Solheim Cup Day 1 Recap

It was rockin and rollin by 6am and the good times on the first tee didn’t let up until the final pairing teed off in the first session of the 2026 Solheim Cup. The Europeans love this event and turned out in full voice and costume to fill the first tee grandstands with plenty of noise and colour (mainly yellow and blue).

View of the 1st tee from the media area

The star of the show was Dutchwomen and vice-captain of the European Team Ann Van Dam, who led the crowd in the famous Dutch ‘Links Rechts’ (Left Right) often performed by Dutch football fans.

Anne van Dam leading the crowd

At some point of the morning the golf interfered with the party and the Solheim Cup was underway. Team USA and Team Europe finished the opening foursomes session locked at 2-2, setting up a tightly poised afternoon of fourball.

In the first match out world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz dismantled Charley Hull and rookie Lottie Woad 4&3, a result that extended the American pair's unbeaten foursomes record to 5-0 together — a new Solheim Cup mark for most consecutive wins by a pairing. USA doubled their advantage in the second match, with Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin accounting for Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Celine Boutier 3&2.

Europe hit back in the bottom two matches. Esther Henseleit and Leona Maguire won Europe’s first point against Andrea Lee and Lindy Duncan, winning 2up on the 18th green. Maja Stark and Linn Grant were the more clinical of the home pairings, never looking challenged, closing out Rose Zhang and Jennifer Kupcho 3&2.

It left the session honours shared, with USA captain Angela Stanford and Europe's Anna Nordqvist each taking two points into the afternoon. Mimi Rhodes was among four Europeans held back from the opening session, alongside Carlota Ciganda, Nastasia Nadaud and Julia López Ramírez.

The afternoon session proved just as tight, with the two sides again sharing the four points to leave Friday's overall score locked at 4-4. Interestingly Europe Captain Anna Norquist put her two losing teams from the morning back out again in the afternoon.

Rookie pairing Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud delivered the standout result of the day for the home side, seeing off Allisen Corpuz and Auston Kim 2&1. It was a statement win — Corpuz had been the standout performer of the morning, part of the record-breaking 5-0 foursomes pairing with Korda — and Rhodes's and Nadoud’s full point in just their first match of the week will be one of the more significant contributions of the opening day.

Image courtesy of LET

USA's best result came from Megan Khang and Alison Lee, who ran out 5&3 winners over Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Celine Boutier, Khang extending her personal Solheim Cup winning streak to nine matches. The two remaining matches went the distance and were shared.

Charley Hull and Lottie Woad halved with Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin after both sides parred the 18th, while Carlota Ciganda produced the moment of the afternoon, rolling in a pressure-filled par putt from 18 feet on the last to snatch a half against Korda and Coughlin and deny the Americans a fourth point.

So, by the end of a long day, it was 4-4 on the scoreboard, and every player had played at least one match. Europe has decided to go with strength in Session three on Saturday morning putting out the winning combinations from day 1. Stark & Grant, Maguire & Henseleit, Rhodes & Nadoud, and Hull and Woad.

What a day of golf and entertainment. The crowds did not stop singing and chanting after the first hole. The grandstands were full and the noise and cheers could be heard across the course. It resembled a cross between LIV Golf and an English football game. Whether the crowds can sustain it over the next two days is yet to be seen. The golf started at 7.40am and finished just before 7.30pm 12 hours later. A long but fulfilling day.