Parker, CO – Anna Nordqvist and Suzann Pettersen led Europe to wins in the first two matches Friday at the Solheim Cup.
The Europeans went on to take a 3-1 lead after the morning foursomes matches at Colorado Golf Club.
Nordqvist paired with Caroline Hedwall to win the first match, 4 & 2, over world No. 2 Stacy Lewis and Lizette Salas.
Pettersen teamed with Beatriz Recari to take down Brittany Lang and Angela Stanford, 2 & 1.
The third match went the Americans' way with Solheim Cup rookie Jessica Korda playing with Morgan Pressel. They earned a 3 & 2 win over Catriona Matthew and Jodi Ewart Shadoff.
In the final match, Spain's Azahara Munoz drained a 12-footer for par to give her and a Karine Icher at 2 & 1 win over Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer. The American pair dropped to 2-1-1 in four appearances together at the Solheim Cup.
Lewis and Salas won the second with a par, but the Europeans won the third with a par of their own. The Americans answered with a win on the fourth to take their final lead of the match.
Nordqvist and Hedwall claimed the fifth to square the match. Salas missed a par putt at the sixth that would have halved the hole. Hedwall birdied the eighth, then stuffed her approach within three feet at the ninth. Nordqvist kicked that in to take a 3-up lead to the back nine.
The teams traded wins at 12 and 13. Nordqvist birdied the 16th to close out the win.
"We like playing together. We've known each other for a long time and just getting the point for Europe was important," Hedwall said.
In match two, the Europeans won the second and fourth, but the Americans responded with wins at three and six. Stanford and Lang birdied the sixth to go 1-up, but the Europeans took the eighth to square things up.
Pettersen and Recari claimed the 13th. Recari drained a 15-footer for eagle at 16 to push them 2-up, and the teams halved 17 to give the Europeans the match.
"There's a reason I wanted to play with Beatriz. She's right there. She's wants it and she's never going to give up," said Pettersen. "I think this was a good pairing for us. We both felt pretty comfortable, we trust each other. We kept giving ourselves chances which is important in this format."
Pressel and Korda took the first with a par, but Matthew and Ewart took the fourth with a par. The Americans were conceded the seventh and they didn't lose that lead.
The Americans claimed the ninth and 11th to go 3-up. Pressel chunked a chip at the 12th and that helped give the Europeans the hole. Pressel knocked her approach to eight feet at 13 and that putt was conceded. The teams halved the next three holes to give the Americans their first point.
"We didn't make a lot of mistakes. Certainly, we made a few, but we kept them to a minimum. We hit a lot of fairways and greens, and made a couple putts," Pressel said.
Like the third match for the Americans, the Europeans never trailed in the final match. The Europeans won the first with a par, then the teams halved six in a row.
Munoz and Icher poured in three straight birdies from the eighth to go 4-up with eight holes to go. Munoz missed a par-saver at 11 to trim their lead, but Creamer missed a par putt at 13 to put the Americans 4-down with five holes remaining.
The Americans were conceded birdie at 15, then Kerr made birdie at 16 to get within 2-down. Munoz drained a par putt at 17 to halve the hole and win the final match.
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