Europe have won back the Solheim Cup after a superb singles performance at Bernardus, with rookie Lottie Woad holing the putt that secured the trophy before Carlota Ciganda completed a memorable victory for Anna Nordqvist’s team.
Europe are Solheim Cup champions again.
After two days in which almost nothing separated Europe and the USA, Anna Nordqvist’s team produced the final-day performance they needed at Bernardus to wrestle the trophy back from the defending champions, turning an 8–8 overnight score into a 15–13 victory.
Fittingly, on a week when Europe’s rookies have repeatedly risen to the occasion, it was Lottie Woad who eventually secured the point that made the Solheim Cup safe.
The Englishwoman had endured a frustrating opening two days despite playing considerably better than her results suggested, but beat Auston Kim 2&1 in the singles to finally get the reward for that golf. Only after holing the winning putt did Woad discover that she had also secured the Solheim Cup for Europe.
“I didn’t know it was to win,” she admitted afterwards. “I thought Carlota’s match was for it to win.”
Woad had known by the closing stages that either her match or Ciganda’s contest with Jennifer Kupcho would be decisive. She stayed composed as Kim applied pressure with three successive birdies and then closed out the match on the 17th, sparking the celebrations around Bernardus.
It was a particularly satisfying conclusion for a player who admitted she had felt she was “letting everyone down” after failing to turn some excellent golf into enough points earlier in the week. Her captains had reminded her that the statistics told a rather different story and encouraged her to trust what she was doing. On Sunday, she did.
Europe’s rookies rise to the occasion
Woad’s winning moment was also a fitting conclusion to a week in which Europe’s rookies played a far bigger part than simply making up the numbers.
Nordqvist had put considerable faith in her first-timers and they repaid it throughout the three days. Nastasia Nadaud was one of the discoveries of the week, winning alongside fellow rookie Mimi Rhodes in Friday’s fourballs before the pair switched formats and won again in Saturday morning’s foursomes. Nadaud then carried that confidence into the singles, beating Andrea Lee 3&2 when Europe needed points on the board.
Julia López Ramírez also delivered on Sunday, beating Yealimi Noh 3&2, while Woad finally got the result her golf had been threatening all week. After a difficult run of team matches alongside Hull, she held firm against Auston Kim and ultimately found herself standing over the putt that secured the Solheim Cup.
Rhodes was unable to overcome World No.1 Nelly Korda in the singles, but her contribution had already been significant. She and Nadaud had arrived at Bernardus without a Solheim Cup match between them and promptly won together in both fourballs and foursomes.
It was a considerable return from a rookie group asked to perform in one of the most pressurised environments in golf, and Ciganda was quick to recognise their contribution afterwards. She described it as “one of the best teams that we’ve had in the last few years”, adding that everyone had come together as “a unit, a team”.
“That’s what Europe is about,” she said
Foundations for victory
Nordqvist had made what she later described as the “no-brainer” decision to send Charley Hull out first against Megan Khang, despite Hull having collected only half a point from her opening four matches alongside Woad.
The decision was rewarded. Hull put Europe’s first point on the board and, more importantly, gave the players behind her something blue to follow.
It had been a frustrating week for Hull, who felt she and Woad had played much better than their results suggested. On Sunday, her approach was simply to remain patient. She hit greens, stayed steady through difficult weather and finally delivered the singles point Nordqvist had trusted her to find.
“Hopefully now they can see one point’s on the board and the rest can follow,” Hull said after completing her victory.
They did.
Europe made the fast start Nordqvist had wanted and blue began appearing across the leaderboard. The captain had stressed throughout the week how important the opening holes could be around Bernardus and watched on Sunday as her players took control of enough matches to put the USA under immediate pressure.
The Americans did respond. World No.1 Nelly Korda produced an authoritative performance against Mimi Rhodes, making a succession of birdies on the front nine as she concentrated, in her words, on staying “in my bubble”. Stanford had asked her leading players to put red on the board and give those behind them something to chase, and Korda did exactly that.
But Europe had already established the momentum they needed.
Woad delivers when it matters
As the afternoon moved towards its conclusion, the focus increasingly fell on the later matches and the question of who would deliver the point that Europe needed.
Woad had been one of Nordqvist’s most intriguing selections all week. The rookie had repeatedly produced good golf without receiving the points she might have expected from it, but the European captain had retained her faith.
That faith was repaid when it mattered most.
Woad kept her composure through Kim’s late charge and completed her 2&1 victory on the 17th. She knew she had won her own match; what she did not initially appreciate was that the putt had also put Europe beyond the USA’s reach.
For Nordqvist, it provided one of the most emotional moments of a week that has come only a fortnight after announcing her retirement from competitive golf.
The captain revealed afterwards that both Hull and Woad had been among the leading birdie-makers of the week despite their relatively modest points returns. Sending Hull first and retaining faith in Woad had therefore been based on the golf she was seeing rather than simply the scoreboard.
To see Woad ultimately hole the winning putt was a moment Nordqvist said she would never forget.
Ciganda completes the job
There was still another European story unfolding immediately behind her.
Ciganda had gone into the final day facing Kupcho, the American whose extraordinary putts on the 17th and 18th on Saturday had completed the USA’s comeback to 8–8.
The Spaniard admitted that Saturday’s finish had provided some additional motivation. She knew how dangerous Kupcho could be and was determined not to allow her an opportunity to establish herself in their singles match.
“I was, like, just don’t give her anything,” Ciganda said. “Because I know if I can get a couple up at the beginning, it’s going to be tough for her to fight back.”
She did exactly that, establishing the advantage she wanted and then producing another of those characteristically combative Solheim Cup performances to put the trophy emphatically back into European hands.
Ciganda described Europe as a complete unit and paid tribute to Nordqvist, a friend and rival she has known for more than 20 years. “That’s what Europe is about,” she said.
A winning captain at the end of a long road
For Nordqvist, the victory provides an extraordinary conclusion to a remarkable few weeks.
The three-time major champion announced her retirement only shortly before arriving at Bernardus and admitted that combining the end of her playing career with the demands of captaincy had taken an emotional toll. But after Saturday ended 8–8, Nordqvist sensed a team that was ready rather than deflated.
“Leaving the course yesterday, we were really excited for coming here today,” she said. “And, wow, was I impressed with every single player and caddie showing up to that first tee ready to play.”
Europe’s fast start reinforced that belief. Nordqvist spoke afterwards of seeing “a lot of blue early on the board” and praised her players for starting strongly and finishing in the same manner.
Stanford was equally generous in defeat. The US captain felt her team had done much right during the week and had fought hard, but acknowledged that Europe had simply produced the better golf when the Solheim Cup was there to be won.
“The Europeans played great today,” she said. “Their backs were against the wall, they had nothing to lose, and that’s exactly what they did. They came out and played well.”
After Friday ended 4–4 and Saturday finished 8–8, it took until the final session for either team finally to establish a decisive advantage.
Europe found it when it mattered most.
Hull gave them the start. The blue spread across the scoreboard. Woad supplied the winning putt. Ciganda added the exclamation mark.
And after three compelling days at Bernardus, the Solheim Cup belongs to Europe again.
The next edition of the Solheim Cup will be in 2028 and take place at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky from September 8-10.
That’s a wrap on the Solheim Cup but if you’re just catching up – Solheim Cup News
