Solheim Cup: Europe and the US at 4-4 after last-hole heroics from Ciganda

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands — The opening day of the Solheim Cup started with smoke blowers and party music blasting out of a boisterous first tee just after dawn. It ended in late-evening silence on No. 18 as veteran European player Carlota Ciganda stood over a 12-foot putt to tie the match against the Americans.

Not for the first time at the biggest team event in women's golf, she delivered.

Ciganda pulled off an unlikely par, after world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Lauren Coughlin left birdie putts short, to gain a half-point with rookie Julia Lopez Ramirez, leaving Europe and the United States tied at 4-4 after a Day 1 that had a little bit of everything at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands on Friday.

Including a slice of history.

For the first time in the 36-year history of the Solheim Cup, the teams split each of the first two sessions. For two rivals that have long looked so evenly matched, maybe it was no surprise.

It was a tough end to the day for Korda, who had a 4-and-3 win with Allisen Corpuz over European stars Lottie Woad and Charley Hull in the morning foursomes that earned the U.S. pairing a fifth straight victory together — an unprecedented feat at the Solheim Cup. Then, Korda didn't win a hole with Coughlin in the four-balls.

There were some other memorable performances on a day of changing weather, not least from European rookies Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud, whose first taste of the event was a 2-and-1 win in the four-balls over Corpuz and Auston Kim.

Then there was Megan Khang, the bubbly American who sat out the morning session — and turned into an impromptu cheerleader, dancing enthusiastically on the noisy first tee while wearing a cowboy hat — before winning 5 and 3 alongside Alison Lee in the afternoon. That extended Khang's unbeaten run in the Solheim Cup to nine matches, which is tied for the second-longest undefeated streak in the event.

They won five of the last six holes, and six of the last nine from 2 down against Celine Boutier and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, who were sent out together twice on Friday and lost both times.

The day ultimately belonged to the 36-year-old Ciganda, who was never in the right spot down No. 18 — in fact, she was never in the fairway — but ended up getting up-and-down for par against the odds and dropped her putter in astonishment. It's another chapter of the Spaniard's Solheim Cup story that peaked in 2023 when her late back-to-back birdies secured a singles win over Korda and retained the crystal trophy for the Europeans in a 14-14 tie.

"I love this week," she said in a post-round interview on the 18th green. "I just love playing for the team, for my teammates."

Still, it was a solid start for the Americans in their bid to reach either 14 points to regain the Solheim Cup, or more to win on the road for the first time since 2015.

"I expected them to throw the kitchen sink at us right from the bat," U.S. captain Angela Stanford said of the Europeans, "and I think we held up well."

Woad and Hull, two Englishwomen in the top 10 of the world ranking, were put together by captain Anna Nordqvist for the first match in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Europe's power pairing failed to spark.

Dominated by Korda and Corpuz in the foursomes, they then wasted a 3-up lead after 11 holes to only tie their match against Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin in the foursomes.

"I feel tired," Hull said, "and I can't wait to get to bed."

Noh played the key role for the Americans, either winning or halving nine of the last 10 holes — including a shot out of a bunker on No. 17 to six feet to square the match. She propped up Yin, who only recently returned after more than two months out with severe stomach issues.

Yin, who was left out of the morning session, was in tears and seen being consoled after the four-balls.

"She's been through a lot lately," said Stanford, who described Yin's reaction as an "unloading of emotion."

The first tee is always the place to be in these big team events and it lived up to its billing early Friday as players teed off in a party atmosphere inside the horseshoe-shaped grandstand containing around 3,000 spectators.

Stanford danced onto the tee around 7:30 a.m. local time after emerging from the tunnel. Maja Stark and Linn Grant, a Swedish pairing who beat Rose Zhang and Jennifer Kupcho 3 and 2 in foursomes, swayed in unison to the strains of ABBA's "Dancing Queen." Lindy Duncan, a 35-year-old rookie who never expected to play a Solheim Cup, took video on the occasion with her cell phone. Leona Maguire teed off after chants of "We've got Maguire, USA is terrified!" and cheers for each of her practice swings.

"They're living the dream," Europe captain Anna Nordqvist said of the players, "and as a golfer it doesn't get better than this."

It was all very jovial, though, with respectful silence for each drive in front of a banner that read: "Dutch Courage. European Glory."

With Ciganda on board, the Europeans will keep believing.

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