Solheim Cup veterans than rookies by a media member.

But their strongest vote of confidence came from the actions of their captain. Both are returning for a third time and playing Saturday morning, joining Korda as the only three Americans to play in every session so far.