The United States won the Solheim Cup for the first time in seven years after a closely fought final day singles contest at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.
The matches remained on a knife edge until Lilia Vu made a brilliant birdie on the 18th to earn the half point needed to reach 14 ½ points and win the Solheim Cup for the United States.
The final score was 15 ½ – 12 ½ in America’s favour.
The home side began the final day with a four-point lead on 10-6 and won 5 ½ of the 12 singles matches.
Winning captain Stacy Lewis said: “I mean, this is so cool. So stressful to watch. It’s awful watching. But just so proud of the players. It’s amazing how these things come down to half a point here and there. Fortunately, this time we were on the right side of it.
“It really could have gone either way. It’s crazy there at the end kind of how it all unfolded. I was just hoping and praying it went our way.
“Just proud of the team, and Lilia’s finish there was unbelievable. That’s what you expect from one of the best players in the world.”
European captain Suzann Pettersen commented: “I mean, we gave them a run for their money. I don’t think anyone expected us to be here at 2:30 and to still have a chance. It’s kind of hard to believe that we actually had a chance with kind of that poor of a start, giving them such a head start. But I had fun today. It’s always exciting on a Sunday.
“There were possibilities out there, and several times we thought we could get it done. It came down to a couple of matches. Happy for Stacy, obviously, on home turf, but we’ll come back very hungry.
“I’ve had so much fun with these girls. I’ve truly enjoyed it. Win or lose — yeah, it’s fun to win, a little bit more painful to lose, but at the end of the day we’ve had a lot of small victories within our team this week. We’ve had a lot of fun, a lot of good laughs, moments that I will cherish forever. It’s been a great ride, and Solheims, they’re the best.”
Leona Maguire’s week will ultimately be a story of disappointment, but she extended her 100 percent singles record with a comprehensive 4&3 win over Ally Ewing in the penultimate match.
It leaves her with a week long tally of one win and one defeat, having sat out three of the four paired sessions.
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