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The Solheim Cup is a matchplay event. Each match is worth a point. There are 28 points available over the three days, so the first team to get to 14.5 points will win the Cup. Should the scores be tied at 14 points apiece, Europe will retain the trophy as current holders.
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Match-play explained for those dipping their toe into the murky world of golf for the first time: In common-or-garden championship golf, such as the Evian or the British Open, tournaments are scored using the stroke-play system. Whoever takes the fewest shots over all four rounds in a championship wins. All shots count and are added up for a cumulative total. So if, say, in next year’s Dinah Shore (Chevron Championship-speak for hipsters), Nelly Korda shoots 63-63-63-63 and Georgia Hall shoots 87-87-87-87, Nelly will have taken 252 strokes, and beaten Georgia by 96 shots. (Good luck if you bet large on this exact outcome.)
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Anyway, in match play, each player or team wins a hole for every hole they better their opponents. So if Nelly takes five shots at the 1st, but Georgia needs only three, Georgia goes 1up. If Georgia wins the next hole too, she’s 2up. If the pair share the same number of shots on the 3rd, the hole is halved, and Georgia remains 2up. It doesn’t matter if Nelly took 13 shots on her way to losing the 2nd, by the way; a bit like the unwritten rule of visits to wallet-sewer-interface-venue Las Vegas, what happens on each hole stays on each hole. There is no knock-on effect.
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So let’s say Hall wins the first nine holes of our make-believe match. With nine played, and nine remaining, she is 9up. Nelly can only tie at best; Hall can’t lose. This is known as dormie. (And more specifically, in this slightly ludicrous example, as dormie nine.) If Nelly wins the next nine, the game will end all square, and each team will get half a point to their overall total. But if Georgia wins the 10th, she’s 10up with eight holes to play. She has won 10&8. If the 10th hole is halved, Georgia would be 9up with eight to play. She’s won 9&8. Similarly Nelly can be said to have lost 9&8. Europe would add a point to their overall total. I’ve probably made this sound way more complicated than it needs to be, but there it is anyway.
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There will be three types of match: foursomes (teams of two players use one ball, taking alternate shots); fourballs (teams of two players play a ball each and take the best score, known as the better ball); and singles (this is when it gets quite wild and everyone across two continents starts with the shallow breathing and chest clutching). And these matches are arranged in a schedule like this:
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Today: four matches of morning foursomes; four matches of afternoon fourballs.
Tomorrow: four matches of morning foursomes; four matches of afternoon fourballs.
Sunday: 12 singles matches.
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Given this happened five years ago …
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… and then three years ago …
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… and we’ve not even done a single lap of the sun since this occurred …
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… there’s really no need to unnecessarily expend energy by bigging this up. And yet we still can, because look at the opening match, which features the world number-one and the most in-form player on Europe’s team! “It’s nice to get Charley [Hull] “She doesn't like to sit around and wait,” says European captain Suzann Pettersen, and we're pretty sure Nelly Korda feels the same way. So this has been happening from the get-go. With Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall, Megan Kang and living legend Lexi Thompson singing her swan song, among many others, this is going to be blast. So, folks, let's get started!
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12.05 BST: Nelly Korda / Arisen Corpse vs Esther Henseleit / Charlie Hull
\n 12.17 BST: Rose Chan / Lauren Coughlin v Celine Boutier / Albane Valenzuela
\n 12:29 BST: Allie Ewing / Jennifer Kupcho v Emily Christine Pedersen / Maja Stark
\n 12.41 BST: Lilia Vu / Sarah Schmeltzel v Lynn Grant / Carlota Ciganda
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Main Events
The competitors for this morning's final foursomes match are at work. Carlota Ciganda, the last European hero, looks well prepared for the fight. So does second American newcomer Sarah Schmeltzer, emerging from the tunnel to tee off. No sign of nervousness in sight. It helps to have world number two Lilia Vu at her back. Ciganda smirks as she hits a pointless shot thick and right on her first drive. Vu, who came close to defending her British Open title last month, gets caught in a fairway bunker but falls short. Ready to go!
The third game is over. Emily Pedersen hits the first cut from the left, as does Allie Ewing. On the green, Celine Boutier makes up for hitting the sand and sinks a 25-foot putt to stay for par. Lauren Coughlin holes with a 15-foot putt but misses her birdie putt by three feet. It's disallowed, but Rose Chan puts it away and then slams it in celebration, beaming as she leaves the green.
Korda/Corpus v Henseleit/Hal 1UP (2)
Chan/Coughlin A/S Boutier/Valenzuela (1)
Ewing/Kupcho vs. Pedersen/Stark
If Nelly Korda's putter is in good form, Europe should be careful. However, things seemed a little too bad for the world number one as she took her first birdie chance of the week. Charlie Hull made a European birdie and the first colour on the board was blue!
Korda/Corpus v Henseleit/Hal 1UP (2)
Chang/Coughlin vs. Boutier/Valenzuela
Leading by two, Alisen Copes put the U.S. pin 12 feet from the pin, but Estelle Henseleit got even closer. Three feet, maybe closer, but not quite within concession range. Back at No. 1, Celine Boutier dunks Europe into a greenside bunker.
Back at the tea, another European newcomer, Albane Valenzuela, is getting his first taste of Solheim Cup competition. She went into the semi-rough on the left side of the fairway, and then it was time for the first American rookie to hit her tee shot safely down the course, Lauren Coughlin.
Esther Henseleit hits a sharp wedge into kick-in distance. It was called par. That left Alisen Corpus with the putt for the opening birdie. Corpus darted it over three feet, but it was given a fairly generous half-birdie. The look of mild anxiety on Corpus' face was replaced by relief. A putt of that length would likely not be made on Sunday afternoon.
Korda/Corpus A/S Henseleit/Hal (1)
Charlie Hull wasn't happy with his first shot of the week, a skinny five-iron that flew over the green and landed on the back right fringe. Not far from the pin, Henseleitn will hit a chip shot, but from the sand, Nelly Korda manages to keep it right on the green, and the hosts have a shot for birdie from about 15 feet.Back at the tee, Rose Chan and Lauren Coughlin, Celine Boutier and Alban Valenzuela come in to practice.More fuss.The Robert Trent Jones golf club is at its best.
The first foursomes match will begin on the first tee! The first pair to be introduced were European pair Esther Henseleit and Charlie Hull. Newcomer Henseleit got a warm round of applause, and Hull a huge cheer. Then, when world number one Nelly Korda was announced, there was a real buzz. And it was hard to ignore the cheers for Alisen Copes. Henseleit hit the first shot of her Solheim Cup career, and her first shot of the year, into the fairway. Copes hit a slightly nervous shot into the fairway bunker. Here we go. Here we go!
Formatting Reminder
For those of you who want to ride the downswing this weekend but don't always follow the world's greatest sport, we usually cut and paste the following description: Hey, if it's worth reading once, it's worth reading many times. So let's get started…
The Solheim Cup is a match play event. Each match will be worth one point. There are 28 points available over the three days, so the first team to reach 14.5 points will be the winner. If both teams are tied at 14 points, Europe will win as the reigning champions.
For those new to the murky world of golf, let me explain match play. In typical championship golf, like the Evian or British Open, tournament scores are calculated using the stroke play system. The person with the fewest strokes over all four rounds of the championship wins. All strokes are counted and the totals are added up. So, for example, at next year's Dinah Shore (the hipster name for the Chevron Championship), if Nelly Korda shoots 63-63-63-63 and Georgia Hall shoots 87-87-87-87, Nelly will take 252 strokes and beat Georgia by 96 strokes (good luck if you're willing to bet big money on this outcome).
Anyway, in match play, each player or team wins a hole for each hole they win over their opponent. So if Nelly takes 5 shots on the first hole but Georgia only takes 3, Georgia is 1 up. If Georgia wins the next hole too, she's 2 up. If they're even on the third hole, the hole is halved and Georgia remains 2 up. Incidentally, it wouldn't matter if Nelly took 13 shots before losing on the second hole. It's a bit like the unspoken rule of visiting Las Vegas, the interface between your wallet and the sewer, but what happens on each hole stays on each hole. There are no cascading effects.
Now, let’s say Hall wins the first nine holes of this hypothetical match. Nine holes are played, and with nine holes left, she is 9 up. Nelly can only have a draw at best, and she can't lose a hole. This is called a dormie. (And more specifically, in this slightly humorous example, it's called a dormie nine.) If Nelly wins the next nine holes, the game ends in a draw, and each team gets half a point on their overall total. But if Georgia wins the tenth hole, she's 10 up with eight holes left. She won 10-and-8. If we halve the tenth hole, Georgia is 9 up with eight holes left. She won 9-and-8. Similarly, we could say that Nelly lost 9-and-8. Europe adds one point to their overall total. This may have sounded more complicated than it needed to be, but it is anyway.
There are three types of matches: Foursomes (two players in a team, one ball, alternating shots), Fourball (two players in a team, one ball, best score, called the better ball), Singles (this time it gets pretty intense, with everyone on both continents starting the match with shallow breaths and chest-clutching).
today: Four foursomes matches in the morning and four fourball matches in the afternoon.
tomorrow: Four foursomes matches in the morning and four fourball matches in the afternoon.
Sunday: 12 singles matches.
preamble
This happened five years ago so…
…And three years ago…
…And since this event occurred, we haven't even completed one revolution around the Sun…
…There is absolutely no need to waste energy exaggerating this. However, there is still hope as the opening round will feature the world number one and Europe's most in-form player. [Hull] “She doesn't like to sit around and wait,” says European captain Suzann Pettersen, and we're pretty sure Nelly Korda feels the same way. So this has been happening from the get-go. With Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall, Megan Kang and living legend Lexi Thompson singing her swan song, among many others, this is going to be blast. So, folks, let's get started!
12.05 BST: Nelly Korda / Arisen Corpse vs Esther Henseleit / Charlie Hull
12.17 BST: Rose Chan / Lauren Coughlin v Celine Boutier / Albane Valenzuela
12:29 BST: Allie Ewing / Jennifer Kupcho v Emily Christine Pedersen / Maja Stark
12.41 BST: Lilia Vu / Sarah Schmeltzel v Lynn Grant / Carlota Ciganda
