CROMVOIRT, Netherlands – Deenen and Oirschot checked their bike tires on Thursday night. On Friday, they checked the weather, waiting until the afternoon session to make the 30-minute ride from their village of Haaren to the 20th playing of the Solheim Cup.
The bike lot at Bernardus Golf was quite the spectacle on Day 1, where fans could nearly pedal right up to the first tee. The grandstand, packed tight and rising high with more than 2,500 seats, was rocking long before the cool-headed Allisen Corpuz struck the first tee shot.
After the shuttle debacle of two years ago just outside D.C., the sing-along scene on Friday felt like a healing salve. Anne van Dam led the crowd in “Links Rechts," the left-right, side-to-side football chant that swept
the soccer world a couple of years ago, while the Guardians of the Cup kept up the tunes.
Great vibes here on the first tee even tho it’s a little dreary. Rain has stopped though! 🙌🏻
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) September 11, 2026
After the 2024 shuttle debacle, this feels like a breath of fresh air. pic.twitter.com/2hwOxOixbf
The morning session ended in a 2-2 split, with Nelly Korda and Corpuz becoming the first duo in Solheim history to go 5-0 in any format.
In the afternoon, European captain Anna Nordqvist benched the two teams that won – Leona Maguire/Esther Henseleit and Maja Stark/Linn Grant – and sent out all four rookies in the four-ball session. It was a gamble made even more significant by the fact that teams that have led after Day 1 have an overall Solheim Cup record of 14-2-1.
In the end, the day finished as it began – tied.
Friday a Bernardus marked the first time in cup history that both sessions ended in a tie on the first day. Further, it’s the first time since 2002 that Day 1 ended in a tie – 4-4.
Both captains said it felt like they experience all four seasons in one day – showers and sunshine – mixed with more than a few nervy shots on a heathland course that has already delivered in terms of drama.
“I expected them to throw the kitchen sink at us right off the bat and they did,” said Stanford, “and I thought we held up pretty well.”
Golden hour at Bernardus saw the Spanish pair of veteran Carlota Ciganda and rookie Julia Lopez Ramirez unraveling down the 18th. After Ciganda hit her second shot off the map, Lopez Ramirez left one in the bunker, and with Korda and Lauren Coughlin in the middle of the fairway, it looked destined to go the Americans’ way.
But then, after Coughlin left her birdie putt short in the throat, Ciganda drained a 15-foot par putt and unleashed one of her signature roars to steal the momentum back to Europe.
WHAT A PAR SAVE!
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 11, 2026
Carlota Ciganda with a roller coaster of a hole, ties the match to halve the final point of the day in the Netherlands! pic.twitter.com/zuKwaPFXQ2
“To see her have the best when it mattered the most, that’s Carlota for you,” said Nordqvist.
No. 1 Korda, meanwhile, was the only player in the afternoon session who didn’t win a hole.
“Nelly is always going to be the one everyone wants to beat,” said Stanford, “so I think she did great today. I think she always puts up a fight.”
Earlier in the evening the surprising, yet fearless rookie pairing of Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud came up large for Nordqvist, taking down the American duo of Allisen Corpuz and rookie Auston Kim, 2 and 1.
Lottie Woad and Charley Hull, only the fourth European Solheim Cup pairing to have both players ranked inside the top 10 in the world, managed only a halve against Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin after dropping their morning foursomes to Nelly Korda and Corpuz.
Alison Lee, the only player on the U.S. team who has experiencing winning overseas (2015), went 2-0 on the day, partnering with close friend Megan Khang in the afternoon to defeat Celine Boutier and Nanna Koertz Madsen, 5 and 3.
People will ask why, Nordqvist explained of the all-rookie tandem, and she thought why not?
Khang, a captain’s pick this time around, hasn't lost a Solheim Cup match since Saturday afternoon four-balls back in 2021, extending her undefeated streak on Friday to nine matches. Khang now owns an 8-3-3 overall Solheim record. She is undefeated in singles play.
"She is the battery," said Stanford. "She’s the one that makes it go."
On Saturday, Stanford will send out the undefeated Korda and Corpuz first, only this time they’ll face Sweden's Maja Stark and Linn Grant, who were victorious in their opening match. Nordqvist moved her blockbuster all-England pairing of Hull and Woad in the final match. They’ll face two more winners from Friday morning, Alison Lee and Coughlin.
The Americans haven’t won on foreign soil since 2015. As the sun began to set at Bernardus, Stanford huddled up her players for a closing word. Told them she was proud.
“We took a big swing from 'em today,” said Stanford in her Texas drawl. “When you send out Charley and Lottie out first, both sessions, I mean … we took some of their best body blows today.”
And they didn’t give up any ground.
Beth Ann Nichols is a Golfweek senior writer covering the LPGA, women's golf and the Solheim Cup.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: American Megan Khang, European rookies shine in Day 1 of 2026 Solheim Cup
