Rose Zhang and Megan Kang were Team USA’s first group out of the four-ball session on the first day of the Solheim Cup.
The LPGA rookie’s putter came to life on the back nine, halving the match against Team Europe and saving the match.
The Jean and Kang pairing was a great choice for captain Stacey Lewis.
“I love the crowd and just being next to Megan [Khang]. It was a very fun and emotional round,” Chan said. “We were ham-and-egging everything, but with Megs on our back, we felt like we could bounce back from any situation. So it was a great first day.”
After 10 holes and a 2-up over Team Europe’s Gemma Dreiburg and Madelene Sagström, the momentum shifted. The Europeans won each of the next two holes to even the match.
However, Zhang had ice appearing in his veins on the par-4 13th and par-4 16th holes, and was able to complete both of the par-4s. most clutch pads at the time.
The Europeans were in a position to easily make three birdies on the 13th hole, but Zhang held on for three consecutive holes. She sunk her own long birdie putt to halve the hole.
After a few holes on the 16th, she almost lost the contest, but once again she made a big comeback.
“We had No. 16, which was a really clutch putt,” Chan said of the biggest moment of the day.
Dryburgh chipped in from the fairway for birdie, sending the European crowd into a frenzy. It looked like he might take the lead with two holes left, but the 20-year-old phenom answered.
Zhang and Kang both drove the green on the par-4 first hole, getting the day off to a great start.
“First Tea Rose” [Zhang] I hadn’t hit the ball since the last game, so I decided to drop it on the green,” Kang said. “So when she put me on the green, it gave me the go-ahead and it was very freeing.”
It was a thrilling game full of ups and downs, with either team likely to win.
But if it weren’t for Chang’s two clutch moments in the second half, Team USA might have seen its hot start go to waste.
“The halves are big. I think when you look at Solheim in the past, you forget how important the halves are,” Kang said.
“I think the half is one of the most important things in a team game,” Chan said. “You never know how important it is until you get down to the last half-point. So to start without losing is huge for the first few days after coming back.”
After the first day of the Solheim Cup, with a dominant 4-0 win in the morning foursome session, the Americans dropped two games, two of which led to a 5-3 lead.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls See more golf coverage on Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Too.
