Carlota Ciganda is off to a red-hot 3-0 begin on the Solheim Cup.
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The Solheim Cup is tied, 8-8.
So we don’t know the winner but. We don’t know the loser.
But let’s not let that cease us. Which folks, gamers and philosophies received Saturday?
Here they’re: 10 winners (and, only for stability, losers) from Day 2 on the Solheim Cup.
WINNER: Coaching by really feel
After the U.S. swept the primary foursomes session 4-0 on Friday, issues appeared a bit dire for the host squad. The sweep was so jarring it transcended primary match play; the U.S. benefit felt philosophical. Stacy Lewis was leaning on an analytical strategy to her pairings and that strategy was working.
But a 3-1 Friday afternoon triumph introduced Europe nearer. A 2-2 Saturday morning cut up maintained the U.S. staff lead. And one other dominant European afternoon — 3-1, once more — introduced the match lifeless even. That included some unpredictable lineup strikes, like taking part in the staff’s lowest-ranked golfer Emily Pedersen in all 5 matches. European captain Suzann Pettersen has been coaching by really feel, and that earned a blended response on Friday. But it’s been working, too.
“This is a different event,” mentioned Pettersen. “It’s about vitality, adrenaline, momentum. It was virtually laborious for me to select and select who was really going to exit this afternoon as a result of we had so many who have been simply red-hot and able to go.
“So I mean, it was literally almost flip a coin for some of them who I picked at the end. But we tried to base it off stats, tried to match up as good as we could, and it worked out fairly good.”
The distinction in kinds, personalities, approaches — it’s terrific.
LOSER: Gemma Dryburgh
When some golfers play rather a lot, others inevitably play little or no. Let’s be clear: Dryburgh isn’t herself a “loser” in any sense. She hasn’t even misplaced a match this week! But after gutting out a half-point on Friday afternoon, Dryburgh was benched all Saturday. She and Caroline Hedwall — who teed it up for the primary time on Saturday afternoon — are the one gamers to tee it up simply as soon as within the first 4 periods.
WINNER: Lexi Thompson’s bounce-back
Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu misplaced their Friday fourball match in heartbreaking style when Thompson shanked a greenside eagle chip on No. 18 to lose 1 Down. It would have been simple to let that carry over into Saturday foursomes; it didn’t. Thompson and red-hot accomplice Megan Khang went 2 right down to the European aspect of Anna Nordqvist and Leona Maguire however weathered the storm and made par after par to eke out a 1 Up victory. Thompson’s 2-1-0 file by staff play is a large success.
“That’s the whole thing with match play, you can never give up, and you never know when it can turn, so you have to stay in it and stay in the moment,” Thompson mentioned after her match. It was cool seeing her so invigorated; this 12 months hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. Speaking of which…
LOSER: This entire alternate
Thompson declining to reply questions on mentioned Friday afternoon shank was noteworthy, however the video of that alternate didn’t make its option to the collective golf web till Saturday morning when posted by No Laying Up‘s Tron Carter.
What’s the massive deal? Why the massive response? Thompson is, after all, properly inside her rights to not discuss in regards to the least nice second of her week. And Thompson has had comprehensible gripes with press protection over time. But I believe the way in which she and Lewis acted as if the query ought to by no means have been requested appeared to set folks off.
Our James Colgan wrote extra about the complete factor right here, so dive in. But I believe the takeaway is definitely fairly easy right here. If you’re advising Lexi Thompson, simply inform her to acknowledge the second! Let us in! It was a troublesome chip! We all suck at chipping! We’re all even worse at chipping underneath strain! That’s golf. The query was inevitable. Better to take possession of the second and get folks in your aspect fairly than protecting them out.
WINNER: Angel Yin’s hammered drives
Not solely did Yin seem like having essentially the most enjoyable of any Solheim Cup contestant, however she additionally gave the impression to be pummeling the longest drives. Yin hadn’t earned a degree heading to Saturday’s afternoon session — and she or he and accomplice Cheyenne Knight have been 2 down by 10 holes. But then the pair reeled off a number of birdies to maintain Europe from sweeping the session. That was punctuated by Yin hammering some kind of mid-iron into 18, a par-5 the place most gamers have been laying up, establishing a two-putt birdie and a match victory.
LOSER: The Cup’s top-ranked participant
It was shocking to see World No. 2 Lilia Vu sit the primary session. But it was way more shocking to see her lose in every of the following three periods. None of the three have been blowouts — she reached the 18th gap on Friday and the seventeenth gap in each matches on Saturday — however Vu is the one American with out a minimum of a half-point.
WINNER: Linn Grant’s lefty fist pump
It’s not usually you see a right-handed golfer nail a left-handed fist pump. Tiger Woods is the godfather of the trendy golf fist pump, in spite of everything, and his is constant: maintain the putter within the left hand, pump with the best. But Grant has had loads of alternatives to have a good time by 4 matches — she’s 3-1, having performed all 4 periods — and the lefty factor is rising on me.
The actual level right here: Linn Grant could be very, excellent at golf. There are only a few girls higher than Linn Grant at golf. I’m undecided there’s anybody on this cup I’d wish to face much less in a match.
LOSER: Keeping observe of the rating
Hey, TV folks: Help out my little hamster mind, please! I need assistance remembering the match scores. I need assistance remembering who’s taking part in who. We want some context! I stored a leaderboard tab open on my laptop computer whereas watching simply to maintain observe of the matches; that appears like the published’s job. (And sure, I thought of the chance that I’m simply an fool however loads of others on the web appeared to share this specific gripe.)
WINNER: Carlota Ciganda
There’s just one golfer at this week’s Spanish Solheim Cup who hails from Spain. There’s additionally just one golfer who has a 3-0 file. The incontrovertible fact that these are the identical golfer is nothing wanting outstanding. Kudos to Carlota Ciganda, who was already an emotional heart for the European aspect earlier than she began toppling opponents like dominos.
LOSER: Crushing putts in match play
This is a private pet peeve: when professionals are “freed up” to hit must-make putts with no penalties for lacking, some take the chance to utterly rifle the ball previous the cup. But that’s not how putts go in! We’ve dived into these numbers earlier than. When the ball approaches the opening at dying pace, the opening is successfully a lot greater. I get why professionals attempt to take out some break by hitting the ball tougher, and there’s one thing to be mentioned for it, but when a putt goes like 10 ft previous the opening it in all probability wasn’t stepping into on any line.
OTHER WINNERS
Okay, I mentioned I used to be simply going to do 10 and now we’re at 11. But I can’t go with out shouting out Leona Maguire — who’s an absolute menace — plus her semi-injured accomplice Charley Hull. The two teamed as much as take down Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing 4 and three on Saturday afternoon. Shoutout additionally to Madelene Sagstrom, who picked up her first staff victory in her sixth staff match throughout three cups. Shoutout to Emily Pedersen, who went from a fringe captain’s decide to must-watch TV — not simply due to her ace however due to the whole lot that got here after. And shoutout to us, the viewers. An 8-8 tie is a hell of a option to go to Sunday singles.
See you there!
Solheim Cup Sunday singles matchups (all instances ET)
Match 1, 5:10 a.m. – Megan Khang (USA) vs. Linn Grant (EUR)
Match 2, 5:22 a.m. – Rose Zhang (USA) vs. Leona Maguire (EUR)
Match 3, 5:34 a.m. – Danielle Kang (USA) vs. Charley Hull (EUR)
Match 4, 5:46 a.m. – Jennifer Kupcho (USA) vs. Anna Nordqvist (EUR)
Match 5, 5:58 a.m. – Andrea Lee (USA) vs. Georgia Hall (EUR)
Match 6, 6:10 a.m. – Cheyenne Knight (USA) vs. Gemma Dryburgh (EUR)
Match 7, 6:22 a.m. – Angel Yin (USA) vs. Celine Boutier (EUR)
Match 8, 6:34 a.m. – Ally Ewing (USA) vs. Caroline Hedwall (EUR)
Match 9, 6:46 a.m. – Lilia Vu (USA) vs. Madelene Sagstrom (EUR)
Match 10, 6:58 a.m. – Allisen Corpuz (USA) vs. Maja Stark (EUR)
Match 11, 7:10 a.m. – Nelly Korda (USA) vs. Carlota Ciganda (EUR)
Match 12, 7:12 a.m. – Lexi Thompson (USA) vs. Emily Pedersen (EUR)
