Lilia Vu’s closing birdie puts away Europe as the US wins its first Solheim Cup since 2017

Megan Khang, Rose Zhang and Allisen Corpuz moved the U.S. to the brink of victory with blowout wins, and the Americans got just enough from the back half of their lineup to prevent Europe from capturing the cup for a record fourth straight time.

The final score: United States 15 1/2, Europe 12 1/2, the biggest margin since the Americans won by five points seven years ago in Iowa.

Europe fell behind 6-2 on the first day and trailed 10-6 entering singles. Captain Suzann Pettersen said her team needed a “miracle,” and while that never appeared likely, the Europeans kept it interesting, denying the Americans the clinching point on the 18th hole in three straight matches.

It finally ended when Vu stuffed a wedge in close at the par-4 18th and Albane Valenzuela came up short on her long birdie putt. Valenzuela did not concede Vu’s birdie, giving the American the chance to savor the tap-in that tied their match and gave the Americans the 14 1/2 points they needed.

The U.S. improved its overall record to 11-7-1 in the competition that began in 1990 with financial backing from Ping golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim and his wife, Louise.

The win was validation for the steady, data-driven approach of U.S. captain Stacy Lewis, who made “Unfinished Business” her team’s motto for this year after Europe retained the cup last year with a 14-14 draw in Spain.

During a week of perfect weather at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club — a sprawling lakeside venue about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C., that has hosted four Presidents Cups — the Americans were a little bit better than the Europeans in every phase.

Lewis got standout performances from top-ranked Nelly Korda, 21-year-old Zhang, 31-year-old rookie Lauren Coughlin and veteran spark plug Khang.

Zhang, the best putter on either team this week, breezed past Carlota Ciganda 6 and 4. She became the first player in Solheim history to go 4-0 or better and never reach the 17th hole. She won 28 holes and lost eight for the week.

“I just feel like the Solheim Cup reignited my passion for the game,” Zhang said. “We’ve been having so much fun, not only off the golf course but even on it. It’s just been an incredible ride.”

Zhang’s win put the 13th American point on the board. After that, the U.S. played for nearly an hour without leading any of the final seven matches.

But the Europeans still had little margin for error. Esther Henseleit had a chance to beat Andrea Lee on the 18th hole but left her birdie putt short, and Lee made a 4-footer for par to give the U.S. a half-point in the first tied match of the week.

That put Lexi Thompson in position to secure the winning point in her final Solheim Cup as a player, but she was denied by Celine Boutier, who hit her approach to 6 feet on the par-4 18th for birdie and a 1-up win.

Coughlin, playing in her home state, came up short on a birdie putt to win the cup, and Maja Stark made par from about 12 feet to tie their match and keep hope alive for Europe.

Then it came down to Vu, No. 2 in the women’s world ranking, who hit a pure drive down the middle of the 406-yard 18th to set up her short approach that settled next to the hole. Vu had a quiet first two days, going 1-2 in team matches.

Charley Hull dusted Korda in a flashy leadoff match, making three straight birdies early on the back nine — a stretch of holes that Korda had dominated while going 3-0 in team matches — to build a 5 up lead.

She closed out Korda with an approach on the par-5 14th hole that rode a ridge, slowed to a near stop in the fringe at the back of the green and trickled down a slope to 2 feet for a conceded eagle and a 6 and 4 win.

“I know I have what it takes to play Nelly,” Hull said.

That got Europe within 10-7, but the gap was bigger than it appeared.

A few minutes later, Khang finished off an exhausted Emily Pedersen, 6 and 5. Khang went 3-0 this week when she wasn’t hyping up the crowd and her teammates, while Pedersen played every session and went 2-3.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting the crowd very much involved. My voice can clearly be the victim of that,” Khang said. “But I’d do it a million times over.”

Lewis and Pettersen repeated as captains with the cup staged in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002-03. The move got the Solheim Cup away from the Ryder Cup following a pandemic-driven postponement of the men’s team competition.

The next task for the Americans will be to try to win on European soil for the first time since 2015 in Germany. The Netherlands will host the 2026 edition.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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