Leona Maguire hasn’t arrived well at the Solheim Cup. A setback for Europe. At least, that’s what Suzann Pettersen and her team think. The Irishwoman won the Aramco Team Series in London two months ago. She also reached the final in the only match play tournament played on the LPGA, which took place in April. Beyond that, it’s true that she hasn’t added any more top 10s throughout the year. So far, Maguire has been the best golfer in Europe at the Solheim. That’s what the numbers say. However, in Virginia she’s only going to play one point before the singles.
It’s the big surprise of the afternoon pairings. Neither Maguire nor Valenzuela are going to play. Two European golfers will reach the singles, which are obviously going to be crucial for Europe, with only one point played and confidence shaken. Pettersen’s decision. Surely, the Norwegian will try to motivate them precisely with that: it’s time to get over it and prove that I was wrong. It’s her style.
The other big novelty of the afternoon duels, where Europe needs to win to be less than four points behind the Americans at the twelve individual duels, is that Nelly Korda is not playing. Rest for the best player in the world. Also for the first time Lauren Coughlin. Unlike Europe, no golfer from the United States will have played the five points at the end of this Solheim. In Europe, Charley Hull and Emily Pedersen will play the five points, while Maja Stark is resting this afternoon for the first time.
So, the pairings are as follows:
Nordqvist-Sagstrom Vs. Alison Lee-Khang
Grant-Boutier Vs. Andrea Lee-Rose Zhang
Ciganda-Pedersen Vs. Lexi-Ewing
Hull-Hall Vs. Corpuz-Vu
