Americans keep rolling, on track to regain Solheim Cup
Alison Lee has sparked a shirtless caddie celebration by spinning a wedge into the cup for eagle. Andrea Lee holed a bunker shot to set up Rose Zhang's walk-off eagle one hole later. And Megan Khang paused for 10 seconds to let gravity help her out on a critical birdie putt.
The wait was worth it for the United States, who maintained a four-point lead over Europe in the Solheim Cup on Saturday.
With top-ranked Nelly Korda getting an afternoon break after winning the lead-off point in three consecutive sessions of team matches, US captain Stacy Lewis watched her role players excel, and the Americans concluded a warm, breezy late-summer day at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club with a 10-6 advantage.
Europe, who have captured the Solheim Cup the last three times, won the last two matches to conclude a 4-4 day. But the team in royal blue and yellow will need their largest comeback in Sunday singles to make it a record four in a row. The US rallied from four points down to win in Germany in 2015.
Korda and Allisen Corpuz fell behind early against Carlota Ciganda and Emily Pedersen but turned it around on the back nine and got a break when Corpuz hit a worm-burner of a fairway wood into the par-5 14th hole that avoided the water and settled within 20 feet.
Korda holed the putt for eagle and she and Corpuz became the first American duo to go 4-0 in foursomes after winning twice last year in Spain.
"The Americans have played unbelievable. I don't know how many eagles they've had. It seems like they've had double figures," Hall of Famer and European assistant captain Laura Davies said.
"They've just played great golf. Out-putted us at the moment. Deep squad of players. We'll never say never, but it is going to be very, very difficult to get the cup back."
In the first afternoon better-ball match, Khang and Alison Lee closed it out on the 15th hole, 4 and 3, for Lee's first Solheim Cup match victory since 2015.
Zhang and Andrea Lee never trailed in their 6-and-4 victory over Linn Grant and Celine Boutier. Zhang, the youngest US player at 21, joined Korda and Lauren Coughlin by winning all three of her matches.
Europe captain Suzann Pettersen benched Leona Maguire for both sessions. Rookie Albane Valenzuela also sat out all day, while Charley Hull and Pedersen played four matches each.
Hull delivered, hitting a 300-yard-plus drive on the par-4 18th to set up a wedge to tap-in range by Esther Henseleit for a 1-up victory in foursomes over Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho, then did it again as she and Georgia Hall beat Corpuz and Lilia Vu 2 up in better ball.
Lexi Thompson teamed with Coughlin to beat Maja Stark and Hall, 4 and 3. Thompson and Ewing were beaten 2 and 1 by Ciganda and Pedersen in fourballs.