DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — The opening day of the Solheim Cup started with smoke blowers and party music blasting out of a boisterous first tee. It ended in nervy silence on No. 18 as veteran European player Carlota Ciganda stood over a 12-foot putt to tie the match against the Americans.
Not for the first time, she delivered.
Ciganda pulled off an unlikely par after world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Lauren Coughlin left birdie putts short to gain a half-point
with rookie Julia Lopez Ramirez and leave the teams tied at 4-4 after a Day 1 that had a little bit of everything at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands on Friday.
Including a slice of history.
For the first time in the 36-year history of the Solheim Cup, Europe and the United States split each of the first two sessions. For two teams that have long looked so evenly matched, maybe it was no surprise.
It was a tough end to the day for Korda, who had a 4-and-3 win with Allisen Corpuz in the morning singles that earned the U.S. pairing a fifth straight victory together — an unprecedented feat at the Solheim Cup.
There were some other big performances, not least from European rookies Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud, who won 2 and 1 against Corpuz and Auston Kim in the afternoon four-balls.
The day ultimately belonged to Ciganda, who was never in the right spot down No. 18 but ended up getting up-and-down against the odds. It's another chapter of the Spaniard's Solheim Cup story that peaked in 2023 when her late back-to-back birdies secured a singles win over Korda and retained the crystal trophy in a 14-14 tie.
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