After a heartbreaking draw with Team Europe at the Solheim Cup in 2023, Team USA didn't want to repeat the same thing in 2024. Something needed to change if they were to be successful.
Lilia Vu brought home the Solheim Cup for Team USA, who won 15.5-13.5 to claim their first cup since 2017.
Team USA performed phenomenally from top to bottom, and their ability to step up when others weren't at their best was a big part of their success.
The rookies performed well, the veterans played great, and their chemistry was excellent.
Team USA maintained an aggressive stance from the first session of the Solheim Cup to the last.
Let's look at some numbers that would lead to an American victory.
The Overwhelming Undefeated Queen
Four women were undefeated on the U.S. team: half had draws, and the other two never lost a point.
Rose Chan has 4 wins, 0 losses and 0 draws. What's particularly impressive for Chan is that she went undefeated without ever seeing the 17th or 18th holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
The 20-year-old defeated Solheim Cup veteran Carlota Ciganda in a crushing 6-4 victory, redeeming herself from last year's 0-2-1 record at Finca Cortesin in Spain.
Zhang led all players, winning 28 holes and losing just eight — a win-loss margin of 20-plus holes that's the most significant in the past 20 years. Jessica Korda came closest, winning 29 holes and losing 14 in 2019.
In other words, Zhang had the upper hand.
“Rose, this golf course was made for you,” U.S. team captain Stacy Lewis said.
Megan Kang went 3-0-0 and earned three points for the U.S. Newcomer Lauren Coughlin went 3-0-1 and earned 3.5 points, including 2-0 in foursomes and 1-0 in fourballs. She tied in singles.
Andrea Lee was also undefeated, winning two matches, losing none and drawing one, as well as winning two four-ball matches.
It was only the second time the U.S. team had many players going into a match undefeated.
Nelly Korda and Arisen Corpse = A dynamic duo
Nelly Korda and Alisen Copes defeated Easter Henseleitn 3&2 in foursomes on Friday to earn Team USA their first points of the week.
The duo defeated Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda, 1-up, in Saturday's foursomes.
Those two wins meant a lot to Team USA. Without their points, Sunday's outcome would have been very different. Corpuz hit some wild shots and Korda sank an eagle putt on Saturday to give the team momentum.
That moment gave the U.S. team momentum and helped the other teams get the job done splitting both sessions.
They set the tone and the rest followed suit with gusto. The strategy proved to be the right one for Team USA.
Team USA's leadership shines
The U.S. team needed a strong leader to back up Lewis and the assistant captains, and like most teams, a few players take the lead.
It was a 40-minute shuttle ride to get to the golf course. Tensions were building and that anxiety was doing its best to distract the group of 12. We had Korda play some inspirational music to help the whole team focus on something other than the game.
Korda performed Whitney Houston's “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” over the past two days, helping to bring the team together and make the performance a success, and Korda's upbeat, cheerful attitude helped ease the tension for the rest of the group.
Needless to say, she and Megan Kang encouraged the crowd on the first hole and enjoyed every moment of the experience.
They love to get the fans involved, and while some may think it doesn't help the rest of the team, it does help because it shows they have a “12th man.”
This week felt different for Team USA. They were very proud and confident, which paid off as they caught up with Team Europe on Friday morning and kept their momentum going.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
