There’s a fresh zephyr in the sails of Team USA at the Solheim Cup, as they wrapped up the first day with a roaring 6-2 lead over Team Europe, a scoreline we haven’t seen echoed since the backspin days of 1990.
Back then, it was the same numerics at the table, setting the stage for what became a historic stride in Solheim narratives.
This year’s chapter, inked on the lush greens, sees the Americans not just matching but making history, with a dominant performance that tips a hat to the days when Walkmans and Perms were all the rage.
Unlike any other year under the current Solheim Cup format, the U.S. team managed to clinch this sizable lead by the end of Day 1—a first that surely had the galleries buzzing.
The echoes of 1998 rang loud as well, marking the last time the U.S. won every session of Day 1, a feat they’ve replicated with flair this time around. It seems the stars were out, and not just in the sky, as Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang, Sarah Schmelzel, and Lauren Coughlin stood tall, each with a pristine 2-0-0 record after Day 1. Not just on the scoreboard, these four have etched their names in the annals as the first quartet from either side to win two matches on the opening day.
Highlights? Oh, there were a few. The afternoon saw some matches wrapping up quicker than a summer rain, with Korda and Megan Khang notching a win at 6 and 4, and Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom delivering a 6 and 5 triumph, a scoreline that mirrored a powerful precedent set back in 1990.
Korda, in a league of her own, also made a standout mark by winning the most holes in a single day of the Solheim since 2015.
She swept all eight par 5s—a feat last seen when Mel Reid did her magic on six consecutive par 5s back in 2015.
Meanwhile, rookies Schmelzel and Coughlin have not just played; they’ve dazzled, standing undefeated and marking the first time since Danielle Kang in 2017 that U.S. rookies have stormed through Day 1 without a blemish.
And while the Stanford alumni, Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee, didn’t mirror last year’s results, their shared past brought a unique tint to the green—an alma mater bond that has been a rare sight since Ohio State’s Rosie Jones and Meg Mallon teamed up.
As for Team Europe, while they trail, history whispers that it’s not over till it’s over. Anna Nordqvist, playing in her 32nd Solheim match, still carries the torch for the Swedes, her experience almost as rich as the legacy of Annika Sorenstam.
As we tee up for Day 2, the leaderboard tells not just of scores, but of stories, strategies, and perhaps, the setting up of new legends.
Could the U.S. maintain this lead, or will Europe swing back? Time, as always, will tell.
