THE HAGUE — World No. 1 Nelly Korda and partner Allisen Corpuz notched a record fifth straight Solheim Cup win as a pairing, as the US and Europe shared the spoils in Friday’s first session.
The early foursomes saw Korda and Corpuz — unbeaten in the Solheim Cup — take on the top-ranked Europeans Charley Hull and Lottie Woad in a mouthwatering first pairing.
Woad, playing in her inaugural Solheim Cup, gave the raucous crowd plenty to cheer as she drained her first putt to put the Europeans in the box seat.
But the Americans hit back the very next hole, and an exquisite Corpuz chip on the fifth handed them the lead for the first time.
Korda holed a medium-range putt to go two up at the sixth, and the pressure appeared to be telling on the Europeans, as Hull hooked her next tee shot wildly into the rough, resulting in another hole for the US.
The Americans seized a five-hole lead with five to play at the 13th, as Woad and Hull again failed to rescue the situation from the rough.
A nerveless putt by Hull on the 14th clawed back a hole, but it was merely delaying the inevitable, as Corpuz rolled in a tap-in to take the match-up 4&3.
The fifth win for Korda and Corpuz tied the record for points as a pairing previously held by Europe’s Alison Nicholas and Solheim Cup legend Laura Davies.
They are the first in Solheim Cup history to win five matches in a row.
“I always make the joke to Nelly that it’s so nice to be 30 yards ahead of where I would be on my own drive. It makes the hole so much easier,” said Corpuz, in reference to Korda’s driving ability.
“There’s still a lot of work to do, but it’s nice to see some red on the leaderboard,” said Korda.
Behind them, the US pairing of Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin never looked in difficulty against Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Celine Boutier, taking the match 3&2. AFP
