Gainesville (United States) (AFP) – Falling behind 6-2 after Friday’s opening day of the Solheim Cup has left Europe in fightback mode and captain Suzann Pettersen searching for answers and words to inspire. The Americans matched their biggest lead through eight matches in the women’s team golf showdown, hungry to win for the first time since 2017.
“We have a massive job ahead of us,” Europe captain Suzann Pettersen said. “That’s what we’ve got to face. Come back tomorrow morning ready to fight again.” Saturday’s morning foursomes pairings will send Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Dane Emily Pedersen against top-ranked Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz, followed by England’s Charley Hull and Germany’s Esther Henseleit against Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing. Sweden’s Maja Stark and England’s Georgia Hall will meet Lexi Thompson and Lauren Coughlin, while France’s Celine Boutier and Swede Anna Nordqvist face Lilia Vu and Sarah Schmelzel.
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“They will have to go to bed tonight feeling that they want revenge,” Pettersen said of her team. “I’ve got to dig deep to find the right words to get them going, to get them really motivated. But I will. Don’t worry.” Pettersen, a two-time major winner from Norway, notes her team rallied from 4-0 down after foursomes last year in Spain for a 14-14 draw that gave them the Cup for a third consecutive time.
“We picked ourselves up nicely after last year, which took a lot. We have a big task ahead of us,” she said. “We’ve got to come out hungry. Everything’s possible. Last year was a good example. It took a lot out of us to get the job done from where we started, but there are so many points left to play for. We’ve got to put it behind us and try to really roll up our sleeves and see what we can create of finding the extra kind of power in you, because this has got to come from the players themselves.”
Pettersen said her side didn’t play badly, but were mostly outplayed by the Americans. “We gave it a good effort,” said Pettersen. “The Americans played great. They had all the putts rolling their way. I just don’t feel like we’ve had any momentum. We’ve played decent. Haven’t made any putts. They’ve been making putts, kind of hitting it good, hitting it close, hitting the right shots at the right moment. I don’t feel like we’re playing poorly, so that’s a good thing, but to find the right combo, I didn’t get any luck with that today. We’ll just have to tighten up the game plan, be even sharper, and come out hungry as ever.”
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