Solheim Cup 2023: Europe v USA, day two – live

The third match sees Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier take on Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz. Korda flies the green with her drive and ends up in the bunker at the back; Boutier makes the conservative play down the right of the hole. The first match this morning where neither team is favourite after the opening tee shots. Perhaps someone will go on to win the hole this time; golf’s a bit like that.

Megan Khang isn’t giving this up lightly, and knocks a fine chip from the dropzone to 12 feet. Then an uncharacteristically poor chip from Leona Maguire stops well short of the green. Anna Nordqvist opts for the Texas Wedge and lags up to kick-in distance. She’s not an Open winner at Carnoustie for nothing. Thompson then steers in a perfectly paced right-to-left curler to salvage par and make up for her mistake. The famous Lexi moxie; after last night’s shank, she then wedged to close range from the bottom of a swale. Anyway, that’ll make her feel a whole lot better.

Pedersen/Ciganda A/S Vu/Kupcho (1)
Nordqvist/Maguire A/S Thompson/Khang (1)
Hall/Boutier v Korda/Corpuz

Vu’s eagle putt dribbles four feet past the cup. A bit of work left for Kupcho … and after Pedersen tidies up for Europe’s par, she pulls the short putt on the dewy morning green and that’s a half that will feel like a loss for the USA. Back on the tee, Lexi Thompson takes driver and goes for the green … only to hit the face of the pond wall and plummet into the drink. Given her last meaningful shot was last night’s shanked chip on 18, that won’t settle her mind. No thousand-yard stare, but a steely look of concern all right. Anna Nordqvist makes the smart matchplay move and takes a safe 3-wood down the right.

Pedersen/Ciganda A/S Vu/Kupcho (1)
Nordqvist/Maguire v Thompson/Khang

Pedersen’s chip is pretty dismal. She’s got plenty of green to work with but seriously underhits it. Back to Ciganda, who could seriously do with draining the 30-footer that remains. She gives it a good run, but America now have two putts to win the hole and make the fastest of starts.

Here we go, then, as the first match takes to the first tee. Jennifer Kupcho is up first … and she hits an absolute pearler into the heart of the green. Her partner Lilia Vu will have a great look at eagle. That was a high tariff shot in foursomes and a statement of intent from the Americans. Over to the home hero Carlota Ciganda, who pulls her drive and is forced to shout fore, scattering a few punters to the left of the green. At least it’s dry. Emily Pedersen has some work to do. Immediate advantage USA.

Preamble