Solheim Cup - Final
by hound dog on Sep 25, 2011 12:43 PM PDT
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PrintSuzann Pettersen dropped a six footer to win her match 1-up over Michelle Wie and Ryann O'Toole surrendered the clinching half-point by dropping her final two holes as Team Europe rallied late to win their fourth Solheim Cup. The final tally was 15-13.
Catriona Matthew set the early tone by blitzing Paula Creamer 6&5. Sophie Gustafson took the lead at 10 and held off Stacy Lewis 2-up. Morgan Pressel won five straight holes en route to beating Anna Nordqvist 2&1. Brittany Lang lost only one hole as she took down Sandra Gal 6&5. Christina Kim went 5-up through 11 holes and hung on to win 4&2 over Maria Hjorth. Given those results and the Cristie Kerr WD, that would equal 11 points for each side and the remaining six matches pretty much decided things.
Juli Inkster and Laura Davies were All Square when Laura's flop shot at 13 flopped into the bunker and her fourth shot rolled 30 feet past the hole. Now 1-up, Inkster missed a three-footer at 14 AND 15 while Davies was making from 15 and six to take the lead for herself. Laura made an eight-footer at 16 to halve and recovered from a wayward tee shot (across TWO cart paths!) to go dormie at 18. Inkster nearly sank her bunker shot at the last and earned a half-point when Davies couldn't get up and down from her bunker.
Vicky Hurst was 2-up until Melissa Reid dropped a 20-footer to win the 12th hole. It stayed that way until 18 (Reid saving a half from five feet at 16) when Vicky played her approach to five feet while Melissa flew hers over the green. 2-up win for Hurst. Christel Boeljon took a 2-up lead when Brittany Lincicome missed a five-footer at 10. Brittany rebounded by taking 11 and it too stayed 1-up until the final hole. While Boeljon only four feet away for birdie, Lincicome ran her 20-foot birdie putt way past and conceded. 2-up win for Boeljon. That makes the score 12.5-12.5 for this recap, as it was at the time Christel's win was recorded.
At this moment, the final three matches showed Michelle Wie and Suzann Pettersen All Square, Ryann O'Toole 2-up on Caroline Hedwall, and Azahara Munoz 1-up on Angela Stanford - results which would have retained the Cup for the Americans had they stood. The next immediate returns were great for the U.S. - Wie won 15 with a five-footer to go 1-up and Munoz missed from ten feet at 14 to square her match. Pettersen started her run by dropping a 15-footer at 16 to go All Square. Stanford had 12 feet to win 15 but missed it right. Hedwall saved par from eight feet at 16 as did O'Toole from four and that match went dormie, assuring the Yanks of at least 13 points. Pettersen's approach at 17 stuck five feet away but Wie negated the great shot by canning a 15-footer for birdie. Suzann's birdie was worth only a half, sending them to 18 tied.
Stanford and Munoz each failed to cash in from 15 feet at 16. O'Toole drove so badly at 17 that she was forced to pitch out into the fairway. Her third was also poor, landing 30 feet away with a short iron in hand. The bogey took this match to 18 and was the first time all week Team Europe had won Hole 17. At 18, Pettersen played another laser, this time to six feet. Wie air-mailed her approach into the back bunker. Michelle played a terrific shot, killing it in the fringe and rolling it down to about three feet but Suzann buried her birdie putt to win the match and put the Euros up 13.5-12.5. Back at 17, Munoz played her best shot of the day (that we saw) - three feet from the pin. The birdie put her 1-up and dormie, giving Europe a sure 14 points.
So it came down to whether or not Ryan O'Toole (the much maligned Captain's pick) could hang on for one more hole. She flew her approach over the green. Hedwall hit the back fringe perfectly and spun it back to within six feet. O'Toole's chip (trying to be perfect) caught up in the fringe and stopped. She had to chip her fourth and it rolled beyond Hedwall's ball mark, so Ryann conceded the hole and halved the match. Suddenly, everybody realized that this result plus Munoz having gone dormie meant Team Europe had clinched the Cup. Aza and Angela agreed to halve 18 to make the 15-13 final.
I'll save the rest of my thoughts for tomorrow's Epilogue. The only thing left to say today is Congratulations Team Europe!
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"Ryann O'Toole surrendered the clinching half-point"
Not true. O’Toole would have surrendered the clinching half point only if Michelle Wie had halved with Pettersen, boosting the USA to 13 prior to the O’Toole/Hedwall result.
O’Toole surrendered Stanford’s opportunity to win 18 and retain the cup. Otherwise an extra half point meant nothing other than a tighter defeat, 14.5 to 13.5.
Watching the final holes again, it was remarkable how many shots had to go Europe’s way to win the cup. Stanford narrowly missed birdie putts in the 15 foot range on 15, 16 and 17. Pettersen holed every putt on 16, 17 and 18. O’Toole missed a 25 foot putt for 3 up by a fraction of an inch on 15. Hedwall was nearly in the hazard on 16 but responded with an excellent chip and saving 8 foot putt. Even on 18, Hedwall’s second shot was inches from sticking in the rough behind the green, leaving a slick downhill predicament and allowing O’Toole to play a less risky chip.
Keep this in mind, in evaluating how unlikely a USA victory would have been: Zero singles points from Kerr, Creamer, Lincicome, Lewis, Wie and Stanford. That’s 6 of the top 7 Americans, all ranked in the Top 15 of the Rolex World Rankings. Pressel, the 6th ranked American at #14 in the world rankings, was the only American star who dented the board on Sunday.
nope
As I stated in the post – when Munoz went dormie by winning 17, that gave Europe a certain 14 points. Moments later, O’Toole lost 18 to give them another half-point. O’Toole needed to at least halve 18 to give Stanford a chance.
You’ve got it backwards in your first paragraph. If Wie had halved with Pettersen (keeping the score tied, at 13), the Americans would have had two chances left to retain the Cup. Munoz going dormie would have only guaranteed Europe 13.5 and either O’Toole hanging on to win or Stanford winning 18 to halve her match would have been enough.
Were you trying to say that Wie’s loss hurt more than O’Toole’s half? If so, they were equally at fault mathematically speaking.
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