EUROPE FACE AN uphill battle to retain the Solheim Cup, despite winning the final two fourballs on day two.
Both sessions on day two at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia finished 2-2, leaving the US up 10-6 heading into the final day singles.
Suzanne Pettersen’s side will need to equal the US record from 2015 when they came back from the same deficit to win.
Trailing 8-4 after sharing the morning foursomes, Europe lost the opening two fourballs – Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom going down 4&3 to Alison Lee and Megan Khang after leading through the front nine, while Linn Grant and Celine Boutier were soundly beaten 6&4 by Andrea Lee and Rose Zhang.
Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen put some blue on the board in the third match of the afternoon, beating Ally Ewing and Lexi Thompson 2&1.
Europe reduced the overnight gap to four points as the English pair of Charley Hull and Georgia Hall finished two up against Allisen Corpuz and Lilia Vu.
Pettersen was adamant that Europe are “still in it”, citing the Ryder Cup victory from an identical situation at Medinah in 2015, but admitted her side needed a “massive day” to hold on to the trophy.
“We’re still a long way behind, but if there’s hope, there’s always a chance,” she said.
“These girls are going to go to bed tonight thinking that we have every opportunity. It will be a miracle, but we’ve seen it before.”
Ireland’s Leona Maguire, who started all five matches last year and took three points, was benched for both sessions on Saturday.
“We kind of had to go by form,” Pettersen said. “Unfortunately up until now, Leona hasn’t been the rock I was hoping for. That doesn’t mean she’s not fired up about going out there and playing her absolute best.”
Hull will open Sunday’s singles for Europe when she takes on world number one Nelly Korda, with Spain’s Ciganda against Zhang and France’s Boutier against Lexi Thompson among the other eye-catching matches.
After Korda, US captain Stacy Lewis has Khang against Pedersen, Alison Lee against Hall, Corpuz against Nordqvist and Zhang against Ciganda.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit, the Paris Olympic runner-up, plays Andrea Lee ahead of Boutier and Thompson in match seven, followed by Sweden’s Maja Stark against Lauren Coughlin, Swiss Albane Valenzuela against second-ranked Vu, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom against Sarah Schmelzel, Maguire against Ewing in the penultimate match, and Swede Linn Grant against Jennifer Kupcho in the closer.
