Carlota Ciganda produced a dramatic par save on the final hole to leave Team Europe tied 4-4 with Team USA after the opening day of the 2026 Solheim Cup at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. It is only the second time in the competition's history that the two sides have been level after day one.
Ciganda and rookie partner Julia Lopez Ramirez scrambled a half-point against world No 1 Nelly Korda and Lauren Coughlin, with Ciganda holing a 15-foot par putt on the 18th green after two wayward shots to spark celebrations from the European team. Both teams had already shared the spoils in the morning foursomes before splitting the afternoon fourballs session again, meaning Angela Stanford's American side were unable to convert a lead they had held for much of the day.
"I think not losing today is important," Ciganda said. "It's 4-4 for the day, so big momentum going into tomorrow. Hopefully we can take that into tomorrow's foursomes and win both the morning and afternoon sides."
The Solheim Cup is the biennial team event between the leading female golfers of Europe and the United States, and Bernardus Golf is hosting this year's edition. Anna Nordqvist captains the European side, with Stanford leading the Americans.
Hull and Woad let a big lead slip
Charley Hull and Lottie Woad were Europe's leading pair on paper but managed only half a point from their two matches together on the opening day. In the afternoon fourballs, Woad birdied three consecutive holes from the third after Yealimi Noh had birdied the opening hole, and Hull drained a long-range birdie at the sixth to put the pair three clear. Team USA won the next two holes before Woad made an eagle at the par-five 10th and Hull won the next, moving Hull and Woad three up with seven holes to play.
Noh and Angel Yin then fought back. Noh holed a 12-footer at the 12th to begin a run of birdies and narrowly missed a hole-in-one at the par-three 15th, before a clutch birdie at the 17th set up a half after she matched Hull's par at the last.
"It was a very good match," Woad said. "We had the lead for most of it, but they kept on fighting back. I think overall we played great, but that putt on the last kind of described the back nine, I would say."
Earlier in the day, Nelly Korda had partnered Allisen Corpuz to a foursomes victory over Hull and Woad.
Khang extends her winning streak
Celine Boutier and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, kept together by Nordqvist despite their morning foursomes defeat, were thrashed 5&3 in the afternoon by Megan Khang and Alison Lee. Boutier and Madsen had been two up after five holes, but Khang and Lee played the next eight-hole stretch in eight under par to seal the point.
The win was Khang's sixth consecutive Solheim Cup match victory, leaving her unbeaten in nine matches in a run stretching back to 2021, the second-longest streak in the event's history. Lee was the only player on either side to win both her matches on Friday.
"It's always nice seeing a big bird (eagle) and it definitely took the lid off for us," Khang said. "It was definitely a ham-and-egg session on the back nine. She's such a great partner."
Rookies deliver Europe's only afternoon point
Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud justified their captain's picks by beating Allisen Corpuz and Auston Kim 2&1, delivering Europe's only full point of the afternoon fourballs session and a winning start to both rookies' Solheim Cup careers.
Ciganda's late heroics level the match
That left the destiny of the session resting on Ciganda and Lopez Ramirez against Korda and Coughlin. The American pair recovered from two down with eight to play, winning three consecutive holes to move ahead, before Ciganda answered with a birdie at the 16th. Korda and Coughlin both left birdie putts short on the 18th green, then watched as Ciganda recovered from two wayward shots to hole her par putt and secure the half-point that squared the overall match.
How to watch day two
Sky Sports Golf is providing at least 12 hours of live coverage across the first two days. Saturday's coverage begins at 6am UK time, ahead of the opening foursomes match teeing off at 6.40am (7.40am local time), with the afternoon fourballs scheduled to start at 12.05pm UK time. Sunday's singles coverage begins at 9am UK time ahead of the opening tee shot at 10.10am.
