Mark SchlabachESPN Senior Writer3 Minute Reading
ANDALUCIA, Spain — Nelly Korda entered this week’s Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin wondering who she would play alternate-shot matches with because her older sister, Jessica, was not on the US team.
The Korda brothers proved to be a formidable duo in Nelly’s first two Solheim Cups, combining to go 2-1 in four matches in 2019 and 2021. Nelly may have found a suitable substitute for US Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz.
Korda and Corpuz produced a 5-and-3 victory over England’s Georgia Hall and France’s Celine Boutier on Saturday morning, helping the US maintain a 7-5 lead over the Europeans. This is the second game won by Korda and Corpuz in two days.
“Allisen and I have been playing really well the last two days,” Korda said. “I think we just bonded really well on the golf course. We didn’t make too many mistakes, especially today, and we rolled in a lot of putts.”
Jessica Korda, who is five years older than her sister, left the game in May due to a back injury. She announced in August that she is expecting her first child.
Corpuz claimed her first victory on the LPGA Tour by winning the first US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California in June. He was a Solheim Cup rookie, so having Korda as a teammate helped calm his nerves.
“I think Nelly is calm, which is what I need,” Corpuz said. “I’m playing [with] relatively low energy. Apparently he also has experience. So knowing that I have someone like him by my side really helps me feel comfortable.”
The Europeans took the first point of the Saturday morning session when Emily K. Pedersen of Denmark and Carlota Ciganda of Spain defeated Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho 2 and 1 to cut the Americans’ lead to 5. -4. The US duo took the Nos. 7 and 8 to make the turn all square, but the Europeans won three holes on the back nine to capture the match.
“I think it’s important because you don’t want to give too much to the American people,” Ciganda said. “I mean, they’re tough to beat. They’re really strong, and they’re really good. We can do it, but we have to play good golf and we have to be very present, and hopefully that will be enough.”
It didn’t take long for the US to regain momentum. Korda and Corpuz put the finishing touches on their dominant streak to give the US a 6-4 lead. Then Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang pulled away from Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist and Ireland’s Leona Maguire for a 1-up win and another US point.
Both Khang and Thompson were 2 down after seven holes but tied the match and went 1 up after the Europeans carded three consecutive bogeys. The European pair birdied the par-4 15th hole to tie the match again. On the par-3 17th, the Americans went 1-up at one par, after the Europeans made a big mistake and settled for a bogey.
Europe stayed within two points after Sweden’s Linn Grant and Maja Stark defeated Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee 1 in the final match. Stark made a long putt on No. 17 to put the Europeans ahead, and then Grant made a similar putt on No. 18 to end the game.
The teams will play four four-ball (best ball) matches on Saturday afternoon, followed by 12 head-to-head singles matches on Sunday. Europe maintained the Solheim Cup by reaching 14 points while the US needed 14½ points.