The Solheim Cup will go into Sunday’s singles locked at 8–8 after the USA wiped out Europe’s lunchtime advantage with a superb afternoon fightback at Bernardus – capped by a phenomenal putt from Jennifer Kupcho on the 17th.
The Solheim Cup will go into Sunday’s singles locked at 8–8 after the USA wiped out Europe’s lunchtime advantage with a stirring afternoon fightback at Bernardus, capped by an extraordinary putt from Jennifer Kupcho on the 17th.
For a few hours on Saturday, it seemed Europe might finally have found a way to put some distance between themselves and the USA. By the time the last players walked off the course at Bernardus, the scoreboard was level again and the momentum had swung emphatically back towards the defending champions.
It had been a very different story during the morning. With the match tied at 4–4 overnight, Europe produced their strongest session of the week to win the foursomes 3–1 and establish the first two-point advantage of a contest in which neither side had previously managed to pull away.
There was plenty for Anna Nordqvist to like. Maja Stark and Linn Grant took on Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, previously unbeaten together in the Solheim Cup, and beat them 3&2. Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud continued their remarkable introduction to the competition with a second victory in as many matches, while Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit again found a way through a much tighter contest to collect their second point together.
Only Charley Hull and Lottie Woad were unable to contribute as Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin delivered the USA’s solitary morning point with an emphatic 6&5 victory. Even then, Europe went into lunch 7–5 ahead and with the feeling around Bernardus markedly different from the stalemate of Friday.
The question was whether they could build on it.
Angela Stanford’s answer was to change things. The US captain broke up all four of the combinations she had used in Friday’s fourballs and sent out four new partnerships for the final team session. It was a significant reshuffle, but one that ultimately changed the direction of the day.
Europe’s advantage began to disappear as the afternoon unfolded. The Americans found the response they had repeatedly threatened during the opening day, and a scoreboard that had looked increasingly encouraging for the hosts began to tighten. Instead of taking a meaningful cushion into the singles, Europe found themselves being dragged back into a contest that Stanford’s players simply refused to allow to get away from them.
By the closing holes, every half point felt capable of altering not only the score but the mood with which the teams would leave Bernardus.
And then Jennifer Kupcho produced the moment that seemed to capture the entire American fightback.
The putt that changed the mood
For all the swings across two compelling days at Bernardus, it was Jennifer Kupcho who provided the moment that may yet come to define this Solheim Cup.
Europe had gone into Saturday afternoon 7–5 ahead after producing their strongest session of the week in the morning foursomes. For the first time, Anna Nordqvist’s side had created some daylight on the scoreboard and, with just four fourballs standing between them and Sunday’s singles, there was an opportunity to turn that advantage into something more substantial.
Instead, the Americans came back at them.
Angela Stanford had changed all four of the partnerships she used in Friday’s fourballs and the response was exactly what the US captain needed. As the afternoon unfolded, Europe’s advantage began to disappear and the final match, with Kupcho and Lindy Duncan facing Carlota Ciganda and Céline Boutier, assumed ever greater significance.
Then came the 17th.
Kupcho stood over a putt from 93 feet and somehow found the bottom of the cup. A hole later she did it again, producing another huge putt on the 18th to complete an extraordinary finish and help drag the USA all the way back to 8–8.
"Take a bow, Jennifer Kupcho" 👏
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 12, 2026
Putts don't get more clutch than that! 🥶 pic.twitter.com/ilYp8FjMd5
Her extraordinary putt from 93 feet on the 17th was followed by another huge birdie on 18 as she and Lindy Duncan snatched the final match – a finish US captain Angela Stanford said “absolutely turned our tide”.
Nor could Nordqvist find much fault with what Europe had done. “How many times out of ten do you make that putt?” she said of the 17th. “It’s an unbelievable putt she made on 17 and even the putt she made on 18, so you can’t really do anything about it.”
That perhaps explains why 8–8 feels rather different for the two teams.
Europe have plenty to take from Saturday. Stark and Grant ended the previously unbeaten Solheim Cup partnership of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, the European rookies continued to impress and Nordqvist’s team had been good enough to establish a two-point lead. But the last significant movement of Day Two belonged unmistakably to the Americans.
Stanford described Kupcho as a “fighter”, pointing not only to the two putts but to the way she had responded after a difficult couple of days. More importantly, the rest of the US team witnessed it. “They knew it,” Stanford said of Kupcho’s resilience, “but then when you see it… it’s awesome.”
Saturday afternoon fourballs — Europe 1–3 USA
- Maja Stark & Linn Grant beat Megan Khang & Lauren Coughlin 2&1
- Yealimi Noh & Andrea Lee beat Charley Hull & Lottie Woad 1UP
- Rose Zhang & Auston Kim beat Leona Maguire & Nastasia Nadaud 3&2
- Jennifer Kupcho & Lindy Duncan beat Carlota Ciganda & Céline Boutier 1UP
After 16 matches: Europe 8–8 USA
The USA need six points from Sunday’s 12 singles to retain the Cup; Europe need 6½ points to win it outright.
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