DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — Jennifer Kupcho shushed the Europeans with her finger against her lips, and then with her putter.
By making remarkable birdie putts on Nos. 17 and 18 — one, outrageously, from 93 feet — Kupcho snatched an unlikely point for the Americans from the last match on the course at the Solheim Cup on Saturday and tied the score at 8-8 after four sessions at Bernardus Golf.
Over to the Sunday singles to determine the destination
of the crystal trophy, with the United States needing 14 points to keep possession.
“That was huge,” U.S. captain Angela Stanford said of Kupcho’s exploits. “It’s absolutely turned the tide.”
Europe's fans became more excitable — or “rowdy,” in the words of Kupcho — as Day 2 wore on, helped by two big wins from Swedish pairing Maja Stark and Linn Grant, first over Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz in the morning foursomes and then Megan Khang and Lauren Coughlin in the afternoon four-balls.
Kupcho silenced them.
She had already produced a “shush” gesture toward the home fans at the start of the back nine of her match with Lindy Duncan against Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier. She left them speechless with back-to-back sucker punches about two hours later.
Trailing at 1 down as she arrived at the 17th green, Kupcho got to her ball off the back of the green and knew Ciganda and Boutier were both inside 12 feet.
“Honestly, going into it, I had zero expectations,” Kupcho said. “I hardly even read my putt.”
Kupcho sent in her putt and it kept rolling and rolling, down the hill and into the side of the cup.
Cue huge celebrations from Kupcho — “Vamos! Let’s go!” she screamed — and the rest of the U.S. team gathered beside the green, some of whom drifted onto the putting surface.
Ciganda and Boutier both missed, leaving the match tied.
There was more to come from Kupcho, a Colorado native, on No. 18. With the last putt of the match, she poured in a 25-footer from the edge of the green into the heart of the hole, completing a 1-up win and securing a 3-1 victory for the Americans in the four-balls.
There was time for one last gesture from Kupcho: A cup of the ear, seemingly toward Europe's fans.
Or was it toward Ciganda?
“It was just playful,” Kupcho said. “Carlota’s loud, so I can be loud back.”
The scores were tied at the end of Day 1 — 4-4 — and still were after Day 2.
The momentum, crucially, is now with the Americans.
The Europeans haven't been helped by their star pairing misfiring.
Lottie Woad and Charley Hull, the highest-ranked Europeans in the lineup, have been paired for all four sessions so far — something that has never been done in 36 years of the Solheim Cup.
They have contributed only a half-point, with two straight defeats coming Saturday against Alison Lee and Coughlin — a 6-and-5 thrashing — in foursomes and Yealimi Noh and Andrea Lee (1 up) in four-balls.
Noh was particularly inspired, making five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the front nine to build a 2-up lead she and Lee never relinquished.
With Europe's power pairing continuing to stumble, Stark and Linn have stepped up. They are 3-0-0 for the week and Stark has sparked the biggest roars around Bernardus, not least when she holed a wedge shot from 74 yards for eagle on her first hole of the four-balls.
Korda, the world No. 1, came to the Netherlands carrying much of the expectations of her nation but has also struggled.
After her loss to Stark and Grant, she headed to the range and was left out of the afternoon session, meaning she'll play four matches for the fifth straight Solheim Cup.
Her record this week is 1-1-1 ahead of a singles match against European rookie Mimi Rhodes on Sunday.
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