CROMVOIRT, Netherlands — Europe won the Solheim Cup for the ninth time after beating the United States on Sunday at Bernardus Golf.
With Spaniard Carlota Ciganda guaranteed half a point in her match, the winning moment fell to Solheim Cup rookie and breakout LPGA star Lottie Woad, who put Europe 14-10 up in her match against Auston Kim on the 17th green.
Captain Anna Nordqvist and nearly all of Team Europe raced toward the Englishwoman, who was unaware her point had just guaranteed victory.
In the first two days of this Solheim Cup, Woad had picked up only half a point in four matches together with Charley Hull. The partnership, which felt like a bold move from Nordqvist as they were the top-ranked players in the squad, failed to pay off. But it ultimately did not change the outcome for Europe, as Hull got a blue wave started on the scoreboard and Woad finished the job.
Ciganda won her match 4&2 over Jennifer Kupcho to officially clinch the Cup.
Hull, the world No. 8, in her eighth Solheim appearance, was sent out first by Nordqvist. Hull made sure she was back first, too, as her match finished 3&2 against Megan Khang.
Swede Linn Grant did not let her unbeaten streak slip as she went 4&3 against Angel Yin to make it 10-8 to Europe and 4-0-0 for the weekend.
But the U.S. responded with a phenomenal comeback from Alison Lee, who was 4 down through nine holes but came back to beat German Esther Henseleit. Lee, the only U.S. player to have been part of an away win in Germany in 2015, had five birdies in the last seven holes.
It was world No. 1 Nelly Korda against Solheim rookie Mimi Rhodes, a player ranked 106 places beneath her. Korda produced her first singles win at the Solheim Cup since 2021 to draw the teams level at 10-10.
Lottie Woad celebrates after a made putt. (Kate McShane / Getty Images)
Frenchwoman Nastasia Nadaud edged Europe back in front with a 3&2 win over Andrea Lee. Then came the turn of Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 2&1 over Allisen Corpuz. Spanish rookie Julia López Ramírez raised her arms after beating Yealimi Noh, one of the weekend’s in-form players, to put Europe 1.5 points from glory.
Woad was 4 up after the front nine but had to stave off a Kim comeback on the back nine. Kim missed her putt on the 17th, and Woad made par to make history. It was up to Ciganda to bring it home officially for Europe after a tense three-day scrap between Nordqvist’s and U.S. captain Angela Stanford’s respective teams.
For the first time in Solheim Cup history, the two teams could not be separated in either session on Day 1. The morning foursomes ended 2-2 as did the afternoon four-balls. Ciganda, playing in her eighth Solheim, produced an incredible rescue mission on the final hole against Korda and Lauren Coughlin. Her putt from 15 feet stole a half-point for Europe as Day 1 ended in a 4-4 deadlock.
On Day 2, the morning session saw Europe take an overall lead after the foursomes finished 3-1. Stanford’s team responded with a 3-1 win later in the day in the four-ball session. Kupcho stole the momentum for the U.S. as she hit a putt of 92 feet on the 17th and then backed that up with a 29-footer on the 18th, needing both to get the half-point.
There were cries of “vamos” from Kupcho, a slight dig at the European crowd, and Ciganda, who screamed that when she earned her half-point the evening prior. Chants of Olé, Olé, Olé echoed around the course as Nordqvist’s team made sure the Solheim Cup stayed on European soil.
The United States won the cup in 2024, after Europe had held it since 2019.