GAINESVILLE, Va. – There are only four rookies in this year’s Solheim Cup and they are all being thrown into the fire during the first session.
U.S. captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen revealed during the opening ceremony their Friday morning foursomes pairings, complete with two first-timers on each side.
“There’s no point for them to sit around and kind of wait and wonder what it’s going to be like.
Maguire will be sitting for the first time in her Solheim Cup career, having played all five matches in each of the previous two editions.
That wasn’t an issue last year, when the U.S. swept Europe, 4-0, in the opening foursomes.
But while the U.S. won six of the eight foursomes, Europe prevailed in fourballs, 6-2.
As the U.S. looks to win for the first time in seven years, here’s a breakdown of the first four matches of the 19th Solheim Cup.
That includes losing both foursomes matches in ’23.
This will be their first time as partners in a Solheim Cup.
Vu was also a newbie in ’23 and went 0-1-0 in foursomes, a loss that included Ciganda on the other side.
GARINESVILLE, Virginia. – During the first session of the Solheim Cup, the four rookies competing this year are all being thrown into the fire.
You. s. At the opening ceremony, captain Stacy Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen announced their Friday morning foursomes pairings, which included two rookies on each side.
“It serves no purpose for them to just wait around and speculate about what might happen. “Let us simply dispatch them and allow them to somewhat engage with it,” Pettersen stated.
“I like how they have a certain sassy confidence about them.”. “.
These two are Germany’s Esther Henseleit and Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela. Both Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel are rookies on the American team.
Here are the initial alternate-shot matchups, with all times in Eastern Time:.
07:05 a.m. me. Charley Hull / Esther Henseleit (EUR) in comparison. Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz (U.S. s. ).
7:17 am. m. Celine Boutier (EUR) vs. Albane Valenzuela. Zhang Rose and Lauren Coughlin (U.S. s. ( ).
7.29 a.m. me. Emily Pedersen/Maja Stark (EUR) against. Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing (U.S. S. ).
7.41 a.m. m. Comparing Linn Grant/Carlota Ciganda (EUR) with… Sarah Schmelzel and Lilia Vu (U.S. s. ( ).
Regarding her rookies, Lewis remarked, “They are ready to play,” a remark that might apply to the entire squad. The only thing that has been going on is trying to calm them down and maintain their current level of energy, as they have been prepared to play since Monday. “.
Lexi Thompson, Megan Khang, Alison Lee, and Andrea Lee for the U.S. will have to control their emotions on Friday morning because they were left out of the starting lineup. s. For Europe: Georgia Hall, Madelene Sagstrom, Leona Maguire, and Anna Nordqvist.
After playing every five games in the previous two editions of the Solheim Cup, Maguire will be sitting for the first time in her career. In the Finca Cortesin foursome in ’23, she and Nordqvist lost 0–2.
However, Thompson and Khang had a 2-0 record in the format. Although they were successful, Lewis stated on Thursday that it is unlikely that they will be paired again. According to Lewis, “it was just the [pairings] combinations and the way they worked out, and a little bit of golf course fit as well.” He also mentioned how difficult it has been to match players with each other’s golf balls.
Last year, when the U.S. s. dominated Europe in the opening foursomes, winning 4-0. Lewis claimed that she spent excessive amounts of time concentrating on the format, which the Europeans had dominated for the preceding six cups.
However, as the U.S. s. won six of the eight foursome matches; in the fourball matches, Europe won 6-2. They split the singles, 6–6, so Europe, which had won the cup in 2019 and 2021, was able to keep it.
while the U. S. explores to win for the first time in seven years. This is a review of the 19th Solheim Cup’s opening four games.
Henseleit/Hull versus. Korda/Corpo.
The US. s. In the alternate shot competition last year, tandem went 2-0. In the format, Khang is 2-2-1 and Korda is 4-2-0. Hull is competing in her seventh cup while Henseleit makes her debut. In foursomes, she is 5-1- 2. A loss to Ewing and Cheyenne Knight, 5 and 4, occurred to her and Pedersen the previous year.
Bouchier/Valenzuela versus. Zhang/Coughlin.
Boutier and Hall had a strong start to 2019 and appeared destined to be a long-term team, but since then, their record has been 0-2-1. That involves dropping both of the ’23 foursomes games. By matching the rookie with the Frenchwoman, who is making her fourth cup appearance, Captain Pettersen is not taking a chance on a comeback. For Coughlin, a multiple tour winner, and Zhang, in a sense, it will also be their first time. Zhang made her ’23 debut without participating in foursomes.
Stark and Pedersen against. Ewing and Kupcho.
Pedersen used four different partners to play in each of the four team sessions in ’23. She split a first-day fourball match with Stark, one of those individuals. This year’s LPGA team event was almost won by Ewing and Kupcho, who finished in second place. Kupcho was chosen as a captain’s pick in part because of that performance and this combination. They will be competing in the Solheim Cup together for the first time.
Ciganda/Grant against. Vu/Schmelzel.
In fourball, Pettersen is hoping that Grant and Ciganda’s performance from last year—where they went 2-0—will translate to foursomes. In her native nation, Ciganda skipped the first round but went on to win the following four games. Grant had a 1-1 alternate shot record in his five games as a rookie in Spain. During his rookie season in 2023, Vu lost all foursomes with Ciganda on the opposing team, going 0-1-0. As captain’s pick at thirty, Schmelzel will have an instant chance to put that bundle of energy to work for her team.
