CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Charley Hull gave Lottie Woad a celebratory hug after it was clear Europe was going to win the Solheim Cup, and she said something one would’ve never thought possible before the week started.
“We finally got some points didn’t we Lottie,” Hull said.
Hull and Woad were paired together in all four matches the first two days—the best tandem on the team—and they were winless, earning just a half point.
Yet, the stars combined for the biggest performances in Sunday’s singles matches. Hull went out first on Sunday and set the tone, going up early on Megan Khang and winning the first point for Europe. Woad’s short putt to win her match, 2 and 1, over Auston Kim guaranteed Europe would win the Cup.
Europe was spraying champagne and dancing on the 18th green at Bernardus Golf as they reclaimed the Cup, winning 15-13 over the U.S. The Americans haven’t won in Europe since 2015. Europe earned seven points in the singles session, its best result in the final session since 2013 when it earned 7½ of the 12 available points. The Americans last won the singles battle in 2015. Since then, Europe has either tied or won the final session.
Europe quickly got up in its first three matches, and the U.S. was playing from behind all day.
“I just told myself just play like I did the last two days, because tee to green I was playing really well,” Hull said. “I was hitting good putts and they just weren’t dropping. I played really good again tee to green and they still wasn't really dropping today, probably saving them all for the next Solheim Cup.
“It was a good fun to go out there and play with Megan and then also get the first point on the board and then it kind of feeds the team.”
Europe earned six wins from its first eight pairings, making it just the third time in Solheim Cup history where that happened. The U.S. did that in 1994 and 2005.
Then came the killer instinct at the end of the day as Carlota Ciganda clinched the final half-point Europe needed to secure the win. Ciganda, playing in her eighth Cup, was inspired following Saturday evening’s football loss to Jennifer Kupcho.
Kupcho made back-to-back wild, improbable putts on the 17th and 18th holes to tie and grab a come-from-behind win against Ciganda. The U.S. went wild on both greens after those putts. Kupcho had her hand to her ear and was quieted the European crowd.
Europe's captain Anna Nordqvist put Ciganda in the right spot, teeing off second-to-last, which turned out to be for revenge.
“I was really happy to see that I was playing against Kupcho,” Ciganda said. “She's a fighter. I'm a fighter. [Friday], I told her, ‘look, great playing.’ Even yesterday what she did was amazing on 17 and 18. But today I knew she had no chance. I was like, I want to kill you.”
Naomi Baker
Ciganda’s face still carried the same seriousness that she teed off with in the afternoon. The 36-year-old from Spain was 4 up before they even made the turn and won 4 and 2. Ciganda and her teammates were extra motivated, no doubt from the success the Americans had on their home soil the evening before. A day later, the chants of ‘ole, ole, ole’ rang throughout the course.
“I love this week. As I said, I love playing for the team, for my teammates, for everyone here,” Ciganda said. “I just love it. I mean, I love beating the Americans. And then just winning for Team Europe, it's the best feeling.”
Social media posts surely provided fodder for Europe after seeing the big celebration from the U.S. team bus on Saturday night, celebrating Kupcho’s insane putts that put the Americans into a tie with Europe heading into the singles matches. Captain Angela Stanford carried a tray of beer onto the bus. Stanford didn’t regret the celebration. The LPGA and Solheim Cup posting it on social media, that could be a different story.
“That’s kind of tricky because you don't ever want to take away from that moment,” Stanford said. “The worst thing I could have done is go in there and be like, OK, y’all, come off this high. You don't want to take away from those moments. We're never going to see anything like that again. I think they handled it very well. That's really difficult to do because that's a really high high. We've never seen that, so we don't really know how to react.”
The momentum from that wonderful finish Saturday fell flat. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, rookie Lindy Duncan, Alison Lee, Lauren Coughlin and Rose Zhang all won their singles matches, but the U.S. needed more.
Lee made history. She overcame a 4-down deficit through 11 holes to defeat Esther Henseleit. It’s the largest comeback win in recorded Solheim history. She is the first player in Solheim Cup history to go 4-0 or better for the losing team.
But the U.S. needed to flip more than her match and it wasn’t meant to be.
Asked if she would’ve changed anything about her lineup, Stanford said: “I don't think I would have done my lineup different because I think Lauren needed the rest. Kupcho needed the rest. Rose needed the rest. The people that went both sessions on Friday, I wanted to make sure that they had some rest. I wouldn’t change that.
“Europe played well. I don't think we played bad. I think we just didn't make enough putts. If you listen to everything I've ever said, Europeans always putt better. I don't know why. I still don't know why. I mean, I have a good idea, but I'm not going to say it right now.
“Apparently, I didn't get to know the superintendent as well as I should have. But I think they played really well, and you have to compliment them, and we gave it our best shot.”
Europe was celebrating to “Sweet Caroline” and The Killers at Bernardus. After the downtrodden bus ride to their hotel on Friday, assistant captain Mel Reid played a song back at the hotel to change the mood. It was “Sweet Caroline.”
And from the outset, Hull—who played in her fifth match of the week—got things off on the right foot. Everything seemed to go right for Europe, and the U.S. was chasing all day.
“When I saw that middle section of Andrea [Lee], Yealimi [Noh], Auston [Kim], they were all 2 down at one point, that's when I was kind of worried because I'm like, well, we're going to have to flip one of those for sure. I got worried there because I thought, it's tough because they're playing so good. It was going to be tough.’”