In her match against Europe’s Albane Valenzuela in Gainesville, Virginia, Lilia Vu won half a point, moving the hosts closer to the 14-1/2 mark they needed to reclaim the trophy and securing the Solheim Cup for the United States.
The United States needed 4-1/2 points from the 12 singles matches. Megan Khang, Rose Zhang, Allisen Corpuz, Andrea Lee, and Lauren Coughlin each scored half a point to set the stage for Vu, who completed the sweep with just two matches remaining.
With two holes remaining on the last day, Vu was behind Valenzuela as Europe launched a strong rally, but the American finished her round with two birdies, one of which came at the final hole after a terrific approach shot.
The Americans won the biennial match-play championship for the first time since 2017 — and thus prevented Europe from winning the Solheim Cup for an unprecedented fourth time in a row.
With only one tie from the previous year in Spain, the United States leads the Solheim Cup series overall 11-7-1.
As they attempt to prevent Europe from winning the Solheim Cup a record-tying fourth time in a row, world number one Nelly Korda claims that the United States has an “unfinished business” to complete.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, will host the 19th edition of the transatlantic match. The host players are hoping to win for the first time since they triumphed 16½ to 11½ at Des Moines seven years ago.
Korda seems especially driven this time around following her 2&1 loss to Carlota Ciganda at Finca Cortesin a year ago, which led Europe to keep the trophy. With determination, the athlete declared: “Whenever you get to wear the red, white, and blue and stars and stripes, there’s a different meaning to it.”
She added: “You’re playing not just for yourself, but for your captains, for your team-mates and your country, and there’s just nothing like it. We have got some unfinished business.”
Korda has participated in US defeats at Gleneagles in 2019 and the Inverness Club in 2021, but she has yet to experience success in the team tournament for women’s golf.
The athlete further said: “Obviously I haven’t been on the winning side, but every experience I’ve had in the Solheim Cups has been an amazing one… I think it’s something super-exciting too and refreshing to have a team-mate, have team-mates and captains and people to lean on when you normally don’t.”
“There’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like walking on to that first tee and feeling all those nerves. We have a great group of girls. We have a great group of guys. We have a great captain. We have really great assistant captains. Hopefully it all falls into place and we play some really good golf for the fans out here this week,” she remarked.
The Presidents Cup concluded as it has for the previous 19 years—with a victory for Team USA.
With a spectacular finish at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada, Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley secured the winning point as the star-studded American team defeated the International Team 18.5–11.5. This marked the team’s tenth consecutive triumph in the biennial competition.
Highlights of the competition
Xander Schauffele, the two-time major champion this year, defeated Jason Day of Australia in a 4&3 (four ahead with three holes to play) match that set the tone for the 12 final singles matches. After leading 11–7 into the fourth and final day, captain Jim Furyk’s team needed just 3.5 more points to win.
Despite the fact that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler lost to Hideki Matsuyama, Bradley secured yet another US triumph when opponent Kim Si-woo was unable to convert from 10 feet on the final hole.
For Bradley, who hadn’t played for the US since losing the game that finalized a crushing Ryder Cup loss to Europe in 2014, it was a full-circle moment that had been waiting for ten years. He admitted: “The last time I played in one of these, I was the clinching point for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Fast-forward 10 years later and I got to do that today. Really something I’ll remember the rest of my life… I learned a lot from Jim and Tabitha (Furyk) this week. It was the best job I’ve ever seen done as captain and the captain’s wife.”
International Team gave a fight
Seeking their first victory since 1998, the International Team did not give up easily.
After an opening 5-0 US blitz, captain Mike Weir’s International Team rallied with a sweep of their own on Friday to tie the game at 5-5, with motivated young South Korean player Tom Kim setting the tone for the comeback.
The 22-year-old, who has previously won three times on the PGA Tour, caused a stir when playing Scheffler in a fourball match the day before. He was all ablaze with excitement after making a long birdie putt, but he moved on to the next tee before Scheffler’s subsequent missed putt.
Despite disclosing that Kim had “poked the bear”, Masters winner Scheffler dismissed the episode as a normal part of the game, saying, “We’re friends after, we’re not friends during.”
However, team USA assistant captain Kevin Kisner called Kim’s choice to leave the game prior to Scheffler’s putt a “bush league” move. He admitted: “They took gamesmanship too far and over the line on sportsmanship and lost some integrity.”
More so, after accusing the American team of cursing at him on Saturday, Kim found himself at the heart of the drama once more.
Kim joined up with fellow countryman Kim Si-woo once more for an exciting foursomes match against Cantlay and Schauffele after defeating Bradley and Wyndham Clark.
Tom Kim stated: “As it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there. I could hear some players cursing at us… I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it. The US team definitely motivated us to go out there.”
Schauffele denied the allegations, stating that he and Cantlay showed utmost respect to their opponents.
The world No. 2 stated: “We’re trying to quiet the crowds down when they were hitting… I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that. I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”
Kim added: “This event is all about doing things you would never do and creating energy and doing all these things. If I do certain things on the greens when I make putts, I expect them to do the same thing. It’s all part of the game. It was just about that.”
The US women’s World Cup team survive to fight another day. After being almost upset by Portugal in a nail-biting match at Eden Park in Auckland, the Americans have advanced to the round of 16.
Fans were on the edge of their seats as Portugal, the 21st-ranked team in the world playing in their first World Cup, threatened to upset the defending champions.
Team USA, renowned for their domination, found it difficult to control the game. When Ana Capeta of Portugal nearly engineered an upset with a shot that rocked the post in stoppage time, the tension increased.
Vlatko Andonovski’s determined Americans, however, ended the game in a tie and thus secured second place in Group E, advancing to the next round. Portugal, finishing third in the group, bowed out of the tournament.
The Netherlands topped Group E after shocking Vietnam 7-0 and advanced to the next round with the Americans. Vietnam, who earlier put up a fight against the Americans, finished last in the group.
The Americans, who entered the tournament as favourites, will now square off against Sweden, the Group G winners. Sweden trounced the US 3-0 in the Tokyo Olympics quarter-finals in 2021. Given that both sides have displayed their strength in thrilling games throughout the campaign, the task at hand is sure to be anything but simple.
Going into the next round, the Americans have points to ponder.
Past performance: The US performance contrasts sharply with their feats in the previous World Cup when they swept all three of their group games with an astounding 18 goals.
Youthful adjustment: Coach Andonovski recognises the team’s youth and urges patience, but a quick turnaround is necessary to make it through the knockout stage.
Historic challenge: The US are under tremendous pressure to maintain their historic World Cup heritage, given their perfect history of making the semifinals in every previous tournament.
Though far from their best against Portugal, the Americans still had their moments. Williams made a valiant effort in an exciting World Cup debut, giving her team the greatest opportunities in the first half. She was denied a goal by a last-second stop from keeper Ines Pereira. The US made a great second-half start, relying on seasoned player Megan Rapinoe to support their attack.
However, opportunities were few, and a last-minute booking for Naomi Girma increased tension. The riveting contest of skill and tenacity kept the audience on tenterhooks. The game ended in a tie, but the audience emerged winners, if they could bear the suspense, that is.
Fans at the Cognizant Founders Cup expected a fierce battle between none other than Nelly Korda, who is currently enjoying a fantastic winning run that includes a recent big victory at the Chevron Championship.
But when attention turned to Madelene Sagstrom and 21-year-old Rose Zhang, the fearsome team, the unexpected happened.
They overtook the field, leaving even World No. 1 in their wake, thanks to their lightning-fast putters and flawless ball hitting. This exciting change of events demonstrated how golf is dynamic and how up-and-coming players can quickly eclipse seasoned winners.
At the Cognizant Founders Cup, Zhang overcame an early deficit to win in an exciting turn of events. Securing the tournament by a two-stroke lead over Sagstrom, she rebounded with four birdies in the final five holes, demonstrating an amazing display of skill and determination.
Zhang ends Korda’s run
“I am still trembling at the moment. I don’t believe I ever gave up. Madelene is a really good golfer; she was almost making putts and hitting every shot that was close to the hole, so I always knew I had it in me to just grind it out and enjoy the moment. I had to get ready for the hardest task.” Zhang quoted to golf.com
Zhang was preparing to defend her title at the NCAA Individual Championship a year ago. After all this time, she is now enjoying the success of winning her second LPGA Championship and is ready to try to defend it at the Mizuho Americas Open, which is scheduled to take place at Liberty National the following week.
Zhang kept a commanding lead, jumping out ahead of the pack by ten strokes, even though he started Sunday one shot behind Sagstrom. She tells a powerful story of perseverance and achievement on the golf scene as she goes from collegiate success to professional grace.
World number one and reigning champion Nelly Korda will lead the three-member American team playing in the women’s golf competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. World No. 2 Lilia Vu and No. 9 Rose Zhang, who will be competing in their first Olympics, will join Korda.
Korda is a 14-time winner on the LPGA Tour and gold medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. With this opportunity, she declared: “I’m honoured to represent the United States once again on the Olympic stage this summer in Paris… Winning the gold medal in Tokyo was a dream come true and an incredible highlight to my career.”
The qualifiers’ 2024 season highlights
In 2024, Korda achieved a remarkable feat of six victories on the LPGA Tour, winning five straight events and her second major championship. Moreover, Vu has five wins on the circuit, including two majors. In 2023, she was named the circuit’s player of the year. Zhang, who made her LPGA Tour debut in June 2023, scored her second career victory last month.
The Olympic women’s golf competition will be held from August 7 to August 10 at Le Golf National outside Paris. The field will consist of 60 players who will compete in a 72-hole, stroke-play format.
