Castren putt seals Europes Solheim Cup victoryDebutant Leona Maguire starred as Europe won the Solheim Cup with a hard-fought 15-13 triumph over the United States in Ohio. Maguire won her songs match on Sunday to finish an unbeaten week in which she collected four and a half points from her 5 matches – a record for a novice – and set the tone for a thrilling victory.Another novice, Matilda Castren, holed a nerveless eight-foot putt to win her match on the 18th green and claim Europes 14th point – the one that meant they would a minimum of maintain the Solheim Cup.” Its just crazy, crazy,” stated Castren. “I cant think I made that putt.” It stimulated an outpouring of jubilant emotion amongst the Europeans, who were considered rank outsiders in the build-up, having actually won just once previously in the US.And when Emily Pedersen holed a putt from comparable distance to win the last match on the 18th, the celebrations were currently in full swing. Chants of “Beany we love you” reverberated around Inverness Golf Club as the little but loud checking out contingent lauded Catriona Matthew, with the Scot the first European captain to win the competition two times after the memorable win at Gleneagles in 2019.” Its just astounding. My team have been so fantastic all week,” Matthew, 52, informed Sky Sports.” Im so pleased with them. We understood it was going to be difficult with just a handful of European fans. It was a terrific start and after that got a little dodgy.” It was stressful. We got three and a half [points] out of the first four and then the tide was turning.” Maguires attractive showMatthew was a veteran gamer in Europes only previous win on American soil in Colorado in 2013 but this time around their success was underpinned by a debutant in the shape of Maguire, the first Irishwoman to play in case. The 26-year-old announced herself in fine design on the 17th staging of the biennial tournament, winning 3 and a half points from the 4 matches she objected to on the opening two days.And she claimed the very first point in Mondays 12 songs matches with an emphatic 5&& 4 win over formerly unbeaten US novice Jennifer Kupcho, who had actually won 2 and a half points from 3 matches.It reinforced the visitors currently strong over night position, moving Europe 10-7 ahead, and made sure that the substantial galleries of home supporters had little to get thrilled about. Maguire, the only gamer from either side to play in all five possible matches, become just the third player in Solheim Cup history to make her group more than 4 points in a single competitors.” The objective was to get my point. Ive provided it my absolute all this week, I could not have actually offered anything more,” she stated.” I knew I was going to have to play some truly excellent golf to beat her [Kupcho] I left to a fantastic start; an eagle on 2 truly set me up. “I holed some truly great putts and kept my foot down all the time. Never ever in my wildest dreams did I believe the week was going to go by doing this. It has been an honour to represent Europe.” A stuffed finaleCatriona Matthew (left) is the very first European captain to win the Solheim Cup twiceMadelene Sagstrom and Celine Boutier won their matches to edge Matthews side closer to the target of 14 points required to keep the prize as defending champions.But American wins for world number one Nelly Korda, Brittany Altomare and Megan Khang threatened a dramatic turnaround.It produced some uncomfortable watching for European fans, with the hosts at one phase leading in five of the seven remaining matches out on the course. But Anna Nordqvist and Nanna Koerstz Madsen played their part, making halves in rollercoaster encounters with Lexi Thompson and Austin Ernst before Finlands Castren held her nerve on the 18th to seal the crucial 14th point.Pedersen then went 3 up with three to play against Danielle Kang in the last match, hence ensuring at least another half point that would offer Europe the overall victory.The Dane, who confessed she was eager “to join the celebrations”, promptly lost the 17th and 16th holes to send her match down the last, but then holed from eight feet before her team-mates charged on to the green.United States captain Pat Hurst yielded their defeat was down to their poor start in Saturdays opening foursomes matches, a format in which the Europeans have typically controlled.” I believe we supported the eight-ball the very first foursomes,” she said.” I was wanting to see a great deal of red in the starting just to type of put it up on the board for everybody to see, however it is what it is. “They played hard, they played with heart, whichs what we were requesting for.” Enjoy the party – response on social media
Maguire won her songs match on Sunday to complete an unbeaten week in which she collected four and a half points from her five matches – a record for a novice – and set the tone for a thrilling victory.Another novice, Matilda Castren, holed a nerveless eight-foot putt to win her match on the 18th green and claim Europes 14th point – the one that meant they would at least maintain the Solheim Cup.” It sparked an outpouring of wondrous emotion among the Europeans, who were thought about rank outsiders in the accumulation, having won simply when formerly in the US.And when Emily Pedersen holed a putt from comparable distance to win the last match on the 18th, the events were currently in complete swing. Chants of “Beany we enjoy you” resounded around Inverness Golf Club as the small but loud going to contingent admired Catriona Matthew, with the Scot the very first European captain to win the competition two times after the memorable win at Gleneagles in 2019. The 26-year-old revealed herself in fine style on the 17th staging of the biennial tournament, winning 3 and a half points from the 4 matches she objected to on the opening two days.And she claimed the first point in Mondays 12 songs matches with an emphatic 5&& 4 win over formerly unbeaten United States novice Jennifer Kupcho, who had won 2 and a half points from 3 matches.It strengthened the visitors currently strong over night position, moving Europe 10-7 ahead, and ensured that the big galleries of home fans had little to get delighted about.” A laden finaleCatriona Matthew (left) is the first European captain to win the Solheim Cup twiceMadelene Sagstrom and Celine Boutier won their matches to edge Matthews side closer to the target of 14 points needed to maintain the trophy as safeguarding champions.But American wins for world number one Nelly Korda, Brittany Altomare and Megan Khang threatened a significant turnaround.It made for some uncomfortable viewing for European fans, with the hosts at one phase leading in 5 of the 7 remaining matches out on the course.