Swedes star as Europe take slender Solheim lead over USA in dramatic session

[p]With the two teams tied at 4-4, US captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stanford-angela/84q7YOPp/"]Angela Stanford[/a] led off with her star player [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/korda-nelly/4OpkdK7D/"]Korda[/a] paired with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/corpuz-allisen/rRZPQZD3/"]Allisen Corpuz[/a], who together held a record winning streak of five consecutive victories.[/p][p]They were up against the Swedish pairing of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stark-maja/S4v3drHL/"]Maja Stark[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/grant-linn/UmokBDoK/"]Linn Grant[/a] and, like on Friday, the US favourites got off to a shaky start, losing the first hole.[/p][p]But this time there was no immediate response and the unbeaten pairing went two behind after missing a mid-range putt on the seventh.[/p][p]Stark then produced the highlight of the session, chipping in from well off the green for an eagle at the eighth to secure a three-hole advantage.[/p][p]Korda lipped out at the ninth, leaving them with a mountain to climb, four down at the turn.[/p][p]But the Americans were not giving up their unbeaten record without a fight and took the first two holes on the back nine to halve their deficit.[/p][embed guid="12422e9f-21f9-4a0e-899d-771e5f49fd36" url="https://x.com/TheSolheimCup/status/2098720449848852952" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Europeans held firm, though, to claim a famous 3&2 victory on the 16th, as Stark holed a mid-range putt to spark wild celebrations from a raucous crowd.[/p][p][b]"It's the best feeling ever,"[/b] said Stark. [b]"We're kind of hard to beat when we don't make any bogeys."[/b][/p][h2]'Very comfortable'[/h2][p]Behind them, Europe's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maguire-leona/p62zRKEq/"]Leona Maguire[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/henseleit-esther/Akc7rlVl/"]Esther Henseleit[/a] squeezed out the US pairing of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kupcho-jennifer/8OgeYESC/"]Jennifer Kupcho[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zhang-rose/0xiL0I2j/"]Rose Zhang[/a] one-up in a thrilling encounter.[/p][p]All square down the 18th, Zhang failed to escape from a sand trap, handing the Europeans a golden opportunity to take the hole and the match.[/p][p]Henseleit pitched close to the pin in an extraordinary effort from off the green to give the Europeans a precious point.[/p][p][b]"I was just trying to make contact, to be honest, and get it up there. I had a bit of luck,"[/b] said a beaming Henseleit.[/p][p]In the third match, Europe captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nordqvist-anna/OIxODeEG/"]Anna Nordqvist[/a] sent out the flying rookie pairing of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rhodes-mimi/nRZwSXI7/"]Mimi Rhodes[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nadaud-nastasia/C8LRvXYA/"]Nastasia Nadaud[/a] out again against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lee-andrea/nyQXl4dD/"]Andrea Lee[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kim-auston/SxhzwHUp/"]Auston Kim[/a].[/p][p]And the debutants repaid their captain's confidence with another nerveless display, taking a 4&3 win to become the first rookie pair to take two points at the same Solheim Cup.[/p][p][b]"After yesterday's win, we felt very comfortable. We played very sensibly, hit loads of fairways and greens and gave ourselves lots of opportunities,"[/b] said Nadaud.[/p][embed guid="7289cf56-2ae4-467b-8f5f-50ef0a53ae19" url="https://x.com/TheSolheimCup/status/2098716377297154141" social-type="twitter" /][p]The last match saw Europe's own top pairing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hull-charley/WUlI8kp1/"]Charley Hull[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/woad-lottie/z9mmqaAC/"]Lottie Woad[/a], both in the world's top 10, suffer a 6&5 drubbing at the hands of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lee-alison/MqcuL3pE/"]Alison Lee[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/coughlin-lauren/GM4DyUPn/"]Lauren Coughlin[/a].[/p][p]Few could pick a winner before the competition, with the two sides evenly matched.[/p][p]This was borne out by Friday's play, in which both the foursomes and fourball sessions were tied 2-2, for the first time in Solheim Cup history.[/p][p]The United States team are hoping to win the trophy on European soil for the first time since 2015. They lead the overall series 11-7.[/p][p][b]It will boil down to Sunday's singles, where all 12 players face off for the crucial points that will decide the winner.[/b][/p][p]The US are the current holders, meaning they need 14 points to retain the cup. Europe need a minimum of 14.5 points to regain the trophy.[/p]