Thompson credits wake-up call from Lopez for sparking rally
In the end, five words from golf legend Nancy Lopez swung the tide. “You have nothing to lose.” Europe came into Sunday’s singles matches needing the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history to seize the trophy, and halfway through the day it looked as if that might happen. Lexi Thompson, playing in the first group of the day against Anna Nordqvist, found herself four down through nine holes. With Thompson visibly frustrated and the U.S. team leading one of the 12 matches on the course, Lopez, an assistant captain, intervened.
“Having her there, picking me up, telling me that I can come back from this, it meant the world to me,” Thompson said.
That’s when Thompson, in her words, woke up.
After a 2 over front nine, she birdied the 10th hole to claw back to three down, then, from 112 yards on the par-5 11th, jarred a wedge into the hole for an eagle.
She followed a par on the 12th with two more long birdie putts on the 13th and 14th. Then as she faced a 50-foot-plus putt with a hard right-to-left break for eagle on the par-5 15th, the crowed erupted when her ball trickled into the hole again.
“It had to be the weirdest round of golf I’ve ever played,” Thompson said. “The back nine, I just played lights out.”
Yet another birdie on the 16th gave Thompson her first lead of the match. Standing on the 17th tee, Nordqvist looked stonefaced as she glared toward the green. Europe captain Annika Sorenstam placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, but Nordqvist didn’t notice.
She had work to do. Matching pars on the 17th meant Nordqvist needed to win the final hole to salvage a halfpoint from a match in which victory once looked assured. With 154 yards remaining after hammering a drive down the fairway, she pulled an 8-iron and took dead aim at the pin.
Nordqvist knew she liked it from the second the ball left the clubface, and she watched as it fell a few inches short of the hole. It was a birdie that Thompson couldn’t match. With the match officially split, the two women embraced in a long hug.
“Hitting that shot when you know you need to, it’s so gutsy,” U.S. captain Juli Inkster said. “It’s fitting the match ended in a halve.”
Nordqvist was the bright spot during a difficult week for the European team. The 30year-old Swede battled mononucleosis in the leadup to the event, and the effects forced her to skip Friday’s fourball competition.
Nevertheless, her halve against Thompson was the only match she didn’t win, going 3-0 in her other matches.
“We played our hearts out,” Nordqvist said. “I’m pretty exhausted right now, not going to lie. Tired and speechless.”