Parker, CO – Americans Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer earned a hard-fought win, while Suzann Pettersen lost her first match as the United States inched within a point after Saturday morning's foursomes play at the Solheim Cup.
The Americans won two matches Saturday and moved within one point as the Europeans lead 6 1/2 - 5 1/2 heading into the afternoon fourballs session.
Lewis and Creamer were 4-up after 10 holes, but Karine Icher and Azahara Munoz won four straight holes from the 11th to square the match. The Europeans made a mess of the 18th and conceded the Americans par at the last to give the U.S. team a 1-up win.
In the anchor match, Pettersen and Beatriz Recari lost a 2-up lead after nine holes to Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie. Lang rolled a long eagle putt to concession range at 16 and the Europeans couldn't match to give the Americans a 1-up lead. Wie closed out the 2 & 1 win with a short par putt on 17.
The first match ended in dramatic fashion. Neither team led by more than 1-up through 16 holes. Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall were 1-up through 16 against Morgan Pressel and Jessica Korda. Nordqvist aced the par-3 17th and when the Americans couldn't match, the Europeans took the match, 2 & 1.
The third match out ended last. Brittany Lincicome and Lizette Salas four times were 2-up, including a 2-up lead with two holes to go. The U.S. 3-putted for bogey on 17 to let Catriona Matthew and Caroline Masson within 1-down. After Salas missed a tough birdie try at 18, Matthew drained a birdie putt to halve the match.
The first match was a tight battle with the Europeans leading for much of the front nine. The Europeans took the third and sixth with pars, while the Americans won the fifth with a par. The teams halved three in a row from the seventh as the Europeans led 1-up heading to the back nine.
The Americans took the 10th and 11th to grab their first 1-up lead. It remained that way until the Nordqvist and Hedwall birdied the 14th square the match back up. The Europeans teamed for a 2-putt birdie on the par-5 16th.
Nordqvist ended the match with a stunning hole-in-one at 17.
Lewis, who lost a tough match late Friday, grabbed a big lead thanks to Creamer. Creamer made a long birdie try at four and another long birdie at eight to push the Americans 2-up.
The Americans took the next two holes to go 4-up with eight to play. However, the Europeans won the 11th with a par, then birdied the next three holes to square the match.
With the momentum squarely on the Europeans' side, Creamer made an 18-footer for birdie at 15 to give the Americans a 1-up lead. Icher tied the match up with a birdie at 17.
The Europeans made a mess of the 18th and the Americans were conceded par and the match with Icher failed to hole a double-bogey chip.
The final match on the course ended next. Recari made a long birdie try at one to give the Europeans the early lead. They took the fourth with a par before the teams halved the next five.
Lang drained a 40-footer for birdie at 10 and Pettersen missed a 5-footer for par at 11th to square the match. Lang blasted from a bunker to tap-in range and that gave the Americans the 12th and a 1-up lead.
Recari squared the match with a birdie on 14, but the Americans were conceded a short birdie effort at 16 as they went back 1-up with two to go. Lang rolled a long eagle try within three feet at 17.
Recari chipped to four feet, but Pettersen missed and Wie made the birdie try to give the Americans the match.
Lincicome and Salas took the second with a birdie and the fifth with a par to go 2-up. The Europeans won the seventh, then the teams traded wins from 11 to 14. Lincicome birdied the 16th to give the Americans another 2-up lead.
The United States pair 3-putted for bogey from long range on the 17th, then Matthew birdied the last to halve that match.
NOTES: Hedwall is 3-0 this week .... Hedwall, who is now 5-1-1 in her career at the Solheim Cup, will be the only player on either team to play all five sessions ... Lewis, the second-ranked player in the world, is just 2-5 in her two appearances.