Matthew is the star as Europe edge in front
SCOT Catriona Matthew was the star of the show as a wonderfully tight and enthralling series of foursomes matches ended with Europe edging narrowly ahead at the 15th Solheim Cup here yesterday.
Playing alongside Karine Icher from France, Matthew stole a win in the anchor match to give Annika Sorenstam’s team a slender 2½-1½ lead over the Americans.
What a performance this was from the 47-year-old, who only discovered on Wednesday she was playing at all after Norwegian Suzann Pettersen pulled out.
Trailing Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller, the European pair went ahead for the first time at the 16th and kept that lead after a superb bunker shot from Matthew at the 17th.
Taking her stance outside the bunker with the ball just in the sand, she kept her balance and her nerve to splash out to inches from the hole. At the 18th, Piller had an eight-foot putt to snatch a half-point but it never looked like dropping.
This was a morning that showed just why the Solheim Cup is the biggest event in women’s golf.
Taking on not only the Americans, but a vibrant and passionate home crowd, there was a debut victory for 21-yearold Georgia Hall — partnering Swede Anna Nordqvist — and a performance of true grit from the similarly-aged Charley Hull.
The only time there was more than a two-up lead in any of the four matches was when Hall and Nordqvist closed out their encounter at the 17th to win 3&1.
There wasn’t a fairway or green that wasn’t bathed at some point in a deep backdrop of red.
Instead of the usual ‘Silence Please’ boards, the volunteers held up ones reading ‘Get Loud’ and the thousands wearing all that red duly played their part.
Around the first tee, many of the 4,000 Europeans who have made the trip got up early to ensure the visiting team didn’t feel alone.
The songs began and the banter that has become such a colourful part of these team competitions.
None, arguably, have ever begun quite like this one, though, and an offering from the Americans Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr — playing Hull and Mel Reid — that took the breath away.
The first is a downhill par four measuring 306 yards and Reid struck a wonderful tee shot that bounded to the edge of the putting surface. Thompson’s response? A three-wood to 12ft and Kerr rolled in the putt for an eagle two.
This didn’t unnerve Hull. Thompson may be the world No 2 but Hull was comfortably the best player on view. What made her display so admirable was the manner in which she shrugged off a recurrence of the wrist problems that have disrupted her season.
Every time she played a shot from the rough she winced. At the 16th, she chipped in and teammate Jodi Ewart Shadoff came running over to give her a high five. Hull pulled out of it — the only thing she ducked all day.
It looked as if Hull and Reid would pull off a remarkable win when that chip-in gave them a two-up lead with two to play, but credit the Americans.
It was Kerr again who came to the rescue, rapping home a 15ft birdie putt on the 18th to send the crowd wild.
But it was advantage Europe — if only just. FOURSOMES (USA first): L Thompson & C Kerr halved with M Reid (Eng) & C Hull (Eng); L Salas & D Kang bt C Ciganda (Sp) & C Masson (Ger) 1 hole; P Creamer & A Ernst lost to G Hall (Eng) & A Nordqvist (Swe) 3&1; G Piller & S Lewis lost to K Icher (Fr) & C Matthew (Sco) 1 hole. TOURNAMENT host Paul Lawrie was yesterday knocked out of the Match Play event he is staging in Germany after losing 2&1 to Spain’s Alejandro Canizares in the second round.
Lawrie was one up with five holes to play, but a slack finish from the former Open champion allowed his opponent to turn the tables and progress into the last 16.
Defending champion Anthony Wall is safely through, however, and the Englishman is now set to face Jamie Donaldson, Europe’s Ryder Cup hero at Gleneagles in 2014.