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Top-ranked Nelly Korda and American teammate Allisen Corpuz will face Europeans Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit in foursomes Friday morning to open the 19th Solheim Cup, according to the pairings revealed Thursday.
Korda, a six-time LPGA champion this season, won twice in foursomes with Corpuz last year while Germany’s Henseleit, a Paris Olympic runner-up, is a rookie for defending champion Europe at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
“I wanted to share my experience with them first and no one would be better placed than the world number one and a duo that had a lot of success last year,” said U.S. captain Stacy Lewis. “They’re very comfortable together, so I have a lot of confidence in them.”
Norway’s European captain Suzann Pettersen combined with newcomer Henseleit and eighth-placed FA Cup holders Hull to provide the spark needed.
“They’re good friends and they get along really well,” Pettersen said. “It’s nice to see Charley go. She doesn’t like to sit around and wait.”
“It’s great to see everyone jump in, especially the newbies. They have no reason to sit around and wonder what it’s going to be like. Let’s just get them out there and let them have that experience.”
Other foursomes matches in the opening session will see France’s Celine Boutier and Swiss rookie Albane Valenzuela take on Americans Rose Zhang and rookie Lauren Coughlin; Denmark’s Emily Pedersen and Sweden’s Maja Stark take on Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho; and Sweden’s Linn Grant with Spain’s Carlota Ciganda taking on second-ranked Lilia Vu and rookie Sarah Schmelzel.
The Americans lead the rivalry 10-7 with one tie, but Europe has won the trophy three straight times, including as defending champions after last year’s 14-14 draw in Spain.
The Americans, who have not won since 2017, went 4-0 in the first foursomes session last year.
“It was a tough start,” Pettersen said. “Sometimes you can play good golf and still lose. You can literally get outplayed.”
Pettersen combined statistics and instinct to choose his pairings with minimal player intervention.
“You want to know what they think, and at the same time, you can’t please everybody,” Pettersen said. “We have a lot of statistics that help us set guidelines and we kind of get a blueprint.”
“But at the same time, you have to look at the course, trust your instincts.”
Leona Maguire, who has won seven and drawn one in her previous two World Cups, was a tough choice to make. She will not be taking part in a session for the first time.
“She has a great track record and she’s a fiery Solheim player,” Pettersen said. “You’ll see her, but it’s just the way it all came together.”
– “It’s a puzzle” –
Lewis solicited feedback and ironed out issues such as the various ball brand sponsorship deals, but used statistics to unite Zhang and Coughlin, who “came out of the computer but I love the energy,” she said.
“It was a two-way street. I put us at a starting point and we went from there… it’s a lot. It’s a puzzle.”
Lewis benched Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang, who won two foursomes matches last year.
“It’s mostly because we’ve got a lot of good players,” Lewis said. “I don’t think I’d play anyone at five. It’s just a matter of combinations and how they’ve worked.”
Lewis also said she wanted her recruits to leave quickly.
“They’ve been ready to play since Monday,” she said. “We’re just trying to calm them down and keep their energy level up.”
Kupcho and Ewing are reunited after their runner-up finish at the LPGA pairs event in June.
“It was definitely them more than me,” Lewis said. “I was excited when they came to me and said we were going to try this duo. I thought they would be great for an alternate plan.”
Kupcho said trust with Ewing was key.
“We get along very well. We also have a lot of trust in each other’s game, maybe more than our own,” Kupcho said.
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