The United States survived a remarkable final-day fightback from Europe to win the 2026 PING Junior Solheim Cup 13-11 at Bernardus, after an extraordinary singles session transformed what had looked like a runaway American victory.
Morgan Pressel’s talented US team had one hand on the trophy after a dominant opening day, taking the foursomes 5-1 and fourballs 4½-1½ to establish a commanding 9½-2½ lead.
They ultimately needed every bit of that advantage.
Europe came out fighting in Tuesday’s singles and won the session 8½-3½, the highest singles points total ever recorded by a European team in the PING Junior Solheim Cup. For much of the afternoon, blue flooded the scoreboard and what had appeared an almost impossible seven-point deficit began to look considerably less secure.
The Americans nevertheless found the points that mattered. Eliana Saga beat Adriana García Terol 4&3, Madeleine Conser produced five consecutive birdies in a 5&4 victory over Lana Guyot and 14-year-old Kelly Zhang defeated Carolina Pérez-Tasso 2 up to ensure the trophy remained in US hands.
Pressel, herself a former PING Junior Solheim Cup player who went on to make four senior appearances for the USA, was understandably proud of a team that had played some exceptional golf across the two days.
“We were absolutely clutch yesterday, especially winning 18 three times in the morning session,” she said. “Europe played some incredible golf throughout, and I knew they would come out hard today.”
Peaford sparks the European charge
If the USA’s opening day provided the foundation for victory, Annabel Peaford provided the spark for Europe’s response.
The English player faced one of the toughest assignments of the singles, going out first against Asterisk Talley, the reigning US Women’s Amateur champion and world No.6 amateur.
Two down with three holes remaining, Peaford produced a superb finish to turn the match around and win 1 up.
It set the tone.
Lauren Crump, Anna Ludvová, Lena Geier, Sofia Maier-Borst, Axelle Guillemard, Carlota López Minguela and Alice Kong also recorded European victories, while Marta Muñoz added a half point.
Suddenly a match that had looked all but over on Monday evening had become a contest.
European captain Anne van Dam had told her players simply to keep fighting.
“They gave themselves a chance which no one thought possible at the start of the day,” she said afterwards. “It started with Annabel winning a brilliant point against Asterisk and all day there was so much blue on the board and it gave everyone such a boost.”
Later, as she moved almost immediately from captaining the juniors to her role as one of Anna Nordqvist’s senior European vice-captains, Van Dam reflected on the lesson the day had provided.
Her message to the players had been to “fight for every shot”, knowing that however daunting the scoreboard looked, there were still enough points available to change the match.
Europe ultimately ran out of matches, but they had come remarkably close.
A first at Bernardus
The American victory completed a historic edition of the PING Junior Solheim Cup. For the first time, the junior match has been staged on the same course and during the same week as the Solheim Cup itself.
That means 24 of the best young golfers from Europe and the USA have competed on the same Bernardus stage that Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, Rose Zhang, Lottie Woad and their teammates will take over when the senior match begins on Friday.
The pathway between the two competitions is already well established. Korda, Hull and Carlota Ciganda are among the many players who represented their continent in the junior event before graduating to the Solheim Cup.
For the 2026 US juniors, the week ends with the trophy held aloft.
For Europe, defeat came with considerable consolation. From 9½-2½ down, they turned the final day into a contest that went far deeper than anyone could have expected.
And for the senior teams watching what unfolded at Bernardus, the first match of Solheim Cup week has already delivered a reminder of just how quickly momentum can change in match play.
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