U.S. trims deficit at Solheim Cup even as Korda struggles
The United States rallied at the Solheim Cup on Sunday morning
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The United States rallied at the Solheim Cup on Sunday morning, winning three of the four alternate-shot matches to cut into the sizable lead defending champion Europe built on Day One.
Lexi Thompson's curling 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th closed out a 2-and-1 victory for herself and teammate Brittany Altomare. It also highlighted a stirring rally for the Americans as the U.S. pulled with 6 1/2-5 1/2 heading into the afternoon four-ball session.
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Austin Ernst and Danielle Kang edged Georgia Hall and Madelene Sagstrom 1 up, and Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas surged past Matilda Castren and Anna Nordqvist on the back nine for a 3-and-1 win.
At one point, the Europeans led in all four matches. Only the team of Leona Maguire and Mel Reid hung on. The two drilled world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing 5 and 4 as Maguire, a Solheim Cup rookie, improved to 3-0 on the weekend.
Maguire and Reid will play together once more in the afternoon four-ball matches. Korda, meanwhile, will be given a much-needed break.
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The 23-year-old, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics last month, made a series of uncharacteristic mistakes. She bladed a pitch from a fairway bunker on the par-4 fourth out of bounds, chunked an approach shot on the par-4 seventh and had an uphill chip from the fringe on the par-4 ninth only make it halfway to the hole before hitting reverse.
The lone bright spot for Korda came on an eagle putt on the par-5 13th from basically the same spot that led to a bit of controversy on Day One. Korda's putt from the back right of the green during Saturday's four-ball session hung on the lip. Sagstrom walked over and picked it up, a violation of a rule that lets players wait at least 10 seconds before marking or grabbing a ball that appears on the verge of going in.
The violation meant Korda and Ewing won the hole and turned out to be the margin in what became a 1-up victory. Korda called the situation "awkward," but U.S. captain Pat Hurst stressed it wouldn't be an issue going forward.
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Maybe, but Korda hardly looked like herself Sunday morning and will sit out a session for the first time in her brief Solheim Cup career in the afternoon.
With Korda struggling, her teammates picked up the slack. Ernst and Kang turned a one-hole deficit into a one-hole lead after wins on the 13th and 14th and held on the rest of the way. It was the only match of the morning that reached the 18th green a day after seven of the eight matches made it to the final hole.
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It looked like the 18th would be required for Altomare and Thompson before Thompson — who had struggled to make anything of significance on the slick Inverness greens — dropped in her birdie putt to seal the match against Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen.
Salas and Kupcho were 2 down after seven holes but captured four straight wins on Nos. 14-17, the last coming on a birdie putt by Salas that revived the U.S.'s hopes of reclaiming the Cup they lost at Gleneagles two years ago.